The Management of ‘Highflier’ Executives In France: the Weight of the National Culture

Abstract

Frank Bournois is Maître de Conférences (Senior Lecturer) in Human Resource Management at the Université Jean Moulin‐Lyon III, and Sylvie Roussillon is Head of the Human Resources Group at ESC Lyon (Lyon Graduate School of Business). These authors report here, for the first time, the results of a recent study into the particular practices used by French companies to identify and manage highflying executives. As preceding articles in this issue have shown, managerial élites are a key part of the French management system. This research reveals that the management of the highflier process is subtle, relatively unstructured, and informal – there is very little use made, for example, of assessment centres. A number of practical recommendations are made for those senior managers who are currently charged, or may in the future be charged, with the responsibility for the operation of this process.