It is a great honor to present this, the first issue of Enterprise and Society of my term as Editor-in-Chief. I immediately want to acknowledge the work of my predecessors, Philip Scranton, Kenneth Lipartito, and William Hausman. Together, they have laid down the firmest of foundations on which to build. All of us in the broad field of business history owe them a debt of gratitude; their work as writers and editors has enormously enriched our domain and its contributions, scope, and potential. The work of all three had a profound effect on my own scholarship and writing. They taught me lessons that applied directly to my own work but they also showed me just how exciting, engaging, challenging, and—most important of all—how vital business history can be. Each of them revealed to me business history’s existing scope and future possibilities. Equally central to the success of this journal has been the ongoing commitment of the Business History Conference and its committees, officers, trustees, and membership. I want to thank the Print Media Oversight Committee (PMOC), headed by Al Churella, for the professionalism with which they handled the search process—and for placing their trust in me.

I am fortunate to inherit a journal in remarkably good shape. Will Hausman faced the hard, groundbreaking work of first establishing Enterprise and Society, Ken Lipartito that of steering it through financially perilous waters, and Phil Scranton of consolidating growing success and handling the tricky transition to electronic editorial processes. Now we rightly claim a place in the top rank of journals in business and economic history and boast a wide appeal in other domains. I believe that we regularly publish the most exciting and innovative business history research. Finances are robust and the journal regularly makes a healthy net contribution to the Business History Conference. Technological systems are fully embedded. However, there is no doubt that significant challenges remain.

The economics of academic publishing are changing dramatically, with the shift to electronic platforms and the approaching reality of open access. Electronic subscriptions and individual downloads, not print subscriptions, are now most important to revenue. Readers are not only more likely to access our research on screen rather than on paper, but they also relate to journals differently, selecting articles from a much wider range of sources. The idea of scholars identifying with a journal as core to their particular field is perhaps starting to break down. The diversity of conversations this encourages can only be seen as good, but it makes identifying a key audience more difficult. I hope that Enterprise and Society will continue to speak to many and in many voices. This reflects disciplinary and institutional realities. Core business history, as conventionally defined, often sits at the margins of schools, and it is no doubt in decline in some places. Business historians sometimes find themselves misunderstood by both colleagues and management. This can apply equally in a history department and a business school. However, the pool of people interested in the history of enterprise and its relation to society grows exponentially—and it is exactly at these intersections that Enterprise and Society has always worked and, I believe and hope, will continue to work. So, again, challenge is also opportunity. Given the uncertain and unsteady emergence of the world from the 2007–2008 crisis, understanding the historical dynamics of our respective business systems, in the fullest sense, has never been more important or important to more people.

Publishers are vital to any journal hoping to survive and flourish in the current climate. Enterprise and Society has been published by Oxford University Press since it was established. We acknowledge and thank Oxford wholeheartedly for its generous support for the journal and the association. The relationship has been an extremely positive and important one for both parties. However, this issue marks not only a change in editorship but also a change in publisher, to Cambridge University Press. We believe this is an exciting new development that promises both continued financial success and new opportunities to work across the wide stable of cognate journals published by Cambridge. The Business History Conference is deeply indebted to Ed Balleisen—ably supported by Roger Horowitz and other members of the PMOC—for his stalwart work in leading negotiations with both Oxford and Cambridge.

I do not intend to offer a detailed editorial program here. A journal is shaped by its readership and contributors. However, I do want to emphasize some key commitments and principles. First, and most important, under my editorship Enterprise and Society will remain a journal of historical scholarship, dedicated to the methods and priorities of that broad field. As I hope I have already made clear, this does not preclude dialogue with other approaches and traditions—indeed, such dialogue is actively encouraged. However, historical scholarship is the ground on which we stand and from which we reach out. I hope to encourage methodological innovation, transparency, and diversity. Thinking more critically and subtly about business history practice as history will, I believe, lead to a stronger discipline with greater confidence in the contribution it has to make. Across increasing swaths of the globe, the business enterprise has played an increasingly central role in a series of the most fundamental changes, not only in the economic sphere but also in those of society, culture, politics, and more. These are long-run, historically situated processes that demand historical understanding and explanation. My primary intellectual ambition would be for Enterprise and Society to take the lead in establishing business history at the heart, not the periphery, of those wider historical debates and explanations. I believe that we can make the journal the first point of reference for all authors and readers—whether or not they identify as business historians—who are interested in the historical intersections between business and the wider contexts within which it operates.

In his first introduction as editor, Phil Scranton speculated on the potential of business history to come to the center of broader narratives in American history. Similarly, in making my initial application, I identified a number of key debates to which I thought business history had the potential to make this vital contribution. They included the following:

• • Business and wealth; its meaning, estimation, creation, and distribution

• • Business and power: ideology and practice

• • Business and the creation and recreation of social structures

• • Business and the redefinition of nations and other units of belonging

• • Business and the commodification of public life and spaces, both built and natural

• • Business and the “texture” of everyday life

Within each of these might sit a plethora of potential detailed research programs. However, this is just one set of possibilities. There are many more.

Second, the subtitle of Enterprise and Society is “the international journal of business history.” That claim is undoubtedly fully warranted, but a wider and deeper internationalization of every aspect of the journal, its editorial team, its contributors, their subjects, and its readership, is vital and one that will be actively pursued through appointments to roles such as associate editorships and members of the Editorial Advisory Board, as well as in the solicitation and encouragement of submissions. To that end, we welcome Teresa da Silva Lopes (University of York, UK) and Manuel Llorca-Jana (University of Santiago, Chile) to the editorial board for terms starting in January 2015. Joining the board at the same time are Barbara Hahn (Texas Tech University and University of Leeds, UK) and Stephen B. Adams (Salisbury State University). I am delighted that Philip Scranton has accepted my invitation to stay on as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board. I thank them and all continuing and retiring members of the Editorial Advisory Board. My promotion to Editor-in-Chief has created space in the ranks of associate editors. I was delighted when Shane Hamilton (University of Georgia) accepted my invitation to fulfil this important role. I look forward to working with him over the coming years. Finally and most importantly, though, I make a commitment to maintain the highest standards of editorial professionalism established by Will, Ken, and Phil.

Now, let’s get down to business. This issue features articles that range in their subject matter from Danish bacon to California grapes and Singaporean advertising, via state-business relations in Turkey and the power of tipping. In other words, these are exactly the kind of diverse, fascinating, and provocative essays we have come to expect from Enterprise and Society. As usual, the issue is rounded out with a selection of book reviews. I truly hope you enjoy our selection. Of course, I will also welcome your feedback as we take the journal forward.