The availability of information and the accumulation of experience as motors for the diffusion of budgetary control: the French experience from the 1920s to the 1960s

Nicolas Berland (1)

1 DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management

Budgetary control has developed in France since the 1930s. If the initial importation from the United States was rapid, subsequent development was slow. Diffusion of the technique occurred through a number of mechanisms: professional reviews, books, consultants, think tanks, and through experiences originating in the public sector. The particular experiences of other organizations often served as reference points. In comparison with other European countries, the awareness of budgetary control in France was high, but the method was practised in only a few enterprises. The common link for these firms was their interconnection via an information network which ensured the promotion of this new management technique. The supply of information seems to have been a more important factor in the development process than the search for a rational solution to business problems.

Mots clés: Gestion budgétaire; Innovations; Administration publique; Gestion; France; Histoire; Budgetary Control; Innovation; Information Supply; Consultants; Public Management; Comparative Analysis

Domaines: Gestion et management

Nicolas Berland. The availability of information and the accumulation of experience as motors for the diffusion of budgetary control: the French experience from the 1920s to the 1960s. Accounting, Business and Financial History, 1998, 8 (3), ⟨10.1080/095852098330422⟩. ⟨hal-01667195⟩