In the face of the threats weighing on human history, the transformations to be carried out go far beyond a change in the economy or society. It is a transformation of civilization that must be carried out: a transformation that involves all the practices, knowledge and values that condition the functioning of human societies. However, the State, the market or civil society cannot be the only actors. In the great narratives of modernity, the role of the firm has been largely ignored, reduced to the role of employer or to its most destructive effects. Yet, since their appearance at the end of the 19th century, companies have developed an unprecedented power of action, and have permeated our civilizations. The work gathered in this book takes note of this civilizational power of the firm and its consequences for world history. It examines the forms of corporate responsibility without which no desirable and global transition is possible. In particular, the foundations and effects of the recent French law (Pacte) are discussed by researchers and managers who have been pioneers on these issues. But conceiving of the firm as a power responsible for the common good also implies moving beyond the classical economic and legal frameworks. The book proposes to think henceforth about the interdependencies between States, companies and other collective actors (territories, science, trade unions, etc.) in the perspective of a resilient civilizational framework and a new age of responsibility. To find the book, click here

Kevin Le Villain is a teacher-researcher at CGS Mines ParisTech. His research focuses on the governance of companies and innovative collectives, in particular companies that organize their governance around a "mission". In particular, he works on the design of statutes for innovative companies, based on the study of new forms of companies that are currently being introduced into law in several countries.

Blanche Segrestin, director at CGS Mines ParisTech, works on company theory, collective innovation capacities and modes of governance. She has notably published Innovation and inter-company cooperation.

Armand Hatchuel is a professor at the CGS Mines ParisTech, civil engineer and doctor of the École des Mines de Paris (1973 and 1983). Professor (exceptional class) at Mines ParisTech, Co-Head of the Chair of Theory and Methods of Innovative Design. Visiting Professor at Chalmers University (Goteborg) and at the Stockholm School of Economics (1999-2007)

Teaching :

Management Sciences;
Theory and Mathematics of Design;
Statistics;
Industrial history;
Epistemology of Management Sciences.

Research :

Deputy Director of the Scientific Management Center of Mines-ParisTech (1997-2013);
Founding co-chair of the Design theory special group of the Design Society (2008-2013);
Responsible for the doctoral training in management sciences (1997-2010).

Stéphane Vernac is Professor of Private Law at the University of Saint Etienne and Associate Researcher at the CGS of MINES ParisTech.