The Strategies of a Transylvanian Corporation for Mitigating the Effects of the Great Depression. Lessons for the Present
The Strategies of a Transylvanian Corporation for Mitigating the Effects of the Great Depression. Lessons for the Present

Summary/Abstract: In the following study, we analyse the business history of a major regional company based in what is today Cluj‐Napoca, Romania, the Renner Brothers & Co Leather Factory JSC, later renamed Dermata‐Works Leather and Shoe Factories JSC. Our analysis combines archival sources, press reports, and legislation to provide an overview of the business and its legal and social surroundings. Our analysis concentrates on the period between 1920 and 1934, including the Great Depression. We find that the company, under the influence of its majority shareholder and co‐founder, has adopted various coping strategies to address the economic challenges of the 1920s and 1930s. Among these, the company made use of market concentrations. It also alleviated social tensions with workers by providing above‐minimum wage provisions and other services. Finally, the company founder intended for the creation of a social company.

• Details
• Contents