Abstract
This paper explores the value to society of the archives of large international businesses or multinational companies. It highlights the importance of having access to the archives of multinational companies and the role these archives play in documenting the history of our society. This paper also looks at the motives for multinational companies to establish archival programmes and the attendant challenges they face. The archives of multinational companies differ from the archives of national businesses because they operate in various countries and are therefore subject to different international laws and regulations. Furthermore, recordkeeping and archiving practices differs from country to country. The focus of this paper is global and explores the subject from a societal perspective.
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Notes
Multinational companies are profit making companies with business operations and locations in more than one country, or incorporated or unincorporated businesses comprising parent enterprises with their foreign affiliates (source: World Investment Report 2005, UNCTAD, Geneva, Switzerland).
The Economist. London: December 3, 1994. vol 333, no. 7892; p. 78. For more information also see the: Union Carbide Bhopal Information Center at: http://www.bhopal.com/.
Brent Spar Dossier at: http://www-static.shell.com/static/gbr/downloads/e_and_p/brent_spar_dossier.pdf and Brent Spar’s Long Saga at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/221508.stm.
Examples are: Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guidelines, Social Accountability International, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
The South African Freedom of Information Act of 2000 includes a unique provision that allows individuals and government bodies to access records held by private bodies when the record is “necessary for the exercise or protection” of people's rights. More information available at: http://www.freedominfo.org/countries/south_africa.htm.
Although this is a security issue, it is most likely also a practical issue as generally business archives have a small staff and limited researcher facilities.
ENRON, a large American energy company went bankrupt in 2001 following accusations and fraud with its financial reporting. Parmalat, an Italian diary and food company nearly went bankrupt in 2003 following accusations of financial wrongdoing.
Examples are: University of Melbourne Archives, Glasgow University Archives and Business Records Centre, Harvard Business School, and Regional business archives in Germany such as Bayerisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, Stiftung Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv and Hessisches Wirtschaftsarchiv.
Some examples of national or regional business archives associations: Business Archives Council of the UK (BAC), Business Archives Council of Scotland, Verein deutscher Wirtschaftsarchivare (VdW), SAA Business Archives Section and the Nederlandse Vereniging Bedrijs Archivarissen (NVBA).
The strategy can be consulted at: http://www.businessarchivescouncil.org.uk/materials/national_strategy_for_business_archives.pdf.
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Deserno, I. The value of international business archives: the importance of the archives of multinational companies in shaping cultural identity. Arch Sci 9, 215–225 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-009-9106-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-009-9106-1