International Journal of Organizational Analysis

Barmeyer, Christoph ; Mayrhofer, Ulrike

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-06-2013-0676

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether characteristics of French organizations can be found in the Airbus Group, ancient European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) Group, and how these characteristics have evolved over time in comparison to German ones. Design/methodology/approach – This article presents an in-depth case study by using a contextual approach, considering influential factors which are likely to influence the evolution of organizations. Findings – The analysis shows that the Airbus Group reflects characteristics of French organizations: the importance of strategy, the principle of honour, centralization of decision and power, the role of the state in the capital and its influence via professional networks of its elite coming from the Grandes Ecoles. These findings confirm a relative continuity of national peculiarities over time. The recent evolution of the company also highlights the German influence, notably in terms of shares and management positions. Research limitations/implications – The case study demonstrates that the Airbus Group has become a multinational company where contextual elements and organizational structures regulate intercultural relationships of interests, influence and power. Originality/value – Five contextual factors are proposed, which allow to understand and structure the peculiarities of French organizations, in comparison to German ones as well as power distribution within the Airbus Group.

Maclean, Mairi ; Harvey, Charles

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-05-2013-0663

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore some of the distinctive features of organizing and organization in France which set it apart from organization in other nations, and which are fundamental to its modus operandi . In particular, this article is concerned with elite connectivity and concerted action by elite “connectors”. Design/methodology/approach – The research underpinning this article stems from a cross-national comparative project on business elites and corporate governance in France and the UK. This has three dimensions, being quantitative, qualitative and case study-based. Concerted action by the ruling elite is explored through two illustrative vignettes: the ousting from office of Jean-Marie Messier and State-sponsored expansion as pursued by EDF. Both examples shed light on the French business elite’s response to globalization and the development of international business. Findings – The paper finds elite cohesion to be achieved quite differently in the two countries. In addition, it finds that the ties that bind French connectors tend to be strong and institutionally based. Practical implications – The case of EDF suggests that the most ambitious of State-sponsored strategies can also be the most successful. It implies that elite ideologies in France have deviated relatively little from sentiments expressed by Rousseau and de Gaulle concerning the primacy of the national interest and the conviction that firms can serve as an (expansionist) instrument of the nation. The Messier case illuminates the pattern of close relationships among the French business elite. It demonstrates how a strategy of expansion may come unstuck when it is not grounded in the customary modes of business regulation. Originality/value – This research confirms a slight preference on the part of the French business elite for more homogenous ties. Against this, the paper demonstrates that a significant proportion of the French elite act as boundary spanners, brokering relationships with others from more distant parts of the wider network. The integration of the French elite in the Eurozone has potentially favored bridge-building relationships and weakened national embeddedness. This may contribute to the decline of indigenous interlocks, while promoting the further internationalization of top management teams. The implications of this for organizational strategy, firm survival and economic performance form an agenda for future research.

Segal, Jean-Pierre

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-06-2013-0682

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a more nuanced image of cooperation in France, first, insisting on the idiosyncratic conditions under which French will be likely to cooperate, and, second, pointing the importance of the local context, finally criticizing the average stereotyped image given by the intercultural management quantitative literature. Design/methodology/approach – The studies behind the article are based on qualitative data and on an interpretative analysis of culture, considered as a frame of meanings through which people read the organizational situation they are in. Findings – Advanced form of cooperation may be obtained when some balance can be established through subtle arrangement between organizational and cultural needs, i.e. allowing staff to escape from their founding fear of servility. Research limitations/implications – Such analysis of the conditions that can facilitate or hinder cooperation should not be limited to France. It may be applied to any other cultural area. Practical implications – Intercultural management training sessions for expatriates could benefit from this qualitative approach. Originality/value – This approach challenges the quantitative main Stream approach in cross-national studies on management.

R. Rojot, Jacques

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-06-2013-0684

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the dual paradox of French industrial relations. On the one hand, unions are numerically weak and bitterly divided but retain a significant influence. On the other hand, the social climate remains highly conflict-prone and marked by an ideological rhetoric opposing the wealthy oppressors to the exploited masses within a relatively prosperous society. Design/methodology/approach – The paper finds a historical explanation in constant features of French society. Findings – The paper found that specific concepts of freedom and equality shaped the present organization of industrial relations. Originality/value – The paper explains the structure and organization of unions and labor relations through societal elements structured historically.

Chanlat, Jean-François

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-09-2013-0708

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between language, thinking and society for explaining the degree of visibility of the French organizational studies (OS) production. Design/methodology/approach – This paper proposes a sociological analysis based on Bourdieu field to understand the variation of reception the French OS production have had among the Anglo-Saxon field. The paper aims to underline some key elements, which can explain the differences of reception experienced by the French OS scientists. The paper opted for a general review using historical data; reviews of OS literature; and Google scholar, Web of Science and major OS Journal data. Findings – The paper provides some evidence about how the degree of visibility of the French OS production is related to translation, cognitive and social resonance, producer place in the scientific network and relationship between the fields. It suggests that the degree of visibility is the result of a complex set of socio-cognitive schemes, social issues raised by the scholar and the place occupied by the researcher in the field. Originality/value – The paper brings interesting ideas concerning the international development of the OS field, the degree of visibility of diverse contributions coming from non-English speaking researchers, notably the French ones, and how the dialogue between different linguistic and social universes can be ameliorated.

Frederic Livian, Yves

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-05-2013-0671

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the contribution of French sociology of organisations (mainly represented by M. Crozier, E. Friedberg and J.D. Reynaud) to the knowledge of organisations in the French context, specially through the “bureaucratic phenomenon”. Design/methodology/approach – The author shows that the work has provided a relevant picture of some of the main characteristics of a “French way of organising”, but shows in a second part that French specificities are only a part of the authors’ scientific project, and discusses some of the reasons why it did not get a large international recognition in the English-speaking literature. Findings – The article provides a summary of the analysis and a discussion of its relevance to the French context today. It opens a reflection about the question as to whether a sociological school based on field studies can be used outside of its original context of conception. Research limitations/implications – The author does not have the ambition of an exhaustive overview of the international impact of this school. Practical implications – The author aims at a reevaluation of the contribution, for English-speaking academics, and at a development of the thinking about the use of the “strategic analysis” model. Originality/value – An examination of the today relevance of the “bureaucratic” model in France, and a better knowledge of the interest of this school outside France.

Savall, Henri ; Zardet, Véronique

2014 International Journal of Organizational Analysis

doi: 10.1108/IJOA-06-2013-0675

Purpose – This paper aims to present a concise history of the main action research (AR) contribution in France. The authors discuss the role of AR in the organizational research field in general and compare it with intervention research (IR) and presented Institute of Socio-Economy of Enterprises and Organizations’s specific contributions and its presence on the international stage through review publications and wider works. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative approach was used to analyze this history. Findings – AR is considered as a research family. The authors define and compare AR with other qualitative methods. They analyze AR and IR principles, which include interaction with practitioners, negotiation with them, focusing in the third part on the case of ISEOR research team. Social implications – AR and IR permit to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners, to develop useful research. At the same time, they permit to develop new researchers' competencies and to fund research, in a context of reduced public research funds. Originality/value – This article permits to understand the reality of what is and how to develop an IR, and the difficulties for researchers to insert them in the academic community, although France seems to be more permissive than others’ contexts. It permits also to better know the French IR and AR research in management.