In 1914 the two largest firms in Russia were subsidiaries of
American companies. Remarkably, they were almost as large as their
parent companies, striking testimony to the potential of the
underdeveloped Russian market. Fred Carstensen provides detailed
histories of the movement of International Harvester and Singer
into this new, profitable, and somewhat forbidding territory.
Describing how both sales organizations evolved in Russia,
Carstensen relates their development to overall company histories,
worldwide growth, changing sales strategies and structures,
recruitment and training of employees, and corporate leadership in
America and abroad. He finds that both firms entered the Russian
market because they needed new outlets to sustain high levels of
production and sales. Although there are parallels in their
experiences, Carstensen identifies how the responses of the two
corporations differed, reflecting the varying strategies and
perceptions of company management.
Together the case studies provide a test for many of the supposed
qualities and patterns of Russian economic history. Contrary to
accounts of the experiences of other companies, these firms found
the Russian market remarkably rich, developing a level of sales
that might have surpassed the American market if war had not
erupted. In contrast to the standard view of foreign enterprise,
neither company came to Russia because of government invitation or
influence but rather because of the intrinsic attractiveness of the
markets, and neither firm found the government bureaucracy
graft-ridden or the customers dishonest.
Carstensen shows that International Harvester and Singer Sewing
Machine clearly influenced Russia in a positive way. Both trained
large numbers of Russians in modern industrial and marketing
procedures and both provided an extraordinary volume of credit on
comparatively easy terms to encourage purchase of their products.
Indeed, the success of their approach suggests that Russian
economic development may have been limited not by weak aggregate
demand but by the relative absence of sources of credit.
Originally published in 1984.
A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the
latest in digital technology to make available again books from our
distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These
editions are published unaltered from the original, and are
presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both
historical and cultural value.