The dynamics of interlocks in France
Résumé
Intercorporate networks have known rather paradoxical evolutions in France since the late 1990s. On the one hand, the share of foreign investors has dramatically increased in the capital of large companies. On the other hand, the interlocking directorates among them have developed as well. To highlight this last phenomenon, I study interlocking directorships among the CEOs of the 100 main companies at the Paris Stock Exchange. Based on longitudinal data over the 2005-2008 period, these analyses aim at assessing their dynamics. The formation of interlock ties among CEOs may respond to several social sub-processes: a centralization effect based on legitimacy and status, different forms of bounded solidarity, etc. Nevertheless other mechanisms may also play a role at the interorganizational level. In order to mitigate the previous results, I run further analyses on the intercorporate networks among the same major French companies.