‘Si vis pacem, para bellum’—the construction of business cooperation in the Swiss machinery industry

Eichenberger, Pierre; Ginalski, Stéphanie

doi:10.1093/ser/mww037

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Board directors developed strong organizational ties with other elite members (elected politicians, senior servants, renowned professors). Elite coordination intensified through meetings in various organizational structures, such as associations, party committees, the parliament (David et al, 2009 ; Eichenberger & Ginalski, 2017 ) or state expert committees (Bühlmann et al, 2017 ). Elites were strongly interrelated, often multipositionnal across various institutions, and even multisectorial (Bühlmann et al, 2012a ), since for example, the lay parliamentary system allowed politicians to sit on other elite positions (Pilotti, 2017 ).…”

Section: Background: Studying Elites Over Timementioning

confidence: 99%

From integrated to fragmented elites. The core of Swiss elite networks 1910–2015

Rossier

Ellersgaard

Larsen

et al. 2022

British Journal of Sociology

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This article focuses on historical elite dynamics and investigates elites' integration over time. We describe the changing relations and composition of the central circles in Swiss elite networks at seven benchmark years between 1910 and 2015 by relying on 22,262 elite individuals tied to 2587 organizations among eight key sectors, and identify for each year the most connected core of individuals. We explore network cohesion and sectoral bridging of the elite core and find that it moved from being a unitary corporate elite, before 1945, to an integrated corporatist elite, between the 1950s and 1980s, before fragmenting into a loose group, with an increased importance of corporate elites, in the 1990s onwards. The core was always dominated by business and their forms of legitimacy but, at times of crisis to the hegemony of corporate elites, after the Second World War and (only) shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, elite circles expanded and included individuals with delegated forms of power, such as politicians and unionists. In the most recent cohort (2015), the share of corporate elites in the core is similar to the one before the First World War and during the interwar period. This return to the past echoes findings on wealth inequality and economic capital accumulation by a small group of individuals organized around the most powerful companies.

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Section: Background: Studying Elites Over Timementioning

confidence: 99%

From integrated to fragmented elites. The core of Swiss elite networks 1910–2015

Rossier

Ellersgaard

Larsen

et al. 2022

British Journal of Sociology

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“…In the machinery industry, a just-in-time work reorganization was implemented and a ‘crisis’ article’ in the CA allowed employers to increase the weekly working time without pay in the case of economic difficulties ( Widmer, 2012 : 281–285). Third, there was a reorganization of the employers’ and unions’ coordination and further de-unionization in the sector ( Eichenberger and Ginalski, 2017 ; Widmer, 2010 ).…”

Section: Gvcs Employment and Industrial Relations In The Swiss Machin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collectivism, individualism and solidarity in global value chain restructuring in the Global North: Workers’ resistance in the Swiss machinery industry

Martinelli

2021

Economic and Industrial Democracy

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Global value chains (GVCs) have become the dominant form of industrial organization in the global economy. Although the economic outcomes of GVC restructuring have been measured and the determinants theorized, there is a lack of empirical research on the real processes of GVC restructuring and its impact on labour in the Global North. This article helps to address this gap by investigating the effect of the participation in GVCs on the lead firms’ value-capturing strategies and on workers’ ability to defend and improve their working conditions in the Swiss machinery industry. Based on a critical GVC approach and a qualitative study of two work conflicts, the study demonstrates how GVCs shape a variety of new strategies for capital and labour; enhancing forms of management strategies and weakening the possibilities for workers’ counterstrategies by eroding collectivism and solidarity and promoting individualism among workers.

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“…Board directors developed strong organisational ties with other elite members (elected politicians, senior servants, renowned professors). Elite coordination intensified through meetings in various organisational structures, such as associations, party committees, the parliament (David et al 2009;Eichenberger and Ginalski 2017) or state expert committees (Bühlmann et al 2017). Elites were strongly interrelated, often multipositionnal across various institutions, and even multisectorial (Bühlmann et al 2012a), since e.g.…”

Section: Transformations and Reproduction Of Swiss Elitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Integrated to Fragmented Elites. The Core of Swiss Elite Networks 1910-2015

Rossier¹,

Ellersgaard²,

Larsen³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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This article focuses on historical elite dynamics and investigates elites’ integration over time. We describe the changing relations and composition of the central circles in Swiss elite networks at seven benchmark years between 1910 and 2015 by relying on 22,262 elite individuals tied to 2587 organisations among eight key sectors, and identify for each year the most connected core of individuals. We explore network cohesion and sectoral bridging of the elite core and find that it moved from being a unitary corporate elite following family-based elite reproduction, before 1945, to an integrated corporatist elite involved in educational and professional-based reproduction, between the 1950s and 1980s, before fragmenting into a loose group in the 1990s onwards. The core was always dominated by business and their forms of legitimacy but, at times of crisis to the hegemony of corporate elites, elite circles expanded and included individuals with delegated forms of power, such as politicians and unionists, detaining more university credentials, and less transnational connections and elite family ties.

show abstract

‘Si vis pacem, para bellum’—the construction of business cooperation in the Swiss machinery industry

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

From integrated to fragmented elites. The core of Swiss elite networks 1910–2015

From integrated to fragmented elites. The core of Swiss elite networks 1910–2015

Collectivism, individualism and solidarity in global value chain restructuring in the Global North: Workers’ resistance in the Swiss machinery industry

From Integrated to Fragmented Elites. The Core of Swiss Elite Networks 1910-2015

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