This article investigates the behavior and cohesion of the Argentine business elite during the period of import substitution industrialization (ISI) analyzing the interlocking directorates between 1954 and 1970-1971. This study provides the first relational map of large companies and banks in Argentina during the ISI period applying the social network analysis method. In this work we argue that the corporate network in Argentina during the ISI period was characterized by a high level of fragmentation. If interlocking directorates can be considered an expression of the cohesion of the corporate elite, our findings show the limited joint capacity of the corporate network to coordinate economic and business activities. This article also posits that the cohesion of the boards’ network declined between 1954 and 1970. A change in large companies’ ownership structure drove a shif...

This article investigates the behavior and cohesion of the Argentine business elite during the period of import substitution industrialization (ISI) analyzing the interlocking directorates between 1954 and 1970-1971. This study provides the first relational map of large companies and banks in Argentina during the ISI period applying the social network analysis method. In this work we argue that the corporate network in Argentina during the ISI period was characterized by a high level of fragmentation. If interlocking directorates can be considered an expression of the cohesion of the corporate elite, our findings show the limited joint capacity of the corporate network to coordinate economic and business activities. This article also posits that the cohesion of the boards’ network declined between 1954 and 1970. A change in large companies’ ownership structure drove a shift in the in...

This article analyzes the local and global factors that shaped direct foreign investment in Argentina. Using information provided by a new database on foreign companies in Argentina (BDEEA-FCAD), an analysis is carried out of the changes in organizational structures and entry strategies of the 100 largest foreign multinationals during the period of state-led industrialization when these companies were attracted by the expansion in industrial demand within a protected economy. The central argument of this article is that Argentina was a host economy that was very open to foreign direct investment (FDI) during the period of state-led industrialization when foreign firms increased their holdings through the acquisition of Argentine companies, the creation of joint ventures, and participation in local companies.

El artículo analiza los factores locales y globales que explican los ciclos de entrada de empresas extranjeras en Argentina. En base a la información proporcionada por una nueva base de datos sobre empresas extranjeras en el país (BDEEA-FCAD), se analizan los cambios en las estructuras organizativas y las estrategias de entrada de las cien mayores multinacionales extranjeras durante el periodo de industrialización dirigida por el Estado, empresas atraídas por la expansión de la demanda industrial en una economía protegida. El argumento central del trabajo es que Argentina fue una economía receptora abierta a la inversión extranjera directa (IED) en el periodo de industrialización dirigida por el Estado, cuando las firmas extranjeras acentuaron su inserción mediante la adquisición de firmas nacionales, la formación de joint ventures y la participación en empresas locales.