Relationship-based finance in changing European banking scenarios: The case of Parent Schaken et Compagnie (1835-66)

At a time when formal (impersonal) markets for credit were at an embryonic stage, the role of social relationships in raising funds for new ventures was crucial. ‘Investment tended to be a cumulative social process’ where trust and reputation played a role. Strong kinship and business ties linking partnership members were therefore critical in facilitating the flow of capital into new ventures. The way the diversified and broad-ranging businesses (railways, mines and public utilities) undertaken by the Paris-based partnership Parent Schaken et C.ie (P&S) were funded illustrates an important point about this topic. By making use of the basic tools of the Social Network Analysis, the authors show the P&S network of interpersonal relationships evolved and just how it mattered in facing the changing European financial scenarios, when long-term investment developed and impersonal money markets took shape.