Bertlesmann: Before, during and after Middelhoff

In 1849, Heinrich Bertelsmann (Heinrich), Carl's son, took over the management of the publishing house. Heinrich added fiction and non-fiction books to the existing theology publications. He also launched the 'Konservative Volksfreund' newspaper in 1862. After Heinrich's death in 1887, Johannes Mohn, his son-in-law, took over Bertelsmann. Through the early decades of the twentieth century, Heinrich Mohn, who succeeded Johannes Mohn, took the company to great heights in the publishing business. He published all sorts of literature, from classical literature to mass-market fiction. He later added entertainment literature to the company's publishing range. Heinrich Mohn also developed novel methods of selling and distribution.

In 1950, the company began direct distribution of its publications under the phenomenally successful 'Bertelsmann Lesering' venture.⁵ In the 1950s, Bertelsmann entered into various other businesses such as offset printing and music recording. To manage the rapidly growing company effectively, Reinhard Mohn created a decentralized corporate structure in 1959. He believed that managers worked better when given complete charge of their divisions (as if they were the owners). Under the decentralized setup, each division of Bertelsmann operated as a distinct profit center. The managers of these profit centers were given high levels of autonomy and the freedom to diversify and expand the operations of their centers. Bertelsmann also offered high performance-based compensations to managers of these independent profit centers...