Canada's Polymer Corporation: The crown, technological innovation, and the pursuit of economic interest, 1942--1990

Crown corporations are widely regarded as a quintessentially-Canadian invention. Since 1841, they have been dexterously implemented and hotly debated as instruments of public policy. This is the history of the birth and evolution of one such crown corporation---Canada's leading synthetic rubber producer---and the play of public policy and commercial enterprise upon it.;Rubber has been an indispensable ingredient of modern industry; its malleable properties minimize the wear and tear of mechanical existence. When the Japanese military poured into Southeast Asia in December, 1941, cutting off the Allies' supply of natural rubber, Ottawa's response was to create a crown company, Polymer Corporation Ltd., to oversee the construction and operation of a synthetic rubber plant at Sarnia, Ontario. During the war, Polymer met all of Canada's rubber needs. After the war, it became a model of state-owned industrial success. How it did so is the subject of this work.;In Canada, crown corporations have always been expected to perform---albeit somewhat paradoxically---both policy and commercial roles. Polymer was unique in that, for most of its existence, the emphasis was on the latter function. Making money was its raison d'etre. In the process of turning a profit, however, Polymer incidentally served a public purpose---initially winning the war and latterly giving Canada a leading-edge presence in the global synthetic rubber industry.;Given Polymer's duality of function, this thesis proceeds on two levels. At one level it explores the politics of public enterprise by focusing on developments at Polymer from its inception in 1942 to the time of its purchase by the German-owned A. G. Bayer company in 1990. The questions which are explored here include: the rationale for establishing Polymer; Polymer's changing role as an instrument of policy and the extent to which it fulfilled its mission; the standards to which Polymer was held accountable; and the politics of multi-nationalization and privatization.;On another level this dissertation examines the growth of a firm. It investigates how this unique corporation managed to expand and prosper. It seeks to identify the challenges which Polymer faced as a commercial enterprise and its response to those challenges. It explores Polymer's strategies and structures in the context of international business developments; the role of science and technology in the growth of the firm; the relationship between profits and innovation; and the dynamics of corporate decision making.;Drawing on the rich Polymer collection at the National Archives of Canada and the informed continents and reflections of the men who led the corporation over a period of fifty years, the thesis concludes, that contrary to neo-conservative rhetoric, crown corporations can be both effective instruments of public policy and dynamic and profitable commercial enterprises.