Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2008
  • Chapter
  • Business Archives. Reflections and Speculations

Business Archives and Overcoming Survivor Bias

By: G. Jones
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Among the most longstanding criticisms of business history as an academic discipline is the bias caused towards studying successful firms rather than failures, and the related use of longevity as a major criterion for success. The grand narratives of business history have been focused on the firms that got their strategies and organizations "right," rather than those that got them wrong, and towards the winners rather than the losers. This paper explores how corporate archives can be used to correct this bias, as they often contain the archives of firms.

Keywords

Business Ventures; Business History; Archives; Failure; Success

Citation

Jones, G. "Business Archives and Overcoming Survivor Bias." In Business Archives. Reflections and Speculations, edited by M. Anson. London: Business Archives Council, 2008.

About The Author

Geoffrey G. Jones

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • 2021
    • Faculty Research

    International Business History and the Strategy of Multinational Enterprises: How History Matters

    By: Geoffrey Jones and Teresa da Silva Lopes
    • 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Bollywood, Skin Color and Sexism: The Role of the Film Industry in Emboldening and Contesting Stereotypes in India after Independence

    By: Sudev Sheth, Geoffrey Jones and Morgan Spencer
    • December 2020
    • Faculty Research

    George Soros: The Stateless Statesman

    By: Geoffrey Jones and Grace Ballor
More from the Author
  • International Business History and the Strategy of Multinational Enterprises: How History Matters By: Geoffrey Jones and Teresa da Silva Lopes
  • Bollywood, Skin Color and Sexism: The Role of the Film Industry in Emboldening and Contesting Stereotypes in India after Independence By: Sudev Sheth, Geoffrey Jones and Morgan Spencer
  • George Soros: The Stateless Statesman By: Geoffrey Jones and Grace Ballor
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College