1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910795657803321

Autore

Doleshal Zachary Austin

Titolo

In the Kingdom of Shoes : Bata, Zlín, Globalization, 1894-1945 / / Zachary Austin Doleshal

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, Ontario : , : University of Toronto Press, , [2021]

©2021

ISBN

1-4875-3447-7

1-4875-3446-9

Edizione

[First edition.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Classificazione

cci1icc

Disciplina

338.4/768530943725

Soggetti

Footwear industry - Czech Republic - Zlín - History - 20th century

Company towns - Czech Republic - Zlín - History - 20th century

Labor and globalization - Czech Republic - History - 20th century

World War, 1939-1945 - Czechoslovakia

Corporate culture - Czech Republic - Zlín - History - 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Terms -- Introduction -- 1 "A New Fixed Existence": The Modernization of Zlín -- 2 "Time Es Money": The Americanization of the Dřevnice Valley, 1914-1923 -- 3 "An End to Politics," 1923-1926 -- 4 "Speak Briefly": Rationalization and Everyday Life, 1926-1932 -- 5 "Half the World Is Barefoot": The Globalization of the Bat'a System, 1931-1937 -- 6 "The Path of Perfection": Engineering the Batovci for an Uncertain World, 1933-1938 -- 7 "Everyone Gives Their Soul to Their Country," 1937-1939 -- 8 "Not a Nazi, but More or Less a Fool," 1939-1945 -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

"One of the world's largest sellers of footwear, the Bata Company of Zlín, Moravia, has a remarkable history that touches on crucial aspects of what made the world modern. In the twilight of the Habsburg Empire, it Americanized its production model while also trying to Americanize its workforce. In the chaos of postwar Czechoslovakia, it promised a technocratic form of governance. During the Roaring Twenties, Bata became synonymous with rationalization across Europe



and thus a flashpoint for a continent-wide debate. In the Great Depression, Bata globalized when others contracted, and in doing so, became the first shoe company to unlock the potential of globalization. As Bata expanded worldwide, it became an example of corporate national indifference, where company personnel were trained to be able to slip into and out of national identifications with ease. Such indifference, however, was seriously challenged by the geopolitical crisis of the 1930s. Bata management turned nationalist, even fascist, on the cusp of the Second World War."--