Book Description

"The Sumerians invented temple capitalism; the Assyrians made it multinational; the Phoenicians evolved controls; the Greeks leapfrogged with an entrepreneurial model that replaced it; the Romans perfected a robust blend of autonomy and regimentation that flourished for four hundred years. Foundations of Corporate Empire puts all this under a microscope." Richard T. Pascale, associate fellow, Templeton College, University of Oxford "Foundations of Corporate Empire is a dreary title for a business book that turns out to be anything but. It is in fact a sweeping, yet remarkably readable history of globalization that marshals impressive evidence..." Report on Business Magazine From the cradles of civilization to the corporations of global economy, business empires have come and gone but the essence of economic enterprise has always been with us. This is a world in which enterprises have been shaped as much by what they are as what they do, and in which an understanding of where we've come from will aid our interpretation of where we can go. Every future has a foundation to be explored. "In this well-researched and highly readable book, Moore and Lewis persuasively argue that many of today's global economic institutions and structures are not as new as often proclaimed but the product of a long evolutionary process. Their conclusion that a historical perspective provides important clues about the future of globalization is thought provoking and worthy of broad debate." Cornelis A. de Kluyver, Dean, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management "This fascinating book should serve as a timely reminder to those who seem to think that tomorrow can be managed with scarcely a backwards glance to yesterday. Compulsive reading for businessmen and politicians." Sir David Rowland, President, Templeton College, University of Oxford Foundations of Corporate Empire sketches the history of international business from the emergence of ancient Assyria around 2000 BC through the Phoenician, Carthaginian and Grecian periods up to the time of the Roman Imperium under Augustus, and then on to the medieval and modern eras ending with today's post-modern times. The history of these civilisations has developed around different economic models, which have regularly re-emerged across time and are still present today. Foundations of Corporate Empire looks at our past economic foundations to better understand where we are today and where we should be tomorrow. "A fascinating and important work, which deserves to be widely read." Professor Alister McGrath, Oxford University "Foundations of Corporate Empire offered me an eye-opening insight into how we have come to do business as we do. If you truly want to understand capitalism as we know it, read this book. Beyond any reasonable doubt, it proved to me the old saying that the more things change the more things stay the same." Professor D'Aveni, author of Hypercompetition: Managing the dynamics of strategic maneuvering