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Multilateral Contracting in Australian Mining: The Development of Hamersley Iron, 1961–1966

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2015

Gordon Boyce
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Abstract

Management theory andtransaction cost economics provide few insights into the dynamics of multilateral negotiations. A host of factors suggest that complex transactions—especially those that involve government agencies—face a high probability of failure. Yet history records many examples of successful multiple-party transactions. Using the records of a major Australian iron ore mining venture, Hamersley Iron, this article reveals a number of the tactics that are usedto engineer an agreement when the parties concerned have conflicting objectives, different cultural affiliations, and distinctive institutional ties. The essay also exposes some of the devices that the Japanese steel industry—Hamersley’s main customer—used to secure competitive advantages in raw material procurement during the industry’s rise to international prominence.

Type
Articles
Information
Enterprise & Society , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , September 2001 , pp. 543 - 575
Copyright
Copyright © Enterprise and Society 2001

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References

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