著者

猿渡 啓子

出版者

経営史学会

雑誌

経営史学 (ISSN:03869113)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.17, no.4, pp.31-54,ii, 1983-01-30 (Released:2010-11-18)

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This paper analyzes the growth of a British-owned trading company, Guthrie Corporation, with emphasis on its strategic and structural responses to changing business environment.During the 19th century, Guthrie's major activity was general trading between Singapore and the United Kingdom, although the company gradually expanded its businesses into such related areas as finance for provincial ventures and local agencies of British firms. Reflecting the simplicity of operations, Guthrie's organization remained primitive. The general office in Singapore and its branch and agent in London carried their duties without clear functional divisions and close coordination.Facing the depression in trading in the late 19th century, Guthrie's strategic interest turned to then rising rubber production. By utilizing its financial and personal ties in trading, Guthrie played an intermediary role between the British capital market and Malayan agriculture. While the company acted as a London promoter of newly-established and converted public companies for rubbergrowing, Guthrie took the charge of managing rubber estates in Malaya and marketing products overseas. Responding to this integration, Guthrie's organization became functional. For instance, the London office now had the companies department which concentrated on promotional and secretarial functions of the rubber companies.Changes in world markets for agricultural products and Malaya's independence in the 1950's forced Guthrie to adopt another strategy of integration and diversification into manufacturing in Malaysia and industrialized countries. Following the forward integration into such rubber-consuming industries as carpet-weaving, Guthrie's management agressively took over manufacturing enterprises in related and unrelated fields in Western Europe, Canada, and the U.S. In the 1970's, Guthrie thus became a multinational company with multi-divisional structure organized by region and product.This strategy of multinationalization and the relative retreat from Malaysian interests, however, inevitably resulted in consecutive conflicts with Malaysia's economic policy which sought indigenous ownership and control of foreign firms. In 1981, the Malaysian government took the final move of publicly taking over Guthrie at the London stock market and easily succeeded by overcoming desperate defense by Guthrie's management, by which a long history of this trading company was eventually terminated.