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Inheritance and continuity in small family businesses during the early industrial revolution

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  • Hannah Barker
  • Mina Ishizu

Abstract

Explanations for the rapid turnover rates of small businesses during the early years of British industrialisation are usually framed in terms of mismanagement or misfortune. More recently, the short lifespans of family businesses have been presented in the context of family ambitions and priorities. Whilst these explanations are persuasive, such studies tend to describe a reluctance to continue the family firm after the death of the head of household. By utilising evidence of both formal and informal methods of post-mortem estate disposal in Liverpool and Manchester we argue that the petite bourgeoisie of the early Industrial Revolution were more likely than has been thought to continue family businesses and to treat them as valuable going concerns. Moreover, we identify a degree of freedom on the part of those who inherited that allowed them to use their own judgements about the best interests of surviving family members.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Barker & Mina Ishizu, 2012. "Inheritance and continuity in small family businesses during the early industrial revolution," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(2), pages 227-244, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:54:y:2012:i:2:p:227-244
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2011.631117
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    1. Barker, Hannah, 2006. "The Business of Women: Female Enterprise and Urban Development in Northern England 1760-1830," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199299713.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sonia Baijot & Charlotte Le Chapelain, 2022. "Reassessing women’s participation in entrepreneurial activities in the nineteenth century: A review of the literature," Working Papers 07-22, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC).
    3. Sonia Baijot & Charlotte Le Chapelain, 2022. "Reassessing Women’s Participation in Entrepreneurial Activities in the Nineteenth Century: A Review of the Literature [Réévaluer la participation des femmes aux activités entrepreneuriales au dix-n," Post-Print hal-03932307, HAL.

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