Abstract

"Preserving business history as a business itself – in the public interest"

Anders Sjoman, Centre for Business History in Stockholm (anders.sjoman@naringslivshistoria.se)

In most countries, business owners are under no obligation to save their historical material. Consequently, many don’t save their records – and large parts of the world’s combined business heritage end up in the nearest dumpster. It’s only those companies that take an active interest in history – their own and sometimes also that of their surrounding world – that preserve their heritage. Those are also the companies we meet in academic research. But what if that universe of corporate research objects could be expanded?

The Centre for Business History in Stockholm has since 1974 worked to entice more Swedish business to safeguard their history. It’s work that builds on making the companies see a business value in keeping their history that is sufficient enough for them to pay for keeping archives and preservation solutions. The Centre therefore operates a commercial archive and editorial business – but is owned by a non-profit organization, whose primary purpose is to preserve and present Swedish business history.

The Centre’s organization thus illustrates how using traditional business dynamics (to market an archive service that is so attractive that companies will pay for it) enable archive collections to grow, allowing future researchers access to business history that otherwise would have been lost. It is a solution that aligns the private interests of businesses with the public interest of maintaining a joint heritage.

Key to keeping this virtuous cycle running is making companies view their history as a strategic asset that can be used for business purposes. How this is done – and the pitfalls that comes with it – is explained in this paper by Anders Sjöman, head of client assignments at the Centre. He will be expanding on reasoning and examples found in his book “History Marketing – Using History as a Strategic Asset” (Business History Publishing, 2023).