ABSTRACT
Sweden was a late industrialiser, held back by a small internal market. By contrast, Germany had been Europe’s premier metal mining and heavy industrial goods supplier from 1870 onwards. Despite Sweden’s growth and access to specialty metals, it had not been able to compete with the large market advantage of the Germans. All of this was changed by the First World War, when Swedish business was transformed by the country’s neutrality: demand was high, international expansion was possible, patents and belligerent property were purchased and capital investment was used to expand productive capacity.1 The war was particularly beneficial to Sweden, as it was able to sell heavy industrial goods and raw metals to both belligerent groups, although this was later offset by lower commercial trade. This industrial growth was transformative, with the war Sweden moved from a domestic player to a global one; however, there was no immediate improvement in productivity as seen in the Ford factories of the United States or elsewhere.2 Rather, the war set the stage for long-term Swedish industrial growth with the establishment of a lead in certain strategic goods, most notably ball bearings. Taylorism and other productivity improvements came only after an SKF monopoly over ball bearings had been established as part of the actions taken by the company in the war years and just after.
