The conditions for implementing the principle of subsidiarity to organize autonomy at work: Reflections on the liberated enterprise

Les conditions de mise en oeuvre du principe de subsidiarité pour organiser l'autonomie au travail: réflexion autour de l'entreprise libérée

Véronique Préchoux () and Anouk Grevin ()
Additional contact information
Véronique Préchoux: CEREGE [Poitiers] - Centre de recherche en gestion - UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers
Anouk Grevin: LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Organizations challenging hierarchical models, such as liberated companies, raise the question of how to coordinate the autonomy granted to employees, to enable collective action. The application of the principle of subsidiarity provides avenues for reflection. This article analyzes the conditions for implementing the principle of subsidiarity to organize autonomy at work. An intervention-research in a soap factory that subscribes to the philosophy of liberated companies shows that the liberated approach and the resulting autonomy generate certain difficulties (coordination and prioritization problems, decision-making problems, a perception of lack of support), which echo the concept of subsidiarity. These results lead to a discussion on the conditions for subsidiary management that facilitates decision-making, acknowledges the right to make mistakes and the right to incompetence, and considers and organizes support within the organization.

Keywords: Subsidiarity principle; Autonomy; Management; Liberated companies; Entreprise libérée; Subsidiarité; Autonomie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09-24
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05019525v1
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in RIMHE : Revue Interdisciplinaire Management, Homme(s) & Entreprise, 2024, Confiance, autonomie des salariés et gouvernance du travail, n° 55, vol. 13 (2), pp.3-20. ⟨10.3917/rimhe.055.0003⟩

Downloads: (external link)
https://hal.science/hal-05019525v1/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05019525

DOI: 10.3917/rimhe.055.0003

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().