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Enterprise and Society 4:99-138 (2003)
© 2003 Business History Conference

Article

Jardine Matheson & Company: The Role of External Organization in a Nineteenth-Century Trading Firm

Carol Matheson Connell

Carol Matheson Connell received her Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Glasgow in 2001 and is a senior strategy consultant for IBM.

Contact information: IBM Corporate Strategy, New Orchard Road, Armonk, NY 10504, USA. E-mail: connellc{at}us.ibm.com.

Abstract

Jardine Matheson & Company, a Hong Kong conglomerate founded in 1832, has survived political upheaval and global and regional economic crises, transforming itself several times. From their beginnings in the commission business, William Jardine and James Matheson developed a reputation for sound financial management that furthered their trading relationships and supported their firm's expansion from agency house to managing agent to investment house between 1832 and 1885. Fundamental to Jardine Matheson's success was the strategic decision to eschew speculation and to concentrate on building a pattern of relationships within and outside the business that would foster the flow of information, the knowledge with which to interpret it, the ability to influence others, and a reputation for probity that would attract and retain trading partners.


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