Binnen de Universiteit Utrecht bestaat veel expertise op het gebied van de bedrijfsgeschiedenis. Het netwerk Business in Transition wil deze kennis bundelen om actuele maatschappelijke problemen te bestuderen vanuit het historisch perspectief van de onderneming en haar stakeholders, en daarmee bij te dragen aan een beter begrip van het ontstaan van deze problemen en aan de transitie naar een meer gelijkwaardige en duurzame toekomst.
Historical research on the role of corporations
Businesses play a central role in our daily lives: they create jobs for many, they provide products and essential services, but they also contribute to social problems and put pressure on the environment and climate.
Companies operate under complex and ever-changing conditions that require adaptation but also offer opportunities. In the interplay of entrepreneurs, employees, consumers, markets, civil society and political actors, companies are both playthings and architects of social change. Business in Transition at Utrecht University studies this multifaceted role of companies and their stakeholders from a historical perspective:
- How have companies performed these various functions in an ever-changing social and globalizing context?
- How have entrepreneurs and businesses responded and anticipated societal questions and challenges in the past?
- How has business contributed to our societal prosperity, and with what consequences for social relations and environmental sustainability?
Research into these questions guides thinking about the future and the role of business in it.
Sustainability, globalization and entrepreneurship
We examine the development and significance of business to society from three topical themes: sustainability, globalization and entrepreneurship. Read more about these themes.
Header image: Hoogovens IJmuiden © Wikimedia Commons/Jesper Schoen