9 - Business History in France

Summary

Economic backwardness had been the dominant theme in French business history, especially according to American scholars, until the 1960s. Explanations were found in, among other places, France's business organization — in particular the persistence of the medium-sized family firm. Following the reassessments of the “revisionist” school, the concept of “backwardness” was almost totally discarded in the analyses of French economic performance and replaced by that of “difference” or, more recently, “specificity.” However, with the loss of its backwardness, France might have lost most of its appeal to foreign, particularly American, business historians and analysts. The notion of specificity does not fit easily into the general categories cherished by social scientists: Britain is a better example of early start, world dominance, and decline. Germany provides a better example of a bank-dominated economy. Japan is a better example of state-induced economic prowess, and so on.

As a result, France has become somewhat marginalized in international business history comparisons. One cannot criticize Alfred Chandler for not including France in Scale and Scope, especially as he originally intended to do so but was discouraged by the restrictive practices of some business historians and company archivists. Dealing with Great Britain and Germany, in addition to the United States, was enough of an achievement. The position attributed to France in the recent Big Business and the Wealth of Nations is more contentious. Together with Italy and Spain, France is ranked among the “followers in Western Europe.”