It featured approximately 10,000 short biographical entries for Norwegian businesspeople, and was edited by Einar Hoffstad (1894–1959).
[6] The editor, Einar Hoffstad, stated in the foreword of the encyclopedia that it was not a parallel to the Who's Who reference works, although the title could imply that.
[2] Hoffstad argued that Merkantilt biografisk leksikon featured too few and too many names for being a Who is Who—too few from areas such as art, literature, science and politics, whilst too many from the enterprise.
[2] The notability standards for the encyclopedia were mostly based on the discretion of the staff, and whether the portrayed individuals were of general interest at the time.
The reviewer found it "unbelievable" that the book was being offered, and that "gullible" people paid 20 kr to buy it.