INSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY AND BUSINESS MODEL TRANSFORMATION: THE CASE OF C. WHITTALL & CO. IN OTTOMAN İZMIR (SMYRNA), 1811-1911

This article examines the century-long (1811-1911) institutional continuity and business model transformation of the Levantine firm C. Whittall & Co. in Ottoman İzmir (Smyrna) using a business history approach. It shows how the company transitioned from an import-led start to an export-oriented trade by the mid-nineteenth century, seeking lower risk and more predictable returns. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it expanded into production and manufacturing in specific areas, including valonia tanning extracts, cottonseed oil, and dried-fruit operations, creating a hybrid trade-manufacturing model. Based on the firm’s 1912 centenary booklet and family/corporate archives, the study finds that continuity depended on more than generational succession: disciplined record-keeping, reputational capital, an expanding agency/branch network, and tighter control of logistics (transport and shipment) were central. Capitulations and consular protection are treated as an uncertainty-reducing institutional framework rather than simple privileges.