The brewing industry, through its network of public houses, has a profound impact on the lives of much of the population of United Kingdom. This book explores the shaping of the industry in the years from 1950-1990, showing how the industry has moved from being largely concerned with the technical issues of production to being a key part of the retail industries.

Utilizing resources drawn from theoretical traditions such as critical realism and new institutionalism Strategic and Organizational Change demonstrates the considerable differences between major companies in the industry and the ways in which they have adopted a retailing approach. At the heart of the book is an exploration of the relationship between managerial choice and the structural constraints and opportunities in which that choice was exercised. Using a much more historical approach than is normally met with in accounts of organizational strategy, the book draws on extensive archival material.

Strategic and Organizational Change suggests new ways of thinking about organizational strategizing in its context. Showing how ideas drawn from traditions like critical realism can be applied, the book provides a new model of how history can inform the analysis of organizational strategy. Above all Alistair Mutch presents a fascinating story of change in an industry which is taken for granted, but whose actions affect, for good or ill, the lives of millions.