Corporate strategies on the example of a German calico factory in Wuerttemberg on it´s way from a family enterprise to an incorporated company during the period from 1754 to 1966. Employees, wages, production, investment, balance sheet figures.

The enterprise, it’s top management as well as it’s contacts to other enterprises is the subject of interest of economic and company history. The aim is to analyze complex historical developments and processes using the example of real events, i.e. of the history and experiences of real single enterprises. The focus of the study at hand is the historical development of the enterprise itself, to find out how the businessmen do react on Situations like social, political and technical changes. „Es gilt herauszufinden, wie Unternehmer/Unternehmen auf bestimmte Situationen bzw. allgemeine, soziale, politische und technische Entwicklungen reagiert haben.“ (S. 15). The calico factory in the town Heidenheim (abbreviation: WCM) serves as an example and as object of investigation for the study. The enterprise was founded in 1754 and produced until 1966. The factory started as a traditional family-run company. In 1856 WCM was transformed to a stock corporation and was listed on the stock exchange in Stuttgart. After 1966 the production was stopped and the corporation serves as financial institution and management company only. WCM is listed on the stock exchange in Stuttgart until today. „Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Württembergischen Cattunmanufaktur (WCM), einem Textilveredelungsunternehmen Württembergs, das 1754 gegründet wurde und bis 1966 produzierte. Bis heute wird das Unternehmen an der Stuttgarter Börse notiert, es dient wechselnden Eigentümern als Finanzierungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft.“ (S. 15) The analyisis of the material, which covers more than twohundred years, serves to provide a detailed description of the company’s development, it’s foundation, the consolidation period, the company’s heyday, the war periods and the years after the two world wars, and finally it’s transformation into a corporation in times of economic prosperity. The development of the corporation’s market value is described until 1984. Main-issue of the study is the company’s policy and the implementation of formulated objectives, i.e. the strategies of the entrepreneurs and the top management of the calico factory. The company itself is the result of decisionmaking and implementation of strategies, which are the steps of the development from a so called „entrepreneurial enterprise“ to a so called „managerial enterprise“ . The following questions are discussed: - How does the entrepreneur cope with special situations and changes? - Which networks have been developed between the decision makers (entrepreneurs and managers) and the company? - Which networks have been developed between the company itself and it’s surroundings (location, state, economic market)? Datatables in the search- and downloadsystem HISTAT (Subject: entrepreneurial history. In German: Thema: Unternehmensgeschichte): A. Die Sulzer Cattunmanufaktur, das Unternehmen der Familie Meebold (1754-1855) (The Sulzer calicu factory, the enterprise of the Meebold-Family, from 1754 to 1855) - Beschäftigte; Anzahl der Dampfmaschinen; Produktion; Entrichtete Zollbeträge (Datatable: employees; number of steam-engines; Production-figures; payed customs) B. Die Württembergische Cattunmanufaktur AG (1856-1966) (The calicu factory in Wuerttemberg as corporation, 1856 to 1966) B.1 Ausgewählte Daten zu Kapital, Löhne, Investitionen und Anleihen (Datatable B.1: selected data on capital, earnings, investments and loans) B.2 Lange Reihen zu Bilanzen, Kennzahlen und Bewertungszahlen des börsennotierten Unternehmens WCM AG (Datatable B.2: long series on financial statements, key figures, and valuation figures of the stock exchange listed company WCM AG) C. Die WCM AG nach 1966 (The time after production of WCM AG – 1966 until today) - Aktiva und Passiva (Datatable: assets and liabilities)