ABSTRACT
The history of the Volkart company is a paradigm example of the transition from a mercantile house specialized in a "pre-modern" form of commerce to a multinational company. The business underwent an extensive reorientation with the advent of telegraph communications, the construction of the Indian railways and the breakthrough of steamship shipping. Although the increasing importance of economies of scale in the global trading business led to a similar development among manufacturing companies, there was a clear difference in ownership structures. The inner workings of the company can be interpreted as a culturally influenced interplay of social relations. The company was far more than an organization that translated nonspecific market signals into the creation of a specific corporate culture and the rendering of specific services. The company built an ever-growing network of agencies in key industrial districts. It also maintained outstanding contacts to insurance companies and commercial banks that safeguarded and financed increasingly large shipments.
