Posted on 15 December 2020
The presentation of Pablo Díaz-Morlán and Miguel Á. Sáez-García of an article recently published in Business History will open the De Gasperi seminar series of 2021 on 21 January 2021.
The article on “The paradox of scrap and the European steel industry’s loss of leadership (1950-1970)” analyses the policy implemented by the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) with respect to scrap during its period as a supra-national institution with a high level of autonomy in its operations (1952–1967). The study highlights how public policies affect business strategies in innovation and how, in particular, the policy adopted by the High Authority of the ECSC regarding the scrap market influenced the innovation strategies of the steelmakers. While resolving the immediate scrap problem of the ECSC member states, the High Authority’s policy created a larger one as it delayed innovation. The primary sources used for the analysis belong to the archives of the High Authority stored at the HAEU in Florence as part of the European Commission’s holdings, in particular the sub-fonds ‘Marché et problèmes industriels: acier’ (CEAB08).
The authors, Pablo Díaz-Morlán and Miguel Á. Sáez-García, will present their study during the next De Gasperi seminar on 21 January on Zoom, from 15:00 to 16:30.
Register to the De Gasperi seminar.