Coping with competition: cooperation and collusion in the US stove industry, c.1870-1930

Harris, Howell

doi:10.1017/s0007680512001808

Coping with competition: cooperation and collusion in the US stove industry, c.1870-1930

Harris, Howell

Authors

Howell Harris

Abstract

This article examines the attempts of several generations of manufacturers of cooking and heating appliances to manage competition in their very unconcentrated industry. They started with overt price-fixing, which soon failed, then moved on to a variety of more effective techniques—particularly joint regulation with the aid of a strong craft union, and the adoption of uniform cost-accounting and price-setting systems. The article illuminates the numerous ways in which a trade association could make cartel-like behavior work in an industry whose structural characteristics were apparently unfavorable and also the importance of state intervention to shaping and eventually limiting this strategy.

Citation

Harris, H. (2012). Coping with competition: cooperation and collusion in the US stove industry, c.1870-1930. Business History Review, 86(4), 657-692. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007680512001808

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Dec 1, 2012
Deposit Date	Mar 14, 2012
Publicly Available Date	Mar 27, 2013
Journal	Business History Review
Print ISSN	0007-6805
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	86
Issue	4
Pages	657-692
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007680512001808

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Copyright Statement
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2012. This paper has been published by Cambridge University Press in 'Business history review' (86: 4 (2012) 657-692) http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=BHR