Time flies and this issue brings to a close the eighteenth volume of Enterprise and Society. Now nearing the end of the third year of my term as Editor-in-Chief, it is a pleasure to find the role just as invigorating and stimulating as I did when I began. I hope our readers agree that the effort is worthwhile.

As is customary, our December issue carries the Business History Conference (BHC) presidential address. This year Walter Friedman, of Harvard Business School, presents an authoritative overview of the development of the field in an article entitled “Recent Trends in Business History Research: Capitalism, Democracy, and Innovation.” As is also customary, this issue carries summaries of the dissertations shortlisted for the Krooss Prize. This year’s finalists were Gerardo Con Diaz, Justene Hill, and Shaun Nichols. Once more, we cannot fail to be impressed by the quality of the work undertaken by these emerging scholars. We wish them well for the future and look forward to watching their development. The 2017 Krooss Prize was won by Gerardo Con Diaz for his thesis, entitled “Intangible Inventions: A History of Software Patenting in the United States, 1945–1985.”

At the same time, we are pleased to be able present a range of fascinating research articles. Jon Stobart invites us to enter those “cathedrals of consumption”: England’s provincial department stores of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Patricio Sáiz and Rafael Castro explore the entangled histories of intellectual property rights and Foreign Direct History in Spain, before Daniel Robert takes us back across the Atlantic to consider how U.S. corporations attempted to leverage customer stock ownership as a political strategy. Karolina Hutkova takes on technology transfers between Europe and India in the context of the East India Company and the Bengal silk industry. Finally, Chenxiao Xia explores the politics of electrifying Kyoto. Thus, in this single issue, we see the truly global reach of business history today.

I want to end by thanking all those that make the work we do at the journal possible: the Editorial Board; our Associate Editor Shane Hamilton (University of York), Per Hansen (Copenhagen Business School), and Sharon Murphy (Providence College); all those involved at Cambridge University Press, especially Diane Davis; and last but very definitely not least, Carol Lockman at Hagley. Finally, we must thank our referees. Without their diligence, application, and insight, our work would be impossible. Enterprise and Society is lucky to be served by such an outstanding roster of scholars. Those assisting E&S between September 2016 and August 2017 included:

• Michael Aldous

• Andrew Alexander

• Edward Balleisen

• Bernardo Batiz-Lazo

• Patrizia Battilani

• Hartmut Berghoff

• Nicola Bianchi

• Sean Bottomley

• Carlo Brambilla

• Angus Burgin

• Alan Campbell

• Christy Chapin

• David Clampin

• Roberto Davini

• Joshua Davis

• Jennifer Delton

• Ellen Denker

• Paolo DiMartino

• Pierre-Yves Donzé

• Roy Edwards

• Espen Ekberg

• Ernie Englander

• Marc Flandreau

• William Foster

• Billy Frank

• Raul Garcia-Heras

• Shennette Garrett-Scott

• Pal Germuska

• Pablo Gutierrez Gonzalez

• Sheryllynne Haggerty

• Gelina Harlaftis

• William Hausman

• Lars Heide

• Michael Heller

• Eric Hilt

• Richard Hirsh

• Martin Iversen

• John, Richard

• Jones, Charles

• Kikkawa, Takeo

• Jordan Landes

• Joseph Lane

• Knut Laser

• Josh Lauer

• Matt Lavine

• Marc Levinson

• Jonathan Levy

• Christopher McKenna

• David Merrett

• Stephen Mihm

• Rory Miller

• Ian Mitchell

• Ellen Mølgaard

• Simon Mollan

• Simon Mowatt

• Larry Neal

• Alessandro Nuvolari

• Rowena Olegario

• Kim Oosterlinck

• Robin Pearson

• Andrew Perchard

• Lawrence Peskin

• Sarah Quinn

• Paul Renfro

• Mary Rose

• Christine Rosen

• Janette Rutterford

• Harm Schröter

• Martin Shanahan

• Andrew Smith

• Ellen Spears

• James Taylor

• Stig Tenold

• Francesca Trivellato

• Pierre van der Eng

• Maartje van Gelder

• Sean Vanatta

• Michelangelo Vasta

• Grietjie Verhoef

• Simon Ville

• Benjamin Waterhouse

• Nicholas White

• Mark Wilson

• Wendy Woloson

• Jeffrey Womack

• Shakila Yacob

• Andreas Zangger