Multinationals, International Cartels and National Powers. The Case of the Plate Glass Industry in Interwar Italy

This chapter discusses how, during the interwar period, the multinational enterprise Saint Gobain was forced to significantly adapt to changing conditions in the national Italian plate glass market. At this time, the French multinational led the international plate glass cartel. Until the early 1930s, both the cartel and Saint Gobain used the Italian market to absorb excess glass produced in other nations. Within Italy, Saint Gobain's strategy was to support the spread of a glass production technology that slowed overall productionvity, but which also hindered the diffusion of a more competitive process, strengthening its overall control of glass production within the country. This strategy became impossible after 1934 when the Italian balance of payments deteriorated, imports were banned, and nationalistic and autarkic policies were established. In these circumstances, Saint Gobain took the opportunity to establish a national cartel, aligning its strategy with the economic and political goals of the Fascist regime. This contribution explores this process of adaptation, revealing a case study in which a multinational firm shifted its focus from an international to a national cartel, to take advantage of a foreign nation's nationalistic policies.