Thesis ID: CBB001560766

Technological Change, Hegemonic Transition and Communication Policy: State-MNC Relations in the Wireless Telegraph Industry, 1896--1934 (2006)

unapi

Zajacz, Rita (Author)


Indiana University
Terry, Herbert A.


Publication Date: 2006
Edition Details: Advisor: Terry, Herbert A.
Physical Details: 438 pp.
Language: English

This dissertation investigates the ways in which changes in the international system influence the relationship between multinational corporations and their home states and the policies that regulate this relationship. How do ascendancy and decline influence MNC-home state relations in the radiotelegraph industry? How do the policy strategies of the declining hegemon, hoping to maintain its leadership position, differ from the policies appropriate for a rising system leader, intent on improving its position in international communications? The two extended case studies of this dissertation compare British policymakers' attitudes towards the Marconi Company in the 1896--1906 period, on the one hand, and American policymakers' attitudes toward International Telephone and Telegraph in the 1920--1934 period, on the other. The cases explain the regulations examined---the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1904 and Section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934---as a result of conflicts between multinational corporations and their home states and situate them in the context of hegemonic rivalry. Policymakers in both countries looked at wireless telegraphy from a systemic perspective, in relation to the submarine cable network controlled by Britain since the mid-19{super}th{/super} century. British decisionmakers in the Post Office and in the Admiralty clashed over the usefulness of the technology and the importance of the Marconi Company for the national interest the same way as State Department officials and officers of the U.S. Navy disagreed about the value of the two technologies and the importance of I.T.T. for the national interest. Both sets of conflicts revolve around what may be called the central conflict of hegemonic transition in state-MNC relations: the desirability and extent of expansion at different stages of the hegemonic cycle. This interdisciplinary work lies at the intersection of communications policy, international relations, diplomatic history and business history. The analysis of the cases relies on extensive archival research in private and public records from the United States and Great Britain.

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Description On early multinational corporations (MNCs) in the telecommunications industry; focuses on British policymakers and the Marconi Company (1896--1906) and American policymakers and International Telephone and Telegraph (1920--1934). Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 66/11 (2006): 3852. UMI pub. no. 3195577.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001560766/

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Authors & Contributors
MacDougall, Robert Duncan
Shahvar, Soli
Bills, Emily
Channon, Geoffrey
John, Richard R.
Jong, Martin de
Journals
Iranian Studies
Technology and Culture
American Quarterly
The Bridge: Journal of the National Academy of Engineering
British Journal for the History of Science
International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology
Publishers
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT
New York University
Ashgate
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press
Concepts
Communication technology
Telegraphs; telephones
Technology
Technology and government
Technology and society
Globalization; internationalization
People
Keynes, John Maynard, 1st Baron
Marconi, Guglielmo
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
21st century
Modern
Places
United States
Great Britain
Persia (Iran)
India
California (U.S.)
Asia
Institutions
American Telephone and Telegraph Company
Marconi Company
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