The silent transformation of French capitalism: budgetary control at PSA between planning and financial pressure (1970s)

La transformation silencieuse du capitalisme français: le contrôle budgétaire chez PSA, entre planification et pressions financières (années 1970)

Quentin Belot Couloumies ()
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Quentin Belot Couloumies: UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, UGA INP IAE - Grenoble Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

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Abstract: This article explores the transformation of French capitalism in the 1970s by examining budgetary control practices at PSA (Peugeot SA). Drawing on internal archives and interviews with former executives, it analyses how state-led planning, élite networks, and corporate restructuring shaped a hybrid model of management control. Rather than a straightforward ‘Americanisation', the system that emerged combined long-term planning logics with increasing financial discipline. The case illustrates how budgetary tools became instruments of organisational control and financial rationalisation, reconfigured through engineering expertise, internal experimentation, and institutional entrenchment. This study contributes to the socio-historical analysis of accounting change and offers insights into the evolving architecture of post-war French capitalism.

Keywords: Budgetary control; Accounting History; Management Control; French Business System; Peugeot; Financial Performance; Accounting History Management Control Budget Financial Performance Peugeot (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-his and nep-hpe
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04911538v1
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Published in Accounting History Review, 2025, pp.1-27. ⟨10.1080/21552851.2025.2539955⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04911538

DOI: 10.1080/21552851.2025.2539955

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