Foreign Capital and Business Strategiesa comparative analysis of urban transport in Madrid and Barcelona, 1871-1925

Resumen

The aim of the paper is to define the foreign groups that acted in the Madrid and Barcelona´ tramway companies and their respective strategies. The study is structured around three main parts. In the first and second parts the managerial evolution of the public transport in both cities is developed synthetically. In the final section a comparative analysis of the business strategy in the two cities is carried out. In both cases the financial groups – initially British, and later Belgo-German - were essentially the same and with similar strategies, which tended to unify, to enlarge, and to electrify the networks, so that new markets for the mechanical and electric companies linked with these groups. However, the financial and technological superiority of the BelgoGerman’s was a catalyst in their displacing the Britons, mirroring a worldwide tendency at the time.