The Role of Employers’ Networks in the Dissemination of Skill Management in France
Written from a neo-institutionalist standpoint, this paper focuses on the influence of employers’ networks on the dissemination of managerial practices through the example of skill management in French companies. Previous studies suggest that employers’ organizations can be perceived as social networks that affect Human Resources policies. Studying the development of skill management confirms the idea that this type of management becomes institutionalized under the influence of such networks. We evaluate this influence through the use of a quantitative methodology that shows the correlation between the dissemination of skill management techniques and the number of chief executives belonging to employers’ networks in a given company. We use data that were collected from 3,000 companies by the French Ministry of Labour for the Réponse survey. Our approach led us to formulate a brief—but new—account of employers’ networks in France. But mostly, it allowed us to measure the impact that belonging to these networks has on the implementation of skill management. Though almost three quarters of all 3,000 companies belong or are related to employers’ networks, the reality behind this fact is complex and concerns a limited number of the companies considered. We then show that a connection with an employers’ network – especially with clubs of heads of human resources or with entrepreneurs’ organizations – is one of the reasons why a skill management-oriented human resources policy is adopted. The most influential employers’ networks are therefore those that rely on voluntary subscription, the research of legitimacy and the exchange of tools and ideas.