<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This study details the management practices of a malting business called Bennetts of Ballinacurra (Bennetts), from approximately 1920s to the mid-1930s, a period when the Irish Free State was in its infancy. There is little extant literature on the management practices of Irish businesses of the time. Archival records, containing the company’s books, records and correspondence, were our primary source. Our findings revealed a relatively sophisticated management information system for which its merchant background and close connections to Arthur Guinness &amp; Sons Ltd. (Guinness) were a potential explanatory factor. In addition, despite the business being small, the study revealed how management coped with issues such as business structure and industrial relations in a time of great political and economic change. There is scope for future research to utilise the archives of Bennetts, as well as other archives identified in our study.</p></abstract>

This study details the management practices of a malting business called Bennetts of Ballinacurra (Bennetts), from approximately 1920s to the mid-1930s, a period when the Irish Free State was in its infancy. There is little extant literature on the management practices of Irish businesses of the time. Archival records, containing the company’s books, records and correspondence, were our primary source. Our findings revealed a relatively sophisticated management information system for which its merchant background and close connections to Arthur Guinness & Sons Ltd. (Guinness) were a potential explanatory factor. In addition, despite the business being small, the study revealed how management coped with issues such as business structure and industrial relations in a time of great political and economic change. There is scope for future research to utilise the archives of Bennetts, as well as other archives identified in our study.

Management in the early days of the Irish Free State: Bennetts of Ballinacurra

The Irish Journal of Management

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Management in the early days of the Irish Free State: Bennetts of Ballinacurra"}

This study details the management practices of a malting business called Bennetts of Ballinacurra (Bennetts), from approximately 1920s to the mid-1930s, a...

Management in the early days of the Irish Free State: Bennetts of Ballinacurra

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Jan 31, 2019

Page range: 35 - 50

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijm-2018-0004

Keywords
management practice, Irish Free State, Guinness

© 2018 Desmond Gibney, Martin Quinn, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Management in the early days of the Irish Free State: Bennetts of Ballinacurra

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Jan 31, 2019

Page range: 35 - 50

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijm-2018-0004

Keywordsmanagement practice, Irish Free State, Guinness

© 2018 Desmond Gibney, Martin Quinn, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
management practice, Irish Free State, Guinness