Akira Kudo is Professor at the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. His interests cover modern German economic and business history and business and economic relations between Japan and Germany in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is the author of Japanese-German Business Relations (1998). Matthias Kipping is Associate Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. He also teaches at the University of Reading. He has written and published extensively on the evolution of management consultancy and business education and on the American influence on European Business. Harm G. Schröter teaches at the University of Bergen in Norway. His main field of research is European economic history from 1850 to the present day, including the level of firms (eg multinational enterprise, innovation) and countries (eg state-industry realations).

'The three editors of this volume ... [contribute] ... extensively to the debate, utilizing their extensive research experience to illuminate the issues effectively and imaginatively.' - Economic History Society'A highly useful collection of essays that have undoubtedly extended our understanding of an issue that will continue to generte debate among academics, managers, and policy-makers.' - Economic History Society

• 1. Americanisation: historical and conceptual issues Akira Kudo, Matthias Kipping and Harm G. Schröter2. 'Importing' American ideas to West Germany, 1940s to 1970s: from associations to private consultancies Matthias Kipping3. Paths to Americanisation in post-war Japan Satoshi Sasaki4. Driving the West German consumer society: the introduction of US-style production and marketing at Volkswagen, 1945-70 Christian Kleinschmidt5. Americanisation with the Japanese supplier system in the Japanese automobile industry, 1950-65 Hiorfumi Ueda6. The Americanisation of the German electrical industry after 1945: Siemens as a case study Wilfried Feldenkirchen7. The Americanisation and Japanisation of electronics firms in post-war Japan Shin Hasegawa8. America and the resurgence of the German chemical and rubber industry after the Second World War: Hüls, Glanzstoff and Continental Christian Kleinschmidt9. The Americanisation of technologies and management in Japan and its multiple effects: the case of Toray Tsuneo Suzuki10. Reluctant Americanisation? The reaction of Henkel to the influences and competition from the United States Susanne Hilger11. Emerging post-war-type managers and their learning of American technology and management: the consumer chemicals industry and the case of Kao Akira Judo and Motoi Ihara12. 'Revolution in trade': the Americanisation of distribution in Germany during the boom years, 1949-75 Harm G. Schröter13. American influences and Japanese innovation in the distribution industry: changes of supermarket system from the 1950s until the 1970s Mika Takaoka and Takeo Kikkawa