The Beginnings of Agility at Brioche Pasquier

Abstract

Seeking to grow its business while managing the risks of expansion, preserving a family business culture, and ensuring effective succession planning, the French baking firm of Brioche Pasquier Group in 1984 turned to consultants from the Institute for Socio‐Economic Organization Research for assistance. Together, they implemented the socioeconomic approach to management (SEAM) to strengthen the firm's core planning, operational, and human resource structures; increase efficiency and convert hidden costs into value‐added activities; reorganize production processes; streamline delivery; better connect with customers; and improve teamwork. Over time, the SEAM methodology supported the emergence of an agile organization. The practices put into place have helped the company adapt to the challenges in its industry for more than three decades. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tensions in Organizations Transforming to Agility

“…There are only a few studies that focus on how an organisation transforms to agility. For example, Worley, et al [54] investigated structural change in a family business that began to transform to agility in 2011. This descriptive study of a manufacturing firm, focuses on the details of the initial transformation and how it was carried out following a SEAM methodology (socio-economic approach to management), the structural changes introduced into the production activities over time, and the financial advantages achieved due to agility.…”