シエルとスタンダードの経営行動 : 二〇世紀初頭の「石油戦争」を廻って

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The total illuminating oil sale in Britain reached a peak by growing use of manufactured gas and electricity for light in the early twentieth century. Stauadard, which established a dominant position in the British illuminating oil market, was challenged by competitors at this period. The active rivals for Standard were the leading two representatives of the Rus-sian petroleum industry, the Nobels and the Rothschilds. Their re-entered the British market by organizing their united marketing company in 1900. Moreover, Shell also entered this market two years later. Barred by its contract with the Rothschilds from selling Russian oil in Europe, Shell arranged to purchase Texan oil from Gulf Refining. Shell established a marketing company in Europe with the Deutsche Bank. Marcus Samuel, president of Shell, convinced that the age of fuel oil was dawning in the opening years of the twentieth century. Though fuel oil was superior to coal, it was too expensive to be used by merchant shipowners, railway companies and industrialists. It failed to make inroads into the market before the First World War. Eventually, Shell was obliged to convert its sales policy from fuel oil to illuminating oil. Shell was involved in the severe price war, during 1904 and 1905, waged by Standard and its rival competitors in the British market for illuminating oil. The means used by Standard to secure for itself the position of domination was price cutting, which was often employed in order to inducecompetitors to enter into agreements. Standard bought large quantities of Russian and Roumanian illuminating oil for sale in Britain, and did cut price with them as well as American oil. Losses from price cutting and other factors caused Shell to withdraw from the Continental illuminating oil market in 1906. Shell merged into Royal Dutch in the following year. On the other hand, the Nobels and the Rothschilds combined with the Deutsche Bank to from a marketing cartel. Market sharing agreement between Standard and the cartel for a time brought about a measure of price stability.