Study title

H. Schijf built a database of the networks of interlocking directorates among Dutch joint-stock companies around 1900. He collected data about the Dutch business elite for the years 1886 and 1902 from De Nederlandsche Naamlooze Vennootschappen. Schijf selected the largest companies by sector. He included all companies with an amount of capital that was higher than the average in the sector. This resulted in 142 companies in 1886. Between 1886 and 1902, 38 of these 142 companies disappeared from the sample. Thus, the 1902 database contains 104 companies. The database contains the following information for each corporation: the year the company was founded, the city where it is located, and the sector in which it operates. The database also includes the names and function(s) of the directors. In addition, the database contains biographical data on the interlocking directors in 1886 and 1902. In 1886, 197 interlocking directors occupy 528 of the 1102 positions in the 142 largest companies. In 1902, the 134 interlockers hold 539 of the 863 positions in 104 companies. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Dutch business elites were connected through a dense network of interlocking directorates.