Business History in Times of Change: Cycles, Crises, and Recovery at Construcciones Calderón

Francisco Cabrera-Gallardo ()
Additional contact information
Francisco Cabrera-Gallardo: University of Jaén, Department of Economics

A chapter in Business Trajectories in the History of Spain, 2026, pp 137-148 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines the evolution of the construction sector in Spain through the case of Construcciones Calderón, a family business founded in 1949 that managed to adapt to the profound economic and social transformations of the country. Over seven decades, the company went from carrying out small local projects to participating in large infrastructure and urbanisation projects. The text analyses how Calderón navigated the sector’s cycles of boom and crisis, especially during Franco’s developmentalism, the real estate boom of the 1990s and 2000s, and the subsequent recession after 2008. It highlights the company’s ability to adapt through diversification, professionalisation, and intergenerational management. In addition, the chapter reflects on the contemporary challenges facing the sector—sustainability, digitalisation, and new forms of financing—based on the specific experience of this company. Overall, it offers a microhistorically view of a key sector for the Spanish economy.

Keywords: Construcciones Calderón; Construction Sector; Businessman biography; Family business; José Calderón (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:frochp:978-3-032-16214-4_10

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032162144

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-16214-4_10

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Frontiers in Economic History from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().