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Organisational flexibility and governance in a civil-law regime: Scottish partnership banks during the Industrial Revolution

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  • Graeme Acheson
  • Charles Hickson
  • John Turner

Abstract

Unlike their English counterparts, Scottish partnership banks during the Industrial Revolution operated under partnership law which was similar to the French societe en commandite. The article suggests that the definitive feature of this partnership law was that it permitted partnerships to separate ownership from control and stock to be traded. Archival evidence also suggests that Scottish partnership banks had mechanisms to ameliorate potential insider opportunism arising from the separation of ownership from control. The available evidence also suggests that the ability of Scottish banks to separate ownership from control may have contributed to the relative stability of the banking system.

Suggested Citation

  • Graeme Acheson & Charles Hickson & John Turner, 2011. "Organisational flexibility and governance in a civil-law regime: Scottish partnership banks during the Industrial Revolution," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 505-529.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:53:y:2011:i:4:p:505-529
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2011.574690
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Musacchio,Aldo, 2015. "Experiments in Financial Democracy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107514782, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Turner, John D., 2017. "The development of English company law before 1900," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2017-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    2. Turner, John D., 2024. "Three centuries of corporate governance in the UK," QUCEH Working Paper Series 24-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    3. Alfred Duncan & Charles Nolan, 2023. "Adam Smith and the Bankers: Retrospect and Prospect," Working Papers 2023_08, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.

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