著者

米川 伸一

出版者

経営史学会

雑誌

経営史学 (ISSN:03869113)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.21, no.2, pp.1-31, 1986-07-30 (Released:2009-11-06)

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The Royton group was widely known as one of the best-performing company groups among the Oldham limiteds in the interwar period. The purpose of this article is to clarify the origin and process of the group from its formative years, and to analyze its major strategies. Analysis is based on the company records stocked at Shiloh Spinners Ltd., company files in the Public Record Office and Company Registration Office of London, and the Oldham local newspapers. The major conclusions are the following.(1) The group originated in the Royton and Star Spinning Company which was founded in the midst of the phenomenal 1873-75 boom in the flotation of cotton spinning companies. M.B. Tattersall was a principal entrepreneur in forming the group.(2) G.E. Gartside, a “student” of the M.B. Tattersall school, spun off from the Tattersall group by establishing the Holly Mills in 1890. He was, however, closely aligned with Tattersall's group, so that it is reasonable to regard the companies as part of a single group.(3) The group's strategies were not notably different from those of most well-performing cotton spinning companies, but among the Oldham limiteds they were not common, and therefore worthy of appreciation.(4) How was it possible to keep up the good performance among the group?, One of the answers is found in the internal labour market of the group. Mill officials were usually recruited and moved within the group, so management strategies could be settled in each company.