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International audience ; This article is a contribution to the study of the spread of management innovations, methods and rhetorics. It particularly concerns the influence of ideological and political factors, which have so far mostly escaped in-depth study. In particular, we seek to understand to what extent a critique of society developed by social reformers can be a source of inspiration for managers, leading them to change their practices and experiment with new devices. Relying on the framework of historical change in management practices developed by Boltanski and Chiapello [Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E. (2005). The new spirit of capitalism. London: Verso (Translation of Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme, Paris: Gallimard, 1999)], we study the specific development of budgetary control in France, examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century. This framework simultaneously encompasses the dissemination of a new accounting practice, the transformation of capitalist institutions and mo des of regulation in a given period and country, and the programmatic discourses [Miller, P., & Rose, N. (1990). Governing economic life. Economy and Society, 19(1), 1-31] associated with the historical move. More exactly, what interests us is a double enrolment process. The business world promoters of budgetary control use the rhetorics of social reformers to present budgetary control as a solution to the economic and social problems of their time; conversely, social reformers promote budgetary control as a realistic, efficient tool that can change the world. Ultimately, a degree of alliance is possible around this management tool, although the extent to which the meanings each group attributes to its action are shared may remain unclear. Based on an analysis of the writings of budgetary control promoters of the 1930s and the 1950s, we show the close links between their discourse and the reforming ideas of their time, and how we can trace through this corpus the evolution of this ...

International audience ; This article is a contribution to the study of the spread of management innovations, methods and rhetorics. It particularly concerns the influence of ideological and political factors, which have so far mostly escaped in-depth study. In particular, we seek to understand to what extent a critique of society developed by social reformers can be a source of inspiration for managers, leading them to change their practices and experiment with new devices. Relying on the framework of historical change in management practices developed by Boltanski and Chiapello [Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E. (2005). The new spirit of capitalism. London: Verso (Translation of Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme, Paris: Gallimard, 1999)], we study the specific development of budgetary control in France, examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century. This framework simultaneously encompasses the dissemination of a new accounting practice, the transformation of capitalist institutions and mo des of regulation in a given period and country, and the programmatic discourses [Miller, P., & Rose, N. (1990). Governing economic life. Economy and Society, 19(1), 1-31] associated with the historical move. More exactly, what interests us is a double enrolment process. The business world promoters of budgetary control use the rhetorics of social reformers to present budgetary control as a solution to the economic and social problems of their time; conversely, social reformers promote budgetary control as a realistic, efficient tool that can change the world. Ultimately, a degree of alliance is possible around this management tool, although the extent to which the meanings each group attributes to its action are shared may remain unclear. Based on an analysis of the writings of budgetary control promoters of the 1930s and the 1950s, we show the close links between their discourse and the reforming ideas of their time, and how we can trace through this corpus the evolution of this ...

International audience This article is a contribution to the study of the spread of management innovations, methods and rhetorics. It particularly concerns the influence of ideological and political factors, which have so far mostly escaped in-depth study. In particular, we seek to understand to what extent a critique of society developed by social reformers can be a source of inspiration for managers, leading them to change their practices and experiment with new devices. Relying on the framework of historical change in management practices developed by Boltanski and Chiapello [Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E. (2005). The new spirit of capitalism. London: Verso (Translation of Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme, Paris: Gallimard, 1999)], we study the specific development of budgetary control in France, examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century. This framework simultaneously encompasses the dissemination of a new accounting practice, the transformation of capitalist institutions and mo des of regulation in a given period and country, and the programmatic discourses [Miller, P., & Rose, N. (1990). Governing economic life. Economy and Society, 19(1), 1-31] associated with the historical move. More exactly, what interests us is a double enrolment process. The business world promoters of budgetary control use the rhetorics of social reformers to present budgetary control as a solution to the economic and social problems of their time; conversely, social reformers promote budgetary control as a realistic, efficient tool that can change the world. Ultimately, a degree of alliance is possible around this management tool, although the extent to which the meanings each group attributes to its action are shared may remain unclear. Based on an analysis of the writings of budgetary control promoters of the 1930s and the 1950s, we show the close links between their discourse and the reforming ideas of their time, and how we can trace through this corpus the evolution of this ...

International audience ; This article is a contribution to the study of the spread of management innovations, methods and rhetorics. It particularly concerns the influence of ideological and political factors, which have so far mostly escaped in-depth study. In particular, we seek to understand to what extent a critique of society developed by social reformers can be a source of inspiration for managers, leading them to change their practices and experiment with new devices. Relying on the framework of historical change in management practices developed by Boltanski and Chiapello [Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E. (2005). The new spirit of capitalism. London: Verso (Translation of Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme, Paris: Gallimard, 1999)], we study the specific development of budgetary control in France, examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century. This framework simultaneously encompasses the dissemination of a new accounting practice, the transformation of capitalist institutions and mo des of regulation in a given period and country, and the programmatic discourses [Miller, P., & Rose, N. (1990). Governing economic life. Economy and Society, 19(1), 1-31] associated with the historical move. More exactly, what interests us is a double enrolment process. The business world promoters of budgetary control use the rhetorics of social reformers to present budgetary control as a solution to the economic and social problems of their time; conversely, social reformers promote budgetary control as a realistic, efficient tool that can change the world. Ultimately, a degree of alliance is possible around this management tool, although the extent to which the meanings each group attributes to its action are shared may remain unclear. Based on an analysis of the writings of budgetary control promoters of the 1930s and the 1950s, we show the close links between their discourse and the reforming ideas of their time, and how we can trace through this corpus the evolution of this ...

International audience ; This article is a contribution to the study of the spread of management innovations, methods and rhetorics. It particularly concerns the influence of ideological and political factors, which have so far mostly escaped in-depth study. In particular, we seek to understand to what extent a critique of society developed by social reformers can be a source of inspiration for managers, leading them to change their practices and experiment with new devices. Relying on the framework of historical change in management practices developed by Boltanski and Chiapello [Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E. (2005). The new spirit of capitalism. London: Verso (Translation of Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme, Paris: Gallimard, 1999)], we study the specific development of budgetary control in France, examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century. This framework simultaneously encompasses the dissemination of a new accounting practice, the transformation of capitalist institutions and mo des of regulation in a given period and country, and the programmatic discourses [Miller, P., & Rose, N. (1990). Governing economic life. Economy and Society, 19(1), 1-31] associated with the historical move. More exactly, what interests us is a double enrolment process. The business world promoters of budgetary control use the rhetorics of social reformers to present budgetary control as a solution to the economic and social problems of their time; conversely, social reformers promote budgetary control as a realistic, efficient tool that can change the world. Ultimately, a degree of alliance is possible around this management tool, although the extent to which the meanings each group attributes to its action are shared may remain unclear. Based on an analysis of the writings of budgetary control promoters of the 1930s and the 1950s, we show the close links between their discourse and the reforming ideas of their time, and how we can trace through this corpus the evolution of this ...

International audience ; Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. The development of budgetary control is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalist institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers' proposals in changing business management methods. ; Le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans les entreprises en France s'est fait dans le contexte idéologique des réflexions sur l'organisation économique suscitées par les crises économique et politique des années 1930 et 1940. Le contrôle budgétaire est apparu alors à de nombreux acteurs comme étant l'une des pratiques susceptibles de répondre aux problèmes économiques et sociaux auxquels ils faisaient face. C'est dire que sa diffusion ne fut pas seulement portée par la volonté de rechercher une efficience toujours accrue mais aussi par une évidente séduction idéologique. Nous replaçons ici le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans l'histoire politique et économique du XXème siècle et mettons en relation les pratiques comptables avec les institutions du capitalisme d'une époque et d'un pays donné. Nous insistons sur un aspect jusqu'ici peu étudié : le rôle de la critique du capitalisme et des propositions des réformateurs sociaux dans la transformation des modes de gestion des entreprises.

International audience ; Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. The development of budgetary control is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalist institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers' proposals in changing business management methods. ; Le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans les entreprises en France s'est fait dans le contexte idéologique des réflexions sur l'organisation économique suscitées par les crises économique et politique des années 1930 et 1940. Le contrôle budgétaire est apparu alors à de nombreux acteurs comme étant l'une des pratiques susceptibles de répondre aux problèmes économiques et sociaux auxquels ils faisaient face. C'est dire que sa diffusion ne fut pas seulement portée par la volonté de rechercher une efficience toujours accrue mais aussi par une évidente séduction idéologique. Nous replaçons ici le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans l'histoire politique et économique du XXème siècle et mettons en relation les pratiques comptables avec les institutions du capitalisme d'une époque et d'un pays donné. Nous insistons sur un aspect jusqu'ici peu étudié : le rôle de la critique du capitalisme et des propositions des réformateurs sociaux dans la transformation des modes de gestion des entreprises.

International audience ; Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. The development of budgetary control is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalist institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers' proposals in changing business management methods. ; Le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans les entreprises en France s'est fait dans le contexte idéologique des réflexions sur l'organisation économique suscitées par les crises économique et politique des années 1930 et 1940. Le contrôle budgétaire est apparu alors à de nombreux acteurs comme étant l'une des pratiques susceptibles de répondre aux problèmes économiques et sociaux auxquels ils faisaient face. C'est dire que sa diffusion ne fut pas seulement portée par la volonté de rechercher une efficience toujours accrue mais aussi par une évidente séduction idéologique. Nous replaçons ici le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans l'histoire politique et économique du XXème siècle et mettons en relation les pratiques comptables avec les institutions du capitalisme d'une époque et d'un pays donné. Nous insistons sur un aspect jusqu'ici peu étudié : le rôle de la critique du capitalisme et des propositions des réformateurs sociaux dans la transformation des modes de gestion des entreprises.

International audience ; Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. The development of budgetary control is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalist institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers' proposals in changing business management methods. ; Le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans les entreprises en France s'est fait dans le contexte idéologique des réflexions sur l'organisation économique suscitées par les crises économique et politique des années 1930 et 1940. Le contrôle budgétaire est apparu alors à de nombreux acteurs comme étant l'une des pratiques susceptibles de répondre aux problèmes économiques et sociaux auxquels ils faisaient face. C'est dire que sa diffusion ne fut pas seulement portée par la volonté de rechercher une efficience toujours accrue mais aussi par une évidente séduction idéologique. Nous replaçons ici le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans l'histoire politique et économique du XXème siècle et mettons en relation les pratiques comptables avec les institutions du capitalisme d'une époque et d'un pays donné. Nous insistons sur un aspect jusqu'ici peu étudié : le rôle de la critique du capitalisme et des propositions des réformateurs sociaux dans la transformation des modes de gestion des entreprises.

International audience ; Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. The development of budgetary control is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalist institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers' proposals in changing business management methods. ; Le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans les entreprises en France s'est fait dans le contexte idéologique des réflexions sur l'organisation économique suscitées par les crises économique et politique des années 1930 et 1940. Le contrôle budgétaire est apparu alors à de nombreux acteurs comme étant l'une des pratiques susceptibles de répondre aux problèmes économiques et sociaux auxquels ils faisaient face. C'est dire que sa diffusion ne fut pas seulement portée par la volonté de rechercher une efficience toujours accrue mais aussi par une évidente séduction idéologique. Nous replaçons ici le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans l'histoire politique et économique du XXème siècle et mettons en relation les pratiques comptables avec les institutions du capitalisme d'une époque et d'un pays donné. Nous insistons sur un aspect jusqu'ici peu étudié : le rôle de la critique du capitalisme et des propositions des réformateurs sociaux dans la transformation des modes de gestion des entreprises.

International audience ; Historically, the development of budgetary control in French businesses took place within the ideological context of the debate on organisation of the economy following the economic and political crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Budgetary control was seen by many actors as one of the practices that could provide a solution to the economic and social problems facing them. In other words, its increasingly widespread adoption was not only due to the search for ever-greater efficiency, but also to a clear ideological attraction. The development of budgetary control is examined in the light of the general political and economic history of the 20th century, associating accounting practices and the capitalist institutions of a given period and country. We stress an as yet largely unexplored aspect: the role played by the critique of capitalism and the social reformers' proposals in changing business management methods. ; Le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans les entreprises en France s'est fait dans le contexte idéologique des réflexions sur l'organisation économique suscitées par les crises économique et politique des années 1930 et 1940. Le contrôle budgétaire est apparu alors à de nombreux acteurs comme étant l'une des pratiques susceptibles de répondre aux problèmes économiques et sociaux auxquels ils faisaient face. C'est dire que sa diffusion ne fut pas seulement portée par la volonté de rechercher une efficience toujours accrue mais aussi par une évidente séduction idéologique. Nous replaçons ici le développement du contrôle budgétaire dans l'histoire politique et économique du XXème siècle et mettons en relation les pratiques comptables avec les institutions du capitalisme d'une époque et d'un pays donné. Nous insistons sur un aspect jusqu'ici peu étudié : le rôle de la critique du capitalisme et des propositions des réformateurs sociaux dans la transformation des modes de gestion des entreprises.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to focus on the policy of corporate social responsibility (CSR) launched in the chemical industry in the 1980s and known as "Responsible Care" (RC). The debate surrounding this issue prompts us to question the ever‐changing nature of this policy and the way to measure the performance achieved.Design/methodology/approachThe findings are drawn from analysis of a double set of data including a longitudinal survey and a current case study. Blending these two data sets allows a better understanding of the ongoing building process of "RC" and, more broadly, of CSR.FindingsThis paper asserts that, contrary to the common wisdom developed in research, companies do not simply react to stakeholder pressure. Companies autonomously develop ways to protect their environment and so contribute to changing society's expectations. Thus, performance cannot be read without a dynamic perspective in mind.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' findings lead them to reconsider the assessment of companies' sustainable performances by taking into account the fabricating process of sustainable activities. The main limitation of this research stems from the single unit of analysis considered. Broader studies will be necessary to enrich our understanding of corporate policies.Originality/valueThe paper stands apart from the traditional view of organizations as cynical actors and attempts to provide a more complex picture of the behaviours observed.

Gérer est une activité sérieuse qui ne tolère pas l'approximation. Le gestionnaire qui se respecte se doit ainsi de « gérer en bon père de famille ». Gérer est un acte rationnel qui consiste à éliminer de la prise de décision l'impulsion, les rêveries et les spéculations. Pour contraindre les actions humaines, quoi de plus sage que d'encadrer les comportements par des mesures qui les rationalisent ? Il s'agit de dire le vrai, de faire triompher le rationnel sur les sentiments et les humeurs. Or, c'est bien connu, « les chiffres de mentent pas » et imposent les faits comme des évidences têtues. Le bon gestionnaire est celui qui est capable de dompter la complexité de l'action organisée au travers d'un résumé chiffré. La comptabilité est devenue l'algèbre du droit. Le marketing, la communication, la gestion des ressources humaines, l'administration publique ne peuvent plus se passer d'outils métriques pour être réputés « bien gérés » et efficaces. L'hôpital, les universités, l'armée ne sont plus préservées des pratiques de mesure chiffrée de leur performance, au lieu et place des traditionnelles modalités d'évaluation des politiques publiques jugées trop verbeuses. Le chiffre implacable surpasse la rhétorique.

Gérer est une activité sérieuse qui ne tolère pas l'approximation. Le gestionnaire qui se respecte se doit ainsi de « gérer en bon père de famille ». Gérer est un acte rationnel qui consiste à éliminer de la prise de décision l'impulsion, les rêveries et les spéculations. Pour contraindre les actions humaines, quoi de plus sage que d'encadrer les comportements par des mesures qui les rationalisent ? Il s'agit de dire le vrai, de faire triompher le rationnel sur les sentiments et les humeurs. Or, c'est bien connu, « les chiffres de mentent pas » et imposent les faits comme des évidences têtues. Le bon gestionnaire est celui qui est capable de dompter la complexité de l'action organisée au travers d'un résumé chiffré. La comptabilité est devenue l'algèbre du droit. Le marketing, la communication, la gestion des ressources humaines, l'administration publique ne peuvent plus se passer d'outils métriques pour être réputés « bien gérés » et efficaces. L'hôpital, les universités, l'armée ne sont plus préservées des pratiques de mesure chiffrée de leur performance, au lieu et place des traditionnelles modalités d'évaluation des politiques publiques jugées trop verbeuses. Le chiffre implacable surpasse la rhétorique.