Methodological Openness in Business History Research: Looking Afresh at the British Interwar Management Movement

Much thought has been accorded to the evolving nature of business history. It is only relatively recently, however, that attempts have made articulate methodological issues in a more epistemologically explicit and reflexive fashion. This article contributes this burgeoning agenda by examining methodology underpinning an intensive archival study British interwar management movement (1918–1939), major force education between wars. We explicate employed question what material tells us about movement, terms its determination modernize management, encourage openness firms, extend new spirit partnership. show was characterized organized cooperation openness. Our main contribution demonstrate interpretations themselves can become entrenched prone inertia, inviting revisit these periodically and, if appropriate, recast them.