Contemporary Capitalism and Management: Change Amid Continuity

What is new in terms of French capitalism and management at the start of the twenty-first century compared to the 1970s? Most obviously, a more rootless financial capitalism and professional American managerialism are both much more widespread. At the same time the influence of the past is still very strong. As Serge Weinberg, the chairman of the Pinault-Printemps-Redoute group reminds us: ‘We still live in France with the idea of the divine right of the boss’ (Le Monde, 19 July 2002). While weakened, family and close-knit educational elite networks still hold the keys to doing successful business in product and financial markets. Equally, while American managerialism continues to spread, it is still being cherry-picked for those aspects that build upon existing managerial behaviours. Overall, change and restructuring of aspects of capitalism and management only marginally outweigh the experience of continuity. The market-driven world view of the centrality of individual liberté has become more influential, and ideas of fraternal social responsibility and egalitarianism less so. Yet, the strength of the two latter ideological perspectives continues to provide both a myriad of restraints upon French capital, and poles of resistance to the ‘inevitability’ of France’s complete adaptation to the American model.