Théorie économique et principes de gestion des entreprises privées

[eng] SUMMARY Because we may discern profound differences of concern of vocabulary and of thinking habits between theorists on one hand and praticians on the other hand controversy concerning marginal cost sounds sometimes like dialogue between deaf men The interest of works situated half way between theory and practice such as those which compose the Betriebs wirtschaftslehre is derived from those differences Its evidence is first shown in the form of summary of marginal adap tations described in the works of Schmalenbach and Gutenberg They confirm the predominance of linear functions in those which concerns total costs the practice of full cost and also the determination of selling prices The systématisation of the authors studied conserves nevertheless the tra ditional framework i.e the hypothesis of passive adjustment of firm to some fundamental ideas objectively defined This interpretation appears to be incomplete on that it does not give enough importance to the essentialy active role in production Thus precisely it cannot account for particular forms that the business Itself gives to its functions of production and of selling not only by formal simplification but by deliberate manipulation conducing to the growth of efficiency Fin ly positive theory of private enterprise appears to be conceivable where it integrates the dynamic analysis and the sociological interpretation of that institution