抄録
As widely recognized, one of the characteristics of german company law since 1870 is shown in the provisions of the Aufsichtsrat as a compulsory organ. This legal institution was established simultaneously with the marked development of big business. Therefore, interaction between company law and large business organization raises an important issue of german business history. But we have still few empirical study of Aufsichtsrat in its historical reality. Moreover, decisive points of the problem; its meanings and functions in the dynamics of entrepreneurial activties have been remained a tabula rasa. Only the relation to amalgamation, relations between banking and industry, or interlockings have been roughly outlined in some eptomizing works. The real situations of Aufsichtsrat in the course of making integrated, multi-functioned big business seems to be most rich soil of german business history that is not yet ploughed.
In this essay a preparatory approach is tried to analyze concretely the institutional and functional dimensions of Aufsichtsrat during the turn of the century through cases of three famous companies, namely : Mannesmann-Röhren, Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG and Harpener Bergbau-AG.
As a result, it would hot be allowed to induce any solid and general conclusion from these few cases. But it is fairly sure that a combination of top figures of Aufsichtsrat and Vorstand (executives) had been appeared as the top management de facto, which had acted as entrepreneur in decision making of big business. In fact, they also inclined to become the same social status group in the Kaiserreich. Effective analysis of the process and character of emergence of so-called managerial capitalism in Germany cannot be expected without further empirical as well as theoretical research on this group.
