Business History Conference
A professional academic organization supporting research, teaching, publication, and exchange in business history.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Business History Conference (BHC) is a professional scholarly organization devoted to the study, teaching, and public discussion of business history and the wider environments in which businesses operate. Founded in 1954 through a series of meetings associated with Northwestern University, it developed from an informal gathering of researchers into an established organization serving business and economic historians. Richard C. Overton, an American railroad historian, was its first president. The organization emerged during a period when economic history was becoming increasingly influenced by quantitative and cliometric methods. The BHC provided a forum in which scholars interested in institutional, organizational, cultural, political, and qualitative approaches to business history could continue to exchange ideas, while also accommodating methodological diversity. Its membership has traditionally included historians, though the organization engages with economists, management scholars, archivists, and researchers in related disciplines. The distinction is often drawn between the BHC's primarily historical membership and the more economics-centered orientation of organizations such as the Economic History Association. The BHC's central activity is its annual meeting, which brings together researchers to present work, discuss archival and methodological approaches, mentor emerging scholars, and build professional networks. The organization encourages international participation; approximately 30 percent of its membership is reported to reside outside North America. It has also held joint meetings with the European Business History Association, reflecting the increasingly transnational character of business-history research. Publication and information exchange are major parts of the BHC's work. The organization publishes Enterprise & Society, a quarterly academic journal focused on business history and related fields. It also disseminates selected papers from annual meetings through BEH On-Line and maintains a digital archive of the former proceedings journal Business and Economic History. H-Business, one of the early H-Net discussion lists, extends the organization's role as a scholarly communication network, while The Exchange provides online news and commentary relevant to business and economic historians. The BHC supports professional development through prizes, grants, and specialized programs. Its activities include the Hagley Prize in Business History, the Cambridge Journals Article Prize, travel-to-meeting grants, the Doctoral Dissertation Colloquium, and the Krooss Dissertation Prize. Internal groups and initiatives address the interests of women in business history, business historians working in business schools, and emerging scholars. Through these activities, the BHC functions less as a consumer-facing brand than as an academic membership association, publisher, conference organizer, and professional infrastructure provider. The conference is affiliated with the American Historical Association and H-Net and is a member of the International Economic History Association. Its continuing mission is to connect historical research on firms, industries, entrepreneurship, markets, labor, technology, finance, regulation, and business-government relations with broader debates about economic and social change.
History
The Business History Conference began in 1954 as a series of meetings held at Northwestern University. Rather than starting as a fully constituted professional association, it initially served as a recurring gathering for scholars interested in the history of business, firms, industries, and economic activity. Richard C. Overton, known for his work on railroad history, became the organization's first president. The BHC's early development took place against changes in the discipline of economic history. Quantitative and cliometric approaches were becoming increasingly influential, and some scholars sought to preserve room for qualitative, institutional, and narrative research. The BHC offered a setting in which these approaches could coexist and in which business history could be treated as a field with its own questions rather than merely as an application of economic theory. Meetings were held again in 1956 and 1958, followed by another important gathering in 1971, when the organization moved toward the structure of a continuing professional body. Over subsequent decades, the BHC established an annual meeting, a rotating presidential leadership, publication programs, prizes, and networks for scholars at different career stages. Its presidents have included prominent historians working on firms, technology, finance, entrepreneurship, regulation, international business, and the relationship between business and society. The organization has remained closely associated with historical scholarship while maintaining links to economists and researchers in management and related social sciences. Publication became a central element of the BHC's institutional role. The organization is associated with Enterprise & Society, a quarterly journal covering business history and adjacent areas of inquiry. It also makes selected conference papers available through BEH On-Line and preserves a full-text digital archive of Business and Economic History, its earlier proceedings publication. H-Business, an early H-Net discussion list, broadened the organization's capacity to circulate announcements, questions, teaching resources, and scholarly debate. The Exchange serves as an online outlet for news and topics of interest to the field. The BHC has increasingly presented itself as an international organization. Around 30 percent of its membership is based outside North America, and the conference has periodically collaborated with the European Business History Association on joint meetings. The organization is affiliated with the American Historical Association and H-Net and is a member of the International Economic History Association. Professional development has remained an important part of the BHC's mission. The organization sponsors the Hagley Prize in Business History, the Cambridge Journals Article Prize, and the Krooss Dissertation Prize. It supports attendance through travel-to-meeting grants and provides structured opportunities for doctoral researchers through its Doctoral Dissertation Colloquium. Subgroups and initiatives have also been used to support women in business history, historians teaching in business schools, and emerging scholars. Today, the BHC functions as a membership association, annual-conference organizer, publisher, archive, and professional network for the international business-history community.
- 2025
Rowena Olegario presidency
[1]Rowena Olegario began the 2025–2026 presidential term, continuing the BHC's rotating scholarly leadership model.
- 2000
International and interdisciplinary leadership
[1]Naomi Lamoreaux served as president during a period in which the organization's links between business history and economic history remained prominent.
- 1971
Transition toward a full professional organization
[1]After meetings in the 1950s and another in 1971, the BHC became a more permanent professional organization with continuing leadership and programming.
- 1956
Second recorded meeting
[1]The group reconvened as it developed from an informal scholarly gathering toward a continuing organization.
- 1954
Initial meetings at Northwestern University
[1]The organization was established through a series of meetings at Northwestern University focused on business and economic history.
Products and positioning
A multidisciplinary and internationally connected professional association for scholars of business history, combining an annual research conference with journals, digital archives, professional development, awards, and scholarly networking.
Academic conference · 1954
Annual Business History Conference
The BHC's principal recurring event brings together business and economic historians and scholars from related disciplines. It provides space for research presentations, panel discussions, mentoring, professional networking, and debate about methods and sources. International participation is actively encouraged, and the organization has periodically arranged joint meetings with the European Business History Association.
Academic journal
Enterprise & Society
A quarterly scholarly journal associated with the BHC that publishes research in business history and related areas. Its scope reflects the organization's interest in firms, markets, institutions, technology, management, labor, regulation, and the social and political environments surrounding business activity.
Digital proceedings
BEH On-Line
An online publication channel through which selected papers from the BHC's annual meetings are made available. It extends the reach of conference scholarship beyond the event itself and contributes to the preservation and circulation of business-history research.
Scholarly discussion network
H-Business
An H-Net discussion list operated by or associated with the BHC. It supports announcements, exchanges, and information sharing among researchers and teachers working in business history and neighboring fields.
Academic blog
The Exchange
An online publication focused on news and topics of interest to business and economic historians. It complements the BHC's formal journal and conference activities with a more timely channel for field-related information.
Academic support program
Professional awards and grants
The BHC sponsors awards and support programs including the Hagley Prize in Business History, the Cambridge Journals Article Prize, the Krooss Dissertation Prize, travel-to-meeting grants, and the Doctoral Dissertation Colloquium. Together these programs recognize scholarship and reduce barriers to participation for researchers at different career stages.
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