In this article, Dr. Pierenkemper investigates a new occupational category—the industrial white collar employee—in the late-nineteenth century Krupp Steel Casting Works in Essen, Germany. In contrast to previous historians, Pierenkemper demonstrates that white collar employees were far from homogeneous: differing among themselves, they were also largely isolated from the labor market as a whole. He concludes that widespread intrafirm occupational mobility underlay this distinctive work environment, and suggests that management may have consciously encouraged such moving about to segment its work force.

Do variations in the circumstances under which heavy industry was developed in different regions account for the kinds of “entrepreneurs” those regions attracted? In this note on his current research, Doctor Pierenkemper concludes that varying circumstances do, indeed, account for varying backgrounds of entrepreneurs, and offers evidence from two contrasting regions in early German heavy industry. He offers the further hypothesis that as circumstances affecting growth — such as finance, market stability, and the need for professional management — change, certain kinds of backgrounds may become more applicable while others become less so.