The first aim of this study is an attempt to validate the hypothesis that British manufacturing industries of a century ago lagged behind those of the US and Germany from the point of view of technology and organisation. The possible reasons for this condition of relative retardation that were examined (this was the study's main objective) include the quality of British entrepreneurship and management, trade-union job-protective and income-protective, policies and a variety of more narrowly economic possible reasons. But the main focus of this inquest was upon the nature of British entrepreneurial drives and responses. It was concluded that it was among those phenomena that the principle reasons for the relative lag were to be found.