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The Formative Origins
Jean-Claude Thoenig was born in Biel/Bienne, a town
nowadays above all distinctive for the headquarters of the Swatch
company. It sits right on the border between French and German
speaking areas in Switzerland; not near that border but right on it,
as the usual double naming in atlases or maps indicates. Moreover, in
his childhood socialisation, there has been a multitude of influences:
Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Agnostic. Coming from a business
family, young Jean-Claude started off by doing the decent thing and
studied business administration at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce at
Neuchâtel. That, however, did not turn out to be completely
intellectually satisfying. In the search for more profound
explanations, he studied sociology at the University of Geneva. But it
is significant that this did not divert him from an interest in
business: The positions including professorial chairs which he has
held in succession, exhibit an almost regular iteration between
Business, Sociology and Political Science. Similarly, he has done both
basic research and consulting, both in public administration and
commercial enterprises. Our laureate does not turn his back on an
earlier specialisation as he moves into others. He has consistently
held and practiced the view that any of the specialties that he has
developed and taught, have a lot to learn from the respectively other
discipline. Here, too, he has been moving to and fro across borders
many times. Although he has more firmly settled into a career in
France, mainly in the CNRS, and also holds French nationality, there
was also a period when he alternated between positions in Switzerland
and France.
Without becoming a social science generalist in the
sense of specialising in general social theory, the laureate has thus
become a multi-specialist keen on combining methods, theory and
findings from neighbouring fields of theory and research, learning
from other fields, notably with a view to providing a thorough
clinical analysis of areas that pose inter-linked conceptual and
practical problems. His formative origins and development have turned
him into a unique integrator of research, concepts and enlightened
practice, across cultures, geographical areas, the private-public
separation of domains or sectors, and, as he now indicates on his
personal website, across actors distinguished by their particular
logics of action. The best proof for Carol Weiss’s finding that the
best applied or policy research is that which follows the
‘enlightenment model’ and is linked to basic research, is the
bibliography and biography of Jean-Claude Thoenig. The Swiss may be
led to build bridges between neigbouring valleys insisting on their
own dialect, government, religion, practices and language, because the
country despite its small size is divided by cross-cutting cleavages
like few others. Jean-Claude has internationalized this competence and
turned it into an asset for our academic fields and, not least, for
public organization and policy studies and practice in France. In this,
he has become unique. This performance was honoured by several
distinctions, including that of chevalier of the légion
d’honneur and the Order of Agricultural Merit in France. The
last-mentioned was probably not for research or consultancy in
agriculture - which is the domain of his wife - but for running a
vinyard. To this, we now add a more profane one, which does not carry
a medal and does not date back to Napoleon. But it might be as
meaningful to the laureate as the more prominent distinctions, because
he has voluntarily given EGOS more than most of us. It might even
closer to his heart than most of the things to which he has dedicated
his efforts.
The Scholar
In theory, the most significant and prominent
expression of the laureate’s conjoint cultivation of Business,
Sociology and Political Science has led him to pioneering
contributions in the sociology of inter-organisational relations. His
article with Michel Crozier in ASQ was a milestone in the development
of this field. He has regularly visited the United States and promoted
an interest in the reciprocal fertilisation of more American and more
European research perspectives and contributions. Another highlight in
his long list of publications is his article, with Mitchell Koza,
comparing conceptual orientations in the two continents. But there
again, he has tried to be a bridge-builder rather than putting an
ocean between different perspectives and stylised continental research
traditions. Indeed, one of the theoretically formative influences on
his thinking has been Philip Selznick, with his masterful analysis of
the Tennessee Valley authority, in ‘TVA and the grass roots’. TVA and
its institutional combination of actors with different action logics –
Midwestern engineers that remind you of Switzerland, a grand public
purpose that informs a large enterprise and reminds you of France,
farmers in agricultural projects with different interests from energy
generation and also regulation of large rivers in lakes and dams, and
politicians that have to serve the interests of very different
clienteles – has exhibited in a nutshell all the concerns which the
laureate has developed over his professional career. Likewise,
Selznick's masterful analysis of institutional leadership which was
based on the TVA has informed and marked him profoundly, in
scholarship and in practice.
The laureate has planted his conceptual roots very
firmly within the writings of social science classics, such as
Selznick. For him, the study of a range of different policy fields,
between public administration in France more generally down to road
haulage regulation and strategies, has always implied the necessity to
go back to the classics. Concepts such as that of institutional
leadership or entrepreneurship put forward by Selznick have proven of
lasting value, in order to address competently what are the more
specific organisation and policy questions of the time. If Jean-Claude
had his way, university instruction would bear regard to this, such
that no participant in an EGOS colloquium meeting would ever have to
ask the speaker what he meant by institutional entrepreneurship.
The laureate’s scholarly writings add up to and
impressively long and diversified list. But it is remarkable, and
probably tells us something, that he has not single-mindedly
persevered in the search for international top journal excellence, in
the ritualistic fashion promoted by emerging research performance
evaluation practices. His respect of national or local problem
specificity has led him to standard monographs contextualised in time
and place, such as on public administration in France, and to
extremely stimulating articles on specific policy issues, also mainly
in France and in French. It is precisely the art of combining diverse
classical perspectives into an analysis that respects situatedness in
time and place, which has led him to such significant contributions.
It is again no accident that one of the most distinctive
internationalists in EGOS, because he knows the pitfalls of
universalistic nomothetic theory that he himself has helped to build,
has become a keen student of problems that are situated in time and
place. He is not one to go for a straight and tight coupling of a
problem with a specific but universal theory and deduction of an
instrumental solution on this basis. It is this which has kept him
focussed on, and relevant for, problems and practical issues.
As an example, let me single out his article with
Ocqueteau, in Sociologie du Travail, on public regulation and
strategies of road transport in France. Not many readers in the EGOS
community would know it. In its precision of a historical
institutional analysis of how public regulators devise policies that
are countered by transport firms, to which public regulation reacts
with new policies that are again countered by firms, the article puts
forward a succession of moves that although appearing erratic to some
extent, feature a dense and relatively stable constellation of action
logics which are both, complementary and adversarial. Unravelling such
a constellation is both theoretically meaningful and practically
enlightening. Looking at their interaction in the mirror of this
analysis, the actors involved are not given an instrumental recipe of
how to go on from there. But the perceptive practitioner will be able
to draw inspiration from this reflection, wondering how to integrate
better the expectable moves of the other party of the game, knowing
that these will follow very regularly. Through this treatment,
Jean-Claude has become the most erudite advocate and analyst of
non-hypocritical and enlightened policy-making, in public
administration and firms, separately or combined. The message is not
propagandistic but low key, and it appeals by appealing to practical
imagination combined with rigorous interpretation and insight.
The Institutional Entrepreneur
The laureate has always been a man of action and
practice, in addition to the more academic achievements, but then
again many academic roles require capacities of action in social,
economic and political contexts. In the remarkable synthesis of
research, theory and personal practice which he has achieved,
consultancy has played an important role. Characteristically, it has
been in both, the public domain and commercial enterprises.
Furthermore, his action has invariably been characterised by strong
entrepreneurial traits. He has studied and practiced entrepreneurship
as something that was required in both public and private domains.
Here again, the formative influence of 'TVA and the grass roots', of
the Tennessee Valley Authority and the remarkable American Midwestern
engineers such as David Lilienthal that gave it direction and meaning,
has provided a powerful imagery and set of concepts that have
fascinated our laureate all his life. He has followed such ideas, not
only in research and consultancy but also in his dealings within the
academic arena proper. This is reflected in his importance for the
construction of professional networks and associations. Let me single
out some different examples.
One is his role as vice-dean of INSEAD for research
and development, which was crucial for the combination of executive
teaching and academic excellence that INSEAD, despite some dilemmas,
has brought about. INSEAD has been an American enclave in Europe for a
long time, and the laureate has had a role in building this bridgehead.
However, his openness to American business school ideas has been
marked by constructive criticism throughout. One could be misguided by
the language and style he practises, at times. An unmistably American
style of argument and fascination by American concepts blend with a
vociferous pleading for social science in universities and against
one-sided emulation of the business school idea. Witness, e.g., his
argument 'EGOS - manager la différence' in Les amis de l'Ecole de
Paris (http://www.ecole.org),
in 2004.
This takes me to the second example, the Ecole de
Paris, a network for intensive interaction of management practitioners
and researchers. This has also established a highly stimulating
periodical with some of the most insightful and both intellectually
and practically stimulating contributions one can find in Europe, with
regard to the interaction between practical and academic settings in
organization studies. It is written in French and none the worse for
it, featuring a culture which unites intellectual sophistication with
practical relevance, in the best tradition of the highly educated
‘mandarins’ that have dominated public and commercial management in
this country over the ages. If there is a European template for
enlightened discourse, involving researchers and ‘reflective
practitioners’, the Ecole de Paris qualifies for emulation. Here again,
Jean-Claude has not eschewed national or local culture and settings in
order to achieve relevance and excellence, not being overly fascinated
by an only superficially international lingua franca that English has
become in our fields. May our internationalists heed the example and
not be averse to the interest in local contextualisation, in aid of
both academic realism and practical relevance.
Let me also mention GAPP, a foremost centre for the
study of public policies in France, associated with the Ecole Normale
Supérieure de Cachan. The laureate was crucial in setting this up and
has been central for its profile and achievements over many years. But
the most significant international contribution in
academic entrepreneurship next to his more national ones, has been
EGOS itself. The reader interested in his own perception of this
personal perception and a personal historical account should consult
the Ecole de Paris newsletter cited above. The laureate was a key
figure in two phases, the early phase from about 1975 to 1980, and the
late phase from 1997 until now. In the early phase, entrepreneurship
for EGOS was mainly about building interpersonal connections across
countries, to mobilise good people for interesting colloquia, and
about giving EGOS a first administrative home, at the Maison des
Sciences de l'Homme in Paris. However, over the years, EGOS was not as
much administrated from Paris locations as his account indicates. In
much of the 80s and the early 90s, it was SISWO in Amsterdam that was
its administrative and communication home, and Bert van Hees was its
longest serving coordinator to date. Parisians, even if they are of
Swiss origin, may underestimate the smaller countries of Europe, but
the latter forgive because they know their importance. The late phase
began when a rapidly growing EGOS was cast into a formal association
and needed entrepreneurial talent to achieve a sustainable
co-evolution of increasing bureaucratisation with the conservation of
the distinctive interpersonal culture and workshop ethos that had
become the hallmark of the network.
Jean-Claude rose to the challenge on both occasions.
When we (mainly Georg Schreyögg in contact with some Super-EGOS) set
out to make EGOS a formal association to cope with increasing numbers
of participants, thematic fields and purposes of the organisation, our
view was that we needed a distinctive figure who had already been to
the forefront in the earlier entrepreneurial phase, someone who did
not need the function for his or her cv but was inspired with a work
ethos and persistence that were badly needed in order to take EGOS
across a few growth thresholds without losing identity and flair. It
was my idea to ask him, very much approved by Georg (this is the way
decision-making happened in that phase of transition), and his first
reaction was distinctive. He asked for time in order to think about
whether it was worth the time and effort and to see if he had that
time. He was evidently weighing his own resources and objective
possibilities to see whether it could be a worthwhile entrepreneurial
task that could be seen to fruition. And then he did it. I have made
few telephone calls that proved similarly well considered and fruitful
in my life. The results are there for all to see and evaluate. If
there is a distinctive personal influence on the direction EGOS took
and the shape it is now in, apart from that of the main transition
organiser (Georg Schreyögg) and the outstanding administrative and
managerial stabilisers of the association during its most remarkable
period of growth (Peer Hull Kristensen and Marianne Risberg), it is
that of Jean-Claude, as chairman and then inveterate member of the
Board of the association. Judge the result for yourself.
The Person
Entrepreneurs bring a full personality into the
bargain. This has been so with Jean-Claude all along. And the
personality was crystal clear for all those who got into contact with
him. He is as forthright, dependable and forceful as few others in the
business of academic management and leadership. His language, style of
discourse, even the body and facial language, are the clearest, most
honest and least deceptive of any person in such a function I have
seen. What you see and hear is what you get, and you do not get small
amounts of it. To me, this has always been a considerable advantage.
Some may also have been daunted. But you could very well talk to him
in an open manner. One of the more touching scenes in conversations
off the record of the EGOS Board was when Jean-Claude talked to Silvia
Gherardi in Italian. The interactive picture was characterised by
politeness and sensitivity. Maybe we all should have learned Italian
to talk to Jean-Claude, in order to maximise the benefits of the
interaction. He evidently straddled another cultural border that his
original home country features, between Italian and French expression
and culture.
In the more Northern languages, including French,
English and German, Jean-Claude did probably not always satisfy
interlocutors preferring diplomatic dialogue and evasion of latent
conflict. His style of expression in EGOS business and board meetings
carried great frankness - not Frenchness, if the attempt at a pun is
allowed. To do sensible business with him, a considered measure of
quarrelling was probably inevitable. Some EGOS chairmen of the Board
after him will have made this experience, and I have made it, too. But
he has consistently been a very constructive person to quarrel with.
You did not have to have ill feelings afterwards, and if you did not
do so, he did not either. There are few people in our business that
you can quarrel with as innocuously and constructively as with
Jean-Claude - if you approach the quarrel in the right way. To me and
others, I hope , this has been a relief. Organisations being political
entities with conflicting goals and interests, they need disciplined
quarrelling in order to arrive at purposes and action that are shared.
They are too often tempted into an uneasy balance of superficial
acquiescence and tactical manoeuvring.
Which way then is the right one, to quarrel according
to the code our laureate is accustomed to? That takes me to a part of
his identity which is not properly appreciated. He is not the stylised
French scholar or technocrat, or Swiss banker, who translates
intellectual sophistication into outward refinement and smoothness. In
fact, he is closer to a type of small and medium enterprise
entrepreneur one finds with great frequency in an area which is both
regional and international, the Alemannic culture which stretches from
French speaking areas of Switzerland up through Swabia in Germany.
Forthright people that do not mince their words, worry a lot, and show
that they esteem an interlocutor by considering him or her worthy of a
vociferous and depersonalised quarrel about substance, as one of the
most essential mechanisms of social integration. I have found the mode
of working towards solutions he has practiced, as one of the most
satisfying I have experienced. You have to understand the code, and if
you do, Jean-Claude will be a greatly rewarding colleague. In addition
to his scholarly stature and entrepreneurial contribution, he thus
exemplifies regional but internationalisable virtues that will stand
EGOS in good stead, whatever happens to it in the future: straight
talking, looking things and people in the eye, and not avoiding or
circumventing any problem that presents itself. And this helps to
avoid the biggest problem arising in the course of
institutionalisation, or the routinisation of charisma as Weber called
it, namely becoming 'prisoners of myth', as Hargreaves pointed out.
This problem has been central to Jean-Claude's worries, learning as he
did from the TVA experience in a way which has been decidedly
self-critical. When he became a bit gruff, he in fact invited others
to reciprocate, because he has always been critical of his own ideas,
and less sure than his firm pleading at any given moment may have
suggested.
To conclude, let me express the hope that we will go
on benefitting from his contributions, written, oral and behavioural,
as EGOS enters another phase of its development, robbed of Jean-Claude
on the Board (and Marianne Risberg in the office). We honour him as an
honorary fellow. Honour is serious if it cuts both ways, i.e. if we
stand by what we honour him for. Let us then be inspired towards new
institutional entrepreneurship and scholarship across multiple borders.
Arndt Sorge
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
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