Klaus Brockhoff is an emeritus professor. He has taught innovation management, business strategy, and history of ideas in management at the University of Kiel (Germany) and WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management (Germany). His research is published in leading journals both nationally and internationally, such as Management Science, Econometrica, Research Policy, R&D Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, the Journal of Product Innovation Management, the Journal of Management History, Schmalenbach Business Review, and the Journal of Business Economics, and he has authored a number of books. He led academic associations and served as a consultant to governmental and private institutions.

Part I: Before the Institutionalization of Business Administration as a Science.- 1. Early Devices and Techniques in Western Asia and the Near East.- 2. Management of Homes, Estates and Trade in Europe until the Middle Ages.- 3. The age of Enlightenment and beyond in Europe.- 4. Three Streams of Economic Knowledge Generation in 19^th Century Europe.- Part II: Criteria for Business Administration as a Science.- 5. Indicators of a Science and Models of its Development.- 6. Scientific Progress in General and in Business Administration.- 7. Emerging Scientific Infrastructure for Business Administration.- Part III: The Institutionalized Science.- 8. In Search of an Objective Function and a Name.- 9. Decline under Political Influences and two New Beginnings - the Cases of Germany.- 10. Sketches on Developing Specializations.- Part IV: Limitations, further Needs and Lessons Learned.- 11. Limitations and further Needs.- 12. Lessons Learned: Reasons for Histories of Management Ideas.