L’ENTREPRISE, « SUJET » POLITIQUE – SOIT, MAIS LEQUEL ?

Abstract

Business firms interact with the political sphere as a source of questions and problems (“subject1”) but both mainstream economics (shareholder value) or mainstream management (“stakeholder view”) deny they are political entities (“subject2”): their common mistake is to forget the gap between the legal person (corporation) and the economic organization (the firm itself). Yet two powerful factors are nowadays moving the minds towards the “subject2” position, in so far as they are gradually closing the gap: one (codetermination) through board level employee representatives, the other (CSR) through changing the objectives of CEO beyond shareholder interests. The recent corporate law in France, despite insightful innovations, fails to acknowledge the fact that enlarging the missions of the firm requires a new balance between labour and capital within corporate governance.