In the Kingdom of Shoes
Bata, Zlín, Globalization, 1894-1945
Seiten
2021
University of Toronto Press (Verlag)
978-1-4875-2444-9 (ISBN)
University of Toronto Press (Verlag)
978-1-4875-2444-9 (ISBN)
In the Kingdom of Shoes tells the story of the pioneering Bata Company, which created a fascinating company culture as it globalized industrial shoe production.
One of the world’s largest sellers of footwear, the Bata Company of Zlín, Moravia has a remarkable history that touches on crucial aspects of what made the world modern. In the twilight of the Habsburg Empire, the company Americanized its production model while also trying to Americanize its workforce. It promised a technocratic form of governance in the chaos of postwar Czechoslovakia, and during the Roaring Twenties, it became synonymous with rationalization across Europe and thus a flashpoint for a continent-wide debate. While other companies contracted in response to the Great Depression, Bata did the opposite, becoming the first shoe company to unlock the potential of globalization.
As Bata expanded worldwide, it became an example of corporate national indifference, where company personnel were trained to be able to slip into and out of national identifications with ease. Such indifference, however, was seriously challenged by the geopolitical crisis of the 1930s, and by the cusp of the Second World War, Bata management had turned nationalist, even fascist.
In the Kingdom of Shoes unravels the way the Bata project swept away tradition and enmeshed the lives of thousands of people around the world in the industrial production of shoes. Using a rich array of archival materials from two continents, the book answers how Bata’s rise to the world’s largest producer of shoes challenged the nation-state, democracy, and Americanization.
One of the world’s largest sellers of footwear, the Bata Company of Zlín, Moravia has a remarkable history that touches on crucial aspects of what made the world modern. In the twilight of the Habsburg Empire, the company Americanized its production model while also trying to Americanize its workforce. It promised a technocratic form of governance in the chaos of postwar Czechoslovakia, and during the Roaring Twenties, it became synonymous with rationalization across Europe and thus a flashpoint for a continent-wide debate. While other companies contracted in response to the Great Depression, Bata did the opposite, becoming the first shoe company to unlock the potential of globalization.
As Bata expanded worldwide, it became an example of corporate national indifference, where company personnel were trained to be able to slip into and out of national identifications with ease. Such indifference, however, was seriously challenged by the geopolitical crisis of the 1930s, and by the cusp of the Second World War, Bata management had turned nationalist, even fascist.
In the Kingdom of Shoes unravels the way the Bata project swept away tradition and enmeshed the lives of thousands of people around the world in the industrial production of shoes. Using a rich array of archival materials from two continents, the book answers how Bata’s rise to the world’s largest producer of shoes challenged the nation-state, democracy, and Americanization.
Zachary Austin Doleshal is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of History at Sam Houston State University.
Introduction
1. “A New Fixed Existence”: The Modernization of Zlín
2. “Time is Money”: The Americanization of the Dřevnice Valley, 1914–1923
3. “An End to Politics”: The Political Takeover of the Dřevnice Valley, 1923–1926
4. “Speak Briefly”: Rationalization and Everyday Life, 1926–1932
5. “Half the World is Barefoot”: The Globalization of the Bata System, 1931–1937
6. “The Path of Perfection”: Engineering the Batovci for an Uncertain World, 1933–1938
7. “Everyone Gives Their Soul to Their Country,” 1937–March, 1939
8. “Not a Nazi, but More or Less a Fool,” 1939–1941
Conclusion
| Erscheinungsdatum | 05.07.2021 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 18 b&w illustrations |
| Verlagsort | Toronto |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 380 g |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918) |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte | |
| Technik | |
| Wirtschaft | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-4875-2444-7 / 1487524447 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-4875-2444-9 / 9781487524449 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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