In this historical case study, the authors examine how firms embedded in international merchant networks responded strategically to deglobalization during the early nineteenth century. Drawing on extensive archival research across Liverpool and New York, the paper shows how networks enabled firms to navigate geopolitical conflict, sanctions, and trade disruption. By analysing five interconnected firms operating during the Napoleonic Wars and the Anglo-American War (1812–1815), the study identifies five categories of network-enabled strategic responses: reinforcement, adaptation, shared risk, lobbying, and exit. The findings highlight how embedded networks functioned not only as buffers, but as enablers of coordinated, and sometimes evasive, strategic action.
Authors and Affiliations
• Emily Buchnea (Humber Polytechnic)
• Nicholas D. Wong (Northumbria University)
