Directorate of Electrotechnical Joint Stock Companies in Pre-revolutionary Russia

Abstract

Based on a wide range of sources, including archival documents, published reports of joint stock companies and official statistical digests, the present article considers the directors of electrotechnical companies. In the context of economic modernization at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, electrotechnical enterprises, which were formed mainly from branches of foreign companies, received priority development in industry and electricity distribution to state and public institutions and private consumers. The rapid growth of enterprises in this sector exacerbated the problem of management personnel, primarily search for and appointment of worthy candidates as executive directors, who were the most important element in the management system, since they performed main functions related to the direct management of the company. The study of thirty companies of various levels, which accounted for more than half of all officially approved joint stock electrotechnical companies in Russia, revealed mechanism for selecting and appointing specialists as executive directors as well as their personal data. It has been found that most often this position was held by the shareholders of the companies and in some cases even by the founders. It is concluded that the level of professional education of this category of managers was quite high, which allowed them to effectively perform their duties and contributed to the rapid development of the industry in general.

Keywords

• late imperial russia
• electrotechnical industry
• founders
• shareholders
• executive directors
• shares
• professional education