Between State and Market. Managerial Capitalism Italian Style: IRI, 1933-1970

Abstract

Taking advantage of the archives of IRI (Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale - Institute for Industrial Reconstruction), this article aims to look into the history of the State super- holding during a very significant period —1933-1970—. The entire venture of IRI can be analyzed through the biographical profiles of the most important managers of the super-holding, its holdings and the most relevant companies, starting with its creator Alberto Beneduce. He was the inventor of the “IRI formula” that combined state ownership with private shareholdings, even if in a minority position, and practiced a private managerial and entrepreneurial style. The next step is to look at the men forming the Italian “technocracy” of the thirties. Some of those men turned into the “Schumpeterian heroes” of the years defined as the “Economic Miracle”. The next generation knew more difficult times. These managers tried to put together profit and social goals. It was too much and signaled the beginning of the end of IRI.