Origins and Characteristics of Scottish Business Leaders, 1850-1960s

The primary aim was to identify the economic and social characteristics of Scotland's business leaders circa 1850-1960, on the basis of the sample of men surveyed in the two volumes of the Dictionary of Scottish Business Biography. This aim guided the structure of the computer database which was designed to meet four main objectives: (1) to determine the origins of the business leaders by sector, time period, firm size, and by patterns appropriate to Founders, Inheritors, and Professional Managers; (2) to establish patterns of education, business training and career path; (3) to delineate non business interests and roles in society; (4) to analyse the scale and pattern of business wealth.<br> These aims and objectives have been examined systematically and provide for further analysis of links between entrepreneurial characteristics, and the process of gentrification and the patterns of success and failure in different sectors. They also provide a systematic basis for comparative assessment.