A study of the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company (NESCo) provides a micro-history of the emergence of the electricity supply industry in Britain up to the First World War. This research examines the role of social capital in the establishment and growth of NESCo, the only financially successful British electric power company. Temporal bracketing was adopted to evaluate two distinct time periods: emergence from 1889 to 1899; and growth from 1900 to 1914. Family, business and social networks together with geographical and political factors secured the company’s dominant position. The structural relationship with Merz & McLellan contributed to growth through acquisitions, joint ventures, and access to new markets.

/pdf/the-genesis-of-the-electricity-supply-industry-in-britain-a-2cifqiabm8.pdf

Power station design

The genesis of the electricity supply industry in Britain: A case study of NESCo from 1889 to 1914

This article examines the provision of strategic costing information in the context of the emergence and growth of the British electrical power industry and its pre-eminent exemplar, the Newcastle Upon Tyne Electric Supply Company (NESCo). A detailed case study of NESCo's costing for strategy development and analysis is presented. This research finds that NESCo's adoption of systematic, formal considerations of strategy and its use of costing for strategy development and analysis were related to a combination of three factors: first, the novelty and complexity of the electricity supply industry; second, the regulated environment of the electricity supply industry; and third, the ability and drive of key individuals. The implications of this research for contemporary studies of strategic management accounting are considered.

background

/pdf/costing-for-strategy-development-and-analysis-in-an-emerging-50zzm2dcu3.pdf

Costing for strategy development and analysis in an emerging industry: the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company, 1889-1914

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/5308791/5309613/05309628.pdf

Power station design

Citations

The genesis of the electricity supply industry in Britain: A case study of NESCo from 1889 to 1914

Costing for strategy development and analysis in an emerging industry: the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company, 1889-1914

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