Article pp.211-214 du Vol.35 n°190 (2009)

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7 Editorial

11 Contributors to this issue

15 Organizational innovations in the cooperative banks. Compliance or resistance to the shareholder value norm ?

Emmanuelle Gurtner, Mireille Jaeger, Jean-Noël Ory

French cooperative structures differ from public listed companies mainly by ownership rights and status. This implies a different corporate governance, relying on stakeholder value rather than on shareholder value. However, since the mid-90s, large banking cooperative groups have emerged. Our aim is to analyse these different organizational changes, to see if they confirm the hypothesis of convergence towards of a unique model of public company listed on stock exchange markets. Overall it seems that these changes show a process towards a specifically European corporate governance model.

31 The welcome of apprentices in higher education Michèle Van de Portal

Beyond temporary internships or training sessions, the «sandwich course » constitutes a dual management opportunity for the employers who agree to take part, as it fulfils social and practical needs. Both the company staff and the apprentices stand to gain from this “medium term” exchange of knowledge and know – how. Employees benefit from the presence of students who in turn gain

“hands-on” experience during their apprenticeship period.

43 Work and its transformations. A sociological approach Michel Lallement

Ten years ago, some social scientists claimed the end of work. Nowadays socio- political debates and sociological surveys are revealing the returning importance of work. Building on a Durkheimian approach, the purpose of this paper is to explain why work still remains a central institution and how it is being reshaped. We give a picture of how work has been the main pillar of industrial civilization after the Second World War. We continue with an analysis of the main transformations of work as well as a discussion of French sociology of work in the last two decades.

issue 190 January 2009

S U M M A R Y

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57 The operationalization of sustainable development principles. The case of Mountain Equipment Co-op

Fabien Durif, Ann Brosseau, Claudine Turcotte, Léa Wolff

The difficulty of implementing a sustainable development (SD) initiative is to reconcile environment and economy, and to know how to operationalize and measure it. The objective of this article is to identify and understand the actions and the behavior adopted by an organization applying an SD approach and to classify this strategy. The case of the Canadian cooperative Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) was examined by applying the typology developed by Novethic (2002). The results demonstrate that MEC exceeds the expectations and the pressures of the stakeholders by adopting an “engaged” SD strategy, answering the ideological dimensions of the SD in each of the organization’s functions.

77 Implementation and transformation of an accounting system Sébastien Rocher

During the year 2004, the General Directorate of Public Accounting developed a risk evaluation method for local governments. The objective of this accounting system is to evaluate their peripheral risks. This article deals with the finality of such an accounting system in the local public sector. The study of the implementation phase in one local government highlights that elected officials and members of the administrative services have progressively transformed this accounting system into a new one in conformity with their own interests.

File: French competitive clusters Guest Editor: Didier Retour

93 French competitive clusters, “propos d’étape”

Didier Retour

101 Governance and performance of small firm clusters Rachel Bocquet, Caroline Mothe

Researchers have studied in depth the role of structural determinants on performance of agglomeration localized forms. However, the link between governance and performance has been neglected. The objective of this article is to fill this gap by looking at the characteristics of the governance of French clusters. The qualitative study on Arve-Industries, largely composed of small firms, sheds light on the governance members’ implication as a key determinant of collective as well as individual performance. Besides, governance should 212 Revue française de gestion – N° 190/2009

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adapt to the evolution of the cluster and, more specifically, go through more formalisation as the cluster grows.

123 Which governance for SMEs’ competitive clusters?

Ariel Mendel, Manuela Berdet

This article deals with the question of the role of the structures of governance of SMEs’ competitive clusters in the development of capacities of cooperation.

The study conducted on a SMEs’ competitive cluster in the PACA Region highlights that, when firms don’t have access to the same cognitive or relational resources, the role of governance is not to reduce at all costs the difference between the participating companies, but to ensure the balance integration/differentiation in order to allow knowledge accumulation and diffusion.

143 Which HRM for French “poles of competitiveness”

Rodolphe Colle, Jean-Denis Culié, Christian Defélix, Florian Hatt, Marie-Thérèse Rapiau

From their setting up in 2005, the French “Poles of Competitiveness” are depicted as a new organizational form with ambitious goals. Bringing firms, universities, research laboratories and local collectivities together, they have the aim to gather people from different horizons to make them working together in collaborative projects. The challenge is not only technical but they also imply the reflection of HRM specialists. This article shows first, from the literature, how the setting up of adapted HRM actions is a key factor of success for effective “Poles of Competitiveness”. Then we present a reading grid of the different HRM actions that are enacted, from the case of the Rhône-Alpes region. Finally, we discuss the possible evolutions in the future.

163 The meeting precedes the idea. Interview with Christian Seux Didier Retour

In this interview, Christian Seux, President of Becton-Dickinson France – a founding member of Lyonbiopôle – stresses that the founder companies, holders of the projects have benefited a lot of autonomy and have not hesitated to integrate SMEs or stars-ups. He claims that “the meeting precedes the idea”, additional argument to those who advocate for social networks. Christian Seux also indicates that the dynamics of projects and challenges of R&D carried by the pole transcend any cultural differences between companies and their representatives.

Summary 213

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169 Minalogic is a true innovation ecosystem. Interview with Nicolas Letterier Didier Retour

Nicolas Leterrier – representative of Minalogic – confirms with this interview the important role played by the pole in the relations between member organizations. It further explains how he tries to make it compatible necessarily different objectives pursued by the various actors of the pole, his desire to define and enforce the strategy of Minalogic and changing patterns of governance of Minalogic.

179 Venture capitalists as “transitors” of innovation in the Silicon Valley Michel Ferrary

Radical innovation results from a successful transition of new knowlege created by activities of exploration to activities of exploitation (March, 1991). This article analyses the interorganizational coordination of radical innovation’s actors. Setting-up of start-up is understood as a transition phase of radical innovation between exploration and exploitation. The high-tech cluster of Silicon Valley is analysed as a place of interorganizational coordination of actors geographically located in the same region. During the transition phase, the entrepreneur is supported by “transitors” of innovation, role that is held by venture capital firms. The rise in Silicon Valley of clean industries allows analyzing the factors of success of interorganizational coordination of radical innovation and the role of “transitors” play by venture capital firms.

197 On the governance of clusters: revisiting theoretical foundations Pierre-Yves Gomez

In this paper, we address to some theoretical issues raised by the governance of clusters. We underline two main problems 1) It is difficult to specify property rights on collective outputs like those which are stemmed from clusters 2) The interests of the stakeholders involved in clusters do not systematically result in expectations for the same “profit”. Consequently, we argue that clusters can be understood as collaborative organizations comparable with “open source organizations”. Thus, their governance should take into account two characteristics of that kind of organizations 1) the production of positive externalities and 2) the management of X-efficiencies.

211 Summary

214 Revue française de gestion – N° 190/2009