ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the trends behind how individuals chose to concentrate their activity into larger firms, and the balance between decisions to incorporate or continue as self-employed sole proprietors. There are strong contrasts in trends between farming and other sectors and the development of multiples and branch businesses. The changes in company law and the continuity of common law for partnerships are covered where relevant. Individual firm-size data for 1851–81 on workforce numbers are extended by using the more limited data for average firm size 1891–1911. Corporate business numbers are calculated using a new analysis of Inland Revenue statistics, and their profit levels recalculated from Feinstein. An entirely new analysis is given of how non-corporate and corporate firms developed. The turning point of the age of entrepreneurship in 1901–11 re-balanced the economy towards growing numbers of large and increasingly corporate proprietors; this ran concurrently with rebalancing after 1901 towards reduced own-account proprietors with no employees, a trend that was to accelerate after World War I.