Business Groups in Contemporary Spain: The Urquijo Group, 1851-1982

Abstract

This article examines the historical path of Urquijo, one of the largest business groups in Spain in 20th century in Spain. Urquijo constitutes a representative example of business organizational model created by some Spanish universal banks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The article shows that this type of economic organization played a significant role in Spain’s industrial development by promoting entrepreneurship and ensuring its long-term growth through the provision of three essential resources: permanent funding, imported technological capabilities, and technical and managerial human capital.