La naissance du contrôle budgétaire en France (1930-1960) : rôle des consultants, apprentissage organisationnel et jeu des acteurs chez Pechiney et Saint-Gobain

In the period 1930-1960, steps toward budgetary control were taken in two of the most important French companies. In each case they were led by consulting firms with common origins but the resulting applications of control turned out to be markedly different. This diversity is difficult to understand given the relative continuity of management, of links between consultants and apparent similarity of production processes. The article seeks to explain the divergent outcomes by using theoretical approaches derived from oganisational learning and strategic analysis.