ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the expansion of the international oil majors into Scandinavia in the period before World War II. From 1890, Standard Oil dominated the Scandinavian markets, but gradually the company’s hold on these markets was challenged by competitors. The article discusses how Standard oil achieved its market power in Scandinavia, and how the relationship between the company and its competitors, customers, and other stakeholders developed from 1890 to 1939. It also analyses how the Scandinavian governments reacted to the role of international cartels and the domination of large foreign multinationals in a sector that quickly was becoming more and more central to their economic development. The development of the Scandinavian oil markets is a prominent example of how big business actively worked to create uncompetitive markets by exploiting access to capital and control over the value chains. Gradually, this provoked public concern, yet finding the proper way to respond to the market power and the cartel and intra-firm co-operative practices of the mighty oil industry was no easy matter for the governments of small(ish) countries. By provoking public debate, the large oil companies’ quest for non-competitive markets proved a powerful incitement towards demonstrating the need for competition laws.

摘要

本文重点介绍第二次世界大战之前国际石油巨头向斯堪的纳维亚半岛的扩张。从1890年开始，标准石油（Standard Oil）主导了斯堪的纳维亚市场，但逐渐地，该公司在这些市场上的地位受到了竞争对手的挑战。本文讨论了标准石油如何在斯堪的纳维亚半岛获得市场支配力，以及该公司与竞争对手，客户和其他利益相关者之间的关系在1890年至1939年间如何发展。它还分析了斯堪的纳维亚政府如何对国际卡特尔和大型跨国公司在这个行业中的统治地位正在迅速成为其经济发展的中心。斯堪的纳维亚石油市场的发展是一个典型的例子，说明了大企业如何通过利用获得资本的机会和对价值链的控制来积极创建不具竞争力的市场。逐渐地，这引起了公众的关注，但是对于小国政府来说，找到适当的方法来应对强大的石油行业的市场力量以及卡特尔和企业内部的合作实践并不容易。通过引发公众辩论，大型石油公司对非竞争性市场的追求证明了其强烈的动机，表明其需要制定竞争法。然而，找到适当的方法来应对强大的石油行业的市场力量以及卡特尔和企业内部的合作实践对小国家的政府来说并非易事。通过引发公众辩论，大型石油公司对非竞争性市场的追求证明了其强烈的动机，以证明需要制定竞争法。然而，找到适当的方法来应对强大的石油行业的市场力量以及卡特尔和企业内部的合作实践对小国家的政府来说并非易事。通过引发公众辩论，大型石油公司对非竞争性市场的追求证明了其强烈的动机，以证明需要制定竞争法。