Les entreprises familiales à l’épreuve de la « loi des trois générations »

Company history refers to the idea that generations are the links in the dynastic chain that guarantee a firm’s destiny. By examining large family firms estahlished in Lyons at the end of the nineteenth-century, we study the role played by each of the first three generations in the development of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bernadette Angleraud
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: ADR Temporalités 2004-06-01
Series:Temporalités
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/temporalites/748
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Summary:Company history refers to the idea that generations are the links in the dynastic chain that guarantee a firm’s destiny. By examining large family firms estahlished in Lyons at the end of the nineteenth-century, we study the role played by each of the first three generations in the development of these companies, which were essential to the local and national economies. Contrary to the pattern that assumes that the first generation creates a firm, the second develops it, and the third brings if to ruine, we argue that the success and longevity of these firms depended on the fact that those first three links vere complementary. The founding generation combined inventiveness with economic intuition but lacked a technical basis. Their heirs brought technical know-how to the organization enabling it to develop in a more competitive context. Finally, the third generation provided the family business with scientific skills and a relational network that allowed it to establish the enterpreneurial dynasty both economically and socially.
ISSN:1777-9006
2102-5878