How to Study Game Publishers: Activision Blizzard’s Corporate History

There is little disagreement among game scholars about the important, if not crucial role of game publishers in the wider game industry. Yet, there is surprisingly little literature on the role of individual game publishers, let alone their publishing strategies. Drawing on critical political economic theory, document analysis is conducted on financial statements of global game publisher Activision Blizzard. Its 2010 publishing deal with game studio Bungie and the 2015 acquisition of King Digital Entertainment serve as case studies to analyse game publishers’ role in the formatting of cultural commodities and the subsequent rationalization of game production. Despite the increased accessibility of game development and distribution platforms, publishing power is still a significant institutional force to be reckoned with.

Rola i zadania archiwów biznesowych w świetle dorobku Sekcji Archiwów Biznesowych Międzynarodowej Rady Archiwów a perspektywy rozwoju polskich archiwów biznesowych

Celem artykułu jest inicjacja dyskusji nad możliwościami rozwoju archiwistyki biznesowej w Polsce w świetle dorobku i corocznych konferencji Sekcji Archiwów Biznesowych Międzynarodowej Rady Archiwów (ICA SBA). Artykuł zawiera streszczenia 14 konferencji zorganizowanych w latach 2010–2021 oraz 4 monografii pokonferencyjnych wydanych przez ICA SBA. Dodatkowo w artykule szczegółowo omówiona została publikacja The International Business Archives Handbook stanowiąca jedno z najważniejszych osiągnięć w dotychczasowym dorobku międzynarodowej społeczności archiwistów biznesowych. Przegląd tematyki poszczególnych konferencji oraz dorobku piśmienniczego uwzględnia szeroką gamę zagadnień, takich jak: definicja i specyfika archiwum biznesowego; różnorodność modeli funkcjonowania archiwów biznesowych na świecie; rola archiwistów biznesowych i ich relacje z wewnętrznymi i zewnętrznymi interesariuszami organizacji; wykorzystanie archiwów w marketingu i podnoszeniu wartości firm; organizacja projektów obchodów rocznicowych i badań historii korporacyjnych; relacja pomiędzy światem archiwów a światem innowacji, mediów społecznościowych i nowych technologii; rola archiwów w promocji zrównoważonego rozwoju oraz fundamentalne znaczenie etyki i zaufania w działalności archiwów biznesowych. Ostatnia część artykułu poświęcona została próbie diagnozy sytuacji i kierunków rozwoju archiwistyki biznesowej w Polsce, stanowiąc zaproszenie do podjęcia szerszej dyskusji na ten temat i aktywności polskich archiwistów na forum ICA SBA. The role and tasks of business archives in the light of the achievements of International Council on Archives Section on Business Archives and prospects for development of Polish business archives The aim of the article is to initiate a discussion about the potential for the development of business archives in Poland in the light of the achievements and annual conferences of the International Council on Archives Section on Business Archives (ICA SBA). The article includes summaries of 14 conferences organized between 2010–2021, as well as 4 publications containing conference proceedings published by ICA SBA. Additionally, the article discusses in detail the monograph entitled The International Business Archives Handbook, which to this day constitutes one of the most important achievements in the international community of business archivists. The review of literature and debates during individual conferences cover a wide range of topics including: definition and characteristics of the business archive; diversity of business archives models functioning around the world; the role of business archivists and their relations with internal and external stakeholders of the organization; potential use of archives in marketing and increasing the value of companies; organization of anniversary projects and corporate history writing; the relationship between the world of archives and the world of innovation, social media and new technologies; the role of business archives in promoting sustainable development; and the fundamental importance of ethics and trust in the business archives activities. The last part of the article is devoted to diagnosing the situation and potential for the development of Polish business archives and ends with an open invitation to a wider discussion and active participation of Polish archivists in the international forum of ICA SBA.

Viewing Corporations as Information Ecosystems: The Case of IBM, 1914–1980s

Corporations can be viewed as large information ecosystems, not more narrowly as corporate entities, and the author uses the example of IBM to defend this point. This essay illustrates issues and topics that can be studied to enhance understanding of corporate history, building on prior methods used by scholars. It builds on research the author performed in writing a history of IBM from the 1880s to the present.

Historical Methods for Researching Identities in Organizations

The historic turn in organization studies has given rise to increasing interest in historical methods. In parallel, the cultural turn in business history is associated with concerns beyond narratives of corporate success or failure. But as yet there has been limited historical research on identities in organizations. This chapter sets out historical methods appropriate for examining identities, focusing on exemplars of ethnographic historical research. Whereas corporate history prizes historical sources such as company board minutes, and organizational identity can be researched from corporate communications such as company magazines, it is more difficult to compile a checklist of historical sources for examining identities in organizations. Historical research on clerks and entrepreneurs illustrates the range of sources that could be considered. However, the focus on such literate groups in society also highlights the problem of survivor bias in sources, which historians describe as the silence of the archives.