The obsolescing bargain model and oil: the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company 1933–1951

We employ archival evidence to investigate events culminating in the nationalisation of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) in 1951, which followed disagreements over profit allocations arising from a previously negotiated concession. The case study expands the traditional obsolescing bargain model (OBM) by accommodating the use and impact of accounting information in negotiation contexts. The analysis reveals that managerial control and the deployment of accounting information by the AIOC temporarily strengthened its bargaining power vis-à-vis the Iranian government leading up to the nationalisation crisis, demonstrating the potential importance of these new dimensions in wider contexts.