Entre économie de la fonctionnalité et monopolela "United Shoe Machinery Company" dans la première moitié du XXe siècle
- Olivier Dard (coord.)
- Claude Didry (coord.)
- Florent Le Bot (coord.)
- Cédric Perrin (coord.)
ISSN: 0018-4306
Year of publication: 2014
Issue: 193-194
Pages: 117-136
Type: Article
More publications in: Homme et la societé: revue internationale de recherches et de synthèses sociologiques
Sustainable development goals
Abstract
The history of the United Shoe Machinery Company (USMC) shows that reality does not always match the simplifications of the theory. As stated in the functional economy, the strategy of selling the use instead of machinery provided several important advantages, but this strategy also emphasized the technological dependence of the shoe factories and it enabled the USMC to reach a monopolistic market dominance. On the other hand, questioning the neoclassical economic theory, this monopoly did not prevent the company had an efficient operation and facilitated the technological upgrading of the footwear industry in the United States and other countries.