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This article discusses the relationship between the evolution of corporate structure and the structure of the financial systems within the U.S., British, German, French and Japanese economies during the first half of the twentieth century. The financial system of each of these economies exerted an important influence on the development of corporate structure, but did so largely through facilitating, rather then determining, organizational innovation. The financial system of each of these economies influenced the selection environment within which firms developed, but this environment reflected the operation of other factors as well. The relationship between the evolution of corporate and financial structure is an interactive one that exhibits considerable path-dependence; the array of economic and technological opportunities available to one firm or to one economy contrasts with that faced by another firm or economy at a different historical moment.