Ourselves: Welfare Capitalism in the Larkin Company, 1900–1939

Abstract

The Larkin Company, a hybrid soap manufacturer and premium mail-order business, founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1875, created a unique corporate culture of “Larkinites”—employees, executives and managers, and customers—by the early twentieth century. In order to build and sustain this culture, it became active in the welfare capitalism movement during the early 1900s. Welfare capitalism and the company’s financial fortunes rose in sync between 1900 and 1920, but, owing to a variety of external and internal factors, the company’s financial success began to decline beginning during the 1920s and worsened during the 1930s. As the company deteriorated, so too did its welfare programs. This case shows the potential hazards to employees of employer-based benefits.