Were it not for the current circumstances, we would be tempted to say that, just like Beaujolais Nouveau, the Dauphine Recherches en Management (DRM) laboratory is publishing its annual overview of new management practices. This year is special, as 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Paris-Dauphine University’s involvement in management science research. This 17th edition of a publication previously entitled L’Etat des entreprises (2009–2017) and then L’Etat du management (2018–2026) reflects DRM’s commitment to collaborating with businesses while advancing academic research.The 2026 edition is set against a backdrop where the key word is ‘uncertainty’: political instability, economic crises, climate issues and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. The rather optimistic views held by authors such as Aghion are far from widely shared (see Acemoglu), which fuels a debate that decision-makers and business leaders cannot avoid when economic activities are considered over the long term. The first chapter of the book is therefore dedicated to the long term, specifically to a brand’s intangible heritage, where the development of historical resources forms an integral part of the value chain. With this in mind, reputation, which is the subject of the second chapter, is exposed to multiple threats (online reputation, compliance, media coverage, etc.). It is also one of the most fragile intangible assets. Dealing with a crisis situation becomes a major challenge, and in this case, silence is most certainly not golden. Chapter 3, which takes us back to the early 1980s with a reflection on the concept of leadership, is reassuring: ‘To achieve great things, one does not need to be a great genius; one does not need to be above people; one needs to be with them’ (Montesquieu). Phew! Here at last is an area where the threat of artificial intelligence is reduced – by definition. Chapter 4 focuses on the ‘taboo’ that needs to be broken in order for a sector as highly charged as sextech not to act as a self-limiting factor for female entrepreneurs determined to develop a project that transcends social barriers. In this context, where norms sometimes become fleeting and the boundaries between work and pleasure blur, Chapter 5 shows that co-working spaces are places of work, consumption and socialisation all at once. Digital transformation does not only affect processes associated with the world of work, as demonstrated by Chapter 6, which focuses on new modes of music production that are inexorably leading to a form of homogenisation of production. Digitalisation also affects sporting events, as detailed in the final chapter, through over-mediatisation and a dilution of their original authenticity, even though it enables spectators to be ‘co-creators of value’. As we can see, the wealth of information contained in this ‘State of Management 2026’ paints a panorama of work that extends well beyond the boundaries of the traditional company.          Dauphine Recherches en Management (DRM – CNRS Joint Research Unit 7088), established on 1 January 2005, is one of the leading French research centres in management sciences. This publication was produced under the supervision of Sarah Lasri, Céline Michaïlesco and Sébastien Damart.  Alain Brunet

Ultimately, taking a close interest in the pension system is not a question of age. As he approaches the age of 30, and in contrast to his peers, Eric Weil has made pensions his favourite subject and, in this book, offers us an in-depth reflection on the system. ​​His aim is to help us see things more clearly, so that we can exercise greater discernment in the often heated debates on the subject. First, he explains, in an accessible manner and supported by statistical evidence, how the current system works and its history. ​​Reforming the system often brings the French out onto the streets, although most of them do not always know exactly what it is all about. ​​Indeed, he points out that while one-third of French people say they know how the system works, only 8% truly understand it. He highlights the principles and rules of the system, in particular the differences between the statutory retirement age / the age at which entitlement begins (AOD), the required insurance period (DAR) and the age at which the reduction in pension entitlement is cancelled (AAD): whether poorly understood or imprecise, these concepts often cause confusion among working people. A chapter is dedicated to the ten misconceptions about pensions and offers the reader a useful overview. ​​All the sticking points that divide the French public and politicians are addressed: the status of civil servants, long working lives, the points-based system and retirement at 60, among others. As for the perspective on the financing of the pension system, the book clarifies that the issue of the pension deficit cannot be separated from that of the overall balance of public finances. ​​While deductions are necessary to finance the largest item of the public deficit, increasing contributions is not an end in itself, as this will have an impact on employees’ net pay and on the competitiveness of businesses. Subsequently, a second section seeks to demonstrate that, although the system is inequitable, complex and difficult to manage, it is far more generous than elsewhere and represents an exception among OECD countries. Finally, the author takes the debate further by proposing reforms that could be implemented in the short and medium term. ​​Our ‘good old pay-as-you-go system’ has become less cost-effective over time. ​​It cannot be continuously pitted against the funded system. ​​The author believes that a mixed system would be more appropriate, for example by encouraging retirement savings through voluntary personal pension accounts (PERs). In addition, he advocates the creation of a ‘single pension account’, which would eventually enable the transition from around forty schemes with disparate rules to a single scheme. In summary, he believes that, among all the proposed solutions, it seems difficult not to ask current pensioners to make an effort and to encourage them to work longer. ​​In any event, the reform will have to be implemented gradually in order to be accepted by the French public, with the support of at least one major trade union. This book is recommended for all readers seeking a better understanding of our system and the issues it faces, and above all, for all young people who are convinced that they will not have a retirement pension in 30 or 40 years’ time. Eric Weil is a former ministerial adviser responsible for pensions. ​​A graduate of ESSEC, he has also provided strategy consultancy services to French and foreign companies. Book review by Sophie FRIOT

What is the level of inflation that allows each citizen to live at an adequate standard of living? ​​What are the causes ​of inflation that is too high or too low? In this study, Gilles RAVEAUD provides answers on the “Very High Inflation” observed in France over the period 2022-2024; leading to a sharp decline in the standard of living of the French. First of all, he questions the measurement of inflation by INSEE, which seems to underestimate the rise in prices and overestimate the rise in income. ​​INSEE uses the CPI (consumer price index) but should use the European HICP index (harmonized index of consumer prices), which would be more faithful to the real structure of household consumption although it would mean a sharp increase in public spending. The latest price increases have mainly concerned food and energy, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. ​​In addition, he also believes that inflation is due to excessive profits over the period and not to wage increases. ​​Indeed, according to the author, the “Very Great Inflation” in Europe over the period can be explained by corporate profits, which account for almost half of the increase. ​​The latter are accused of having taken advantage of the energy shock on their costs to increase their margins. This was also observed by the IMF, which posted in June 2023: “the increasing profits of companies have been the main contributor to inflation in Europe over the last 2 years “. The author then focuses on the centralization of the European electricity market and the setting of its price. ​​He criticises the fact that the sharp rise in electricity prices in 2022 is linked to the sharp rise in gas prices in Europe. ​​Mario Draghi also made the observation: “gas produces only 20% of European electricity, but it dictates prices 63% of the time” The ECB saw inflation as a serious and immediate danger that it had to fight. ​​The ECB therefore raised its interest rates in order to penalize credit and consumption. This monetary tightening has had a major impact on the real estate sector. ​​”In 2024, only 250,000 homes were built in France, an unprecedented level since …1960 “. ​​The victory over inflation has reduced access to property for many first-time buyers. In summary, the author presents 7 proposals to allow France to take its destiny back into its own hands and to be more in control of its public debt, its industry and its agriculture, with the guarantee of a minimum purchase price, among other things. He does not hesitate to reshuffle the cards of the great principles that govern our economy and those of the central bankers. ​​The reader will be able to find well-defined opinions through reasoned analyses and thus continue the perpetual debate on inflation. Gilles RAVEAUD is a lecturer in economics atthe Institute of European Studies of the University of Paris 8-Saint-Denis. Sophie FRIOT

This work is eminently collective: no less than 21 contributors, most of them from the University of Rennes (Accounting – Finance of the IGR-IAE Rennes) to analyse the extra-financial impact of organisations.Despite institutionalised extra-financial evaluation practices and systematic reporting by large companies, ambiguity and tension seem to determine the evaluation of the extra-financial impact of organisations. Ambiguity of the place given to evaluations by beneficiary organisations when the activities of the Vigéo agency (social and environmental rating agency created in 2002 with Nicole Notat, former secretary general of the CFDT) were bought by Moody’s in 2019. ​​Therefore, it becomes difficult not to underline the link of subordination that exists between the financial and the extra-financial. ​​ ​​ We already know that finance is a long-term process. ​​The authors highlight the recurring tensions between financial and extra-financial performance, two objectives that are at the heart of sustainable finance. ​​Three avenues of reflection are envisaged: (i) promotion of a new balance between these two objectives, leaving more room for the expression of stakeholders, (ii) implementation of a more relevant regulation, replacing the relative ESG measures with absolute measures of extra-financial performance, (iii) determination of the real level of stakeholder involvement to support more sustainable business models.  ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​If the authors’ stated ambition is to provide a structuring support for the development of partnerships dedicated to the study of contemporary issues of overall performance and responsibility of organizations, it can be said that the book has arrived at the right time. ​​Indeed, Patrick d’Humières, author of “Entreprise et géopolitique” (Business and Geopolitics) does not fail to point out that the request for ESG information first came from investors and that we can only be surprised that this lever is not used against the Chinese manufacturing submersion to “stop illegitimate dumping in the name of social, environmental and loyalty differentials, contrary to the values that constitute the foundation of our model of society”. ​​ Aurélien Ragaigne ​​works on the subject of extra-financial indicators and managerial situationssubject to tensions and paradoxes. ​​Jean-Laurent Viviani’s research focuses oncorporate finance, risk management and sustainable finance. ​​HélèneRAINELLI-WEISS is Director of the Master’s in Finance, Treasury course, and is interestedin how organisational theories can help to understand thefunctioning of the financial industry.  ​​ Alain Brunet

Power, or superpower, has been asserting itself since the dawn of time. It is rooted in all civilizations. From the Dogons of Mali to the Tukanos of the Amazon, and the Australian Aborigines, people believe in creators, gods, mythical figures of superpower whose extraordinary powers far exceed those of human beings. This advent of superpower is affirmed with monotheism and the idea that there exists one single creator. God reigns without rival, and His power is absolute over the entire universe. With the emergence of states, around the third millennium BCE, and of god-kings, superpower entered the human world. Modernity took shape in Europe from the eighteenth century onwards. Although democratic in essence, it nevertheless remained archaic in many ways, and the centralized, militarized, and organized state constituted the core element of modern superpower. For the author, this state-centered superpower is no longer ours. The hypertrophy of law, supranational institutions, external constraints, financial markets, and hyper-individualism have reduced the room for manoeuver of nation-states. Politics is receding in favor of polycentric systems organized around technology and  economy. Technoscience and hyper-capitalism have become the driving forces of a technical superpower that seems to go hand in hand with political impotence. Liberal democracies are weakened by excessive media coverage and fake news; new technologies are taking over and posing unprecedented challenges to political leaders. Social media is shaping a citizen into consumers of immediate, fragmented information.The hypermodern uniformity of a Western civilization sharing the same values was a myth. Europe, deemed too “woke,” too regulated, too bureaucratic, too liberal in terms of values, is no longer considered a partner by D. Trump. We are living in a time of the West against the West, of the “de-Europeanization” of the world; economically, it is the opposition between market capitalism and state capitalism. Democracies are retreating while authoritarian regimes are on the rise.Today’s superpower, with its ts capabilities, speed, and intensity, has nothing in common with anything  humanity has ever known before. It is an anthropotechnical metamorphosis whose limits we do not know. And this absence of limits generates fear and insecurity. This is the paradox of boundless superpower: the feeling of insecurity extends to all spheres of daily life — the air we breathe, GMOs, 5G, the erosion of biodiversity, climate change, gluten, pesticides. Everything is perceived as threatening. This heightened sensitivity to risk intensifies a demand for protection that becomes obsessive. And yet, never before has humanity possessed so many means to transform the world; never before have measurable indicators of living standards, life expectancy, access to healthcare, and human rights been so high.We undeniably live better today than we did yesterday. However, what about our quality of life? Is happiness faltering, or have we lost the ability to appreciate moments of intense joy? Much is still to be expected from advances in technoscience; but it would be an illusiory to believe that these could domesticate happiness into scientific laws or algorithms. Perhaps therein lies the limit of the superpowered society: this anthropological, faceless and unmasterable limit — the inappropriable happiness of each individual. Gilles Lipovetsky is a philosopher and essayist. Ph Alezard

So-called “happy” globalisation is now a thing of the past. ​​With it, the promise of continuous growth based on the indefinite intensification of international trade has faded. ​​The turn of the 2020s marks a profound rupture in the global economic and geopolitical order, under the combined effect of major shocks — the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the rise of economic sanctions, the resurgence of inflation, the resurgence of protectionism — as well as the rise of the fourth industrial revolution driven by digital technology and artificial intelligence. In this context, the transformations brought about by technological giants with unprecedented capitalisation are reshaping the economic, social and political balance on a global scale. ​​This volume of the Revue d’économie financière analyses these recompositions through the contributions of thirteen experts, articulated around three structuring axes. The first part examines the questioning of the international order. ​​Geopolitical tensions have led to an increasing fragmentation of world trade, which is now structured around strategic blocs. ​​Security is emerging as an organising principle of international relations, reconfiguring economic interdependencies. ​​The asymmetries resulting from globalisation, formerly vectors of integration, are becoming instruments of power and coercion. ​​In this context, Europe is faced with an imperative to strengthen its strategic autonomy, both militarily and energetically, as well as financially and digitally. The second part analyses the changes in contemporary capitalism in an environment marked by systemic crises since 2008. ​​The hypothesis of convergence towards a single model has given way to a plurality of trajectories. ​​American market capitalism and Chinese state capitalism now structure the global economy, while Europe is developing its own path, based on normative framework and the search for a balance between innovation and protection. ​​These differences are particularly evident in the development of artificial intelligence, which has become a major strategic issue. The third part deals with monetary and financial fragmentation. ​​It recalls, from a historical perspective, the constant intertwining of finance and geopolitics, characteristic of the great economic powers. ​​The question of monetary sovereignty is addressed in close connection with that of the sovereignty of payments. ​​While Europe has a sovereign currency, it remains dependent on largely extraterritorial payment infrastructures. ​​This vulnerability is a major strategic issue in a context where financial instruments can become levers of economic pressure. Through these analyses, this volume aims to contribute to the debate on the new dynamics of power and the conditions for European strategic autonomy in a permanently fragmented world. Philippe Alezard

This book tells the extraordinary story of life and natural intelligence, from the emergence of protocells four billion years ago to the appearance, 500 million years ago, of organisms endowed with mind, feelings and consciousness, thanks to a radical novelty: the nervous system. For the author, current advances in neurobiology can provide satisfactory answers to the question of the “manufacture” of consciousness. ​​According to him, this is “the biological process that allows everyone to experience their individual life, in other words, to know that we are alive and that we exist“. ​​The complex beings that we are come into the world equipped with biological mechanisms to protect the life we have against major threats that could jeopardise it. ​​These mechanisms are “homeostatic” feelings, which participate in the regulation of life by maintaining key organs or functions in an ideal range: “homeostasis”. This is the fundamental break proposed by Damasio. ​​Consciousness is not born in the brain, but in the feelings necessary to sustain life. ​​It emerges from a permanent dialogue, via the spinal cord and the vagus nerve, between the inside of the body and certain areas of the brain, much more differentiated than those dedicated to cognition. ​​This dialogue is that of interoception. ​​The continuation of life depends on the reliability of the information it provides and the responses that the subject provides. ​​We feel before we think. ​​Hunger, thirst, pain or fatigue are conscious biological responses to the vulnerability of life. ​​Interoceptive or homeostatic feelings are spontaneously conscious, with a single purpose: to inform the entire mental process with warning signals that cannot be ignored. ​​We are thus viscerally aware, what the author calls the “sensitive mind”. Nature has given this sensitive spirit two valuable allies: exteroception, which brings together all the sensory receptors – sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell – allowing us to connect to our environment, and proprioception, which makes all voluntary movements such as walking, eating, running or talking possible. ​​Consciousness is therefore not a software installed in the brain, but the juxtaposition of all these living processes. The brain alone does not hold the key to mental processes: it depends on the physiology of the body and the non-neural components of the brain. ​​Natural intelligence is a property of the living, which sets it apart from artificial intelligence, which does not have to worry about its life since it does not have one. ​​AI has no homeostatic feelings. ​​Machines can process huge amounts of information, speed up many tasks and reduce costs, but they cannot rely on the feelings that allow us to sort things out. ​​They remain dependent on their human owners – and humans can be bad. It is this conscious vulnerability, a distinctive feature of human intelligence, that should be introduced into AI. ​​It would induce a form of artificial prudence that could inhibit risky behaviour just as it has led to the development of moral systems and justice in humans.  ​​ Antonio Damasio, Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychology and Philosophy at the University of California. ​​He heads the Brain and Creativity Institute. ​​Member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ph Alezard

The latest book by Eric Carrey and Hubert Landier raises an issue that is currently much debated in all cultures around the world, centered on the two strongly synergistic concepts of “meaning and care” applied to the planet, humanity, society, business and the individual. ​​ The authors emphasize that the numerous measures implemented over the past half-century at the international, national and local levels, in terms of sustainable development and social, environmental and governance responsibility, despite their progress, are insufficient to meet the expectations of producers, consumers and citizens. ​​Their quest for meaning in their actions and their aspirations for solidarity and well-being are thwarted by  governments’ desire to restore major economic and financial balances, by the attempts of workers’ attempt to adapt to new technologies, by f consumers ’fears of facing shortages, but also by the determination of more and more social actors to achieve the energy, ecological and digital transitions. The authors invite us to go beyond the canonical notions of homo economicus by recalling the genealogy of the concepts that have marked out the vast field of “meaning and care”: the economies of gift-giving, the common good, well-being, happiness; circular and frugal economies; cooperative, associative and partnership-based governance, CARE and CURE practices, etc. They revisit the notions of  sustainability, resilience, responsibility, solidarity, etc. Using illuminating ideal-type cases, the authors analyze the application of these concepts to the planet (water, air, earth) and to different objects (clothes, bottles, etc.).They strive to perceive the weak signals that herald the turning points in our civilization, its vital principles, its essential practices, its mobilizing values and its new languages. Hubert Landier (Doctor of Economics) is Professor Emeritus of Universities. ​​Eric Carrey (St Cyr, Exeter and ESSEC) is a professor of social and solidarity economics. Jean Jacques Pluchart

The author, a great reporter at Le Figaro, engages in a difficult and original exercise: to draw economic lessons from world fiction. ​​The exercise is particularly successful because the book enriches its readers with useful economic knowledge and valuable cultural contributions. ​​The author declines her literary career by rereading 18 works covering 6 periods. The first relates the lessons lavished by the authors of Genesis (the curse of work), Homer (the role of money), Hesiod (misery), Thucydides (the financing of war) and Petrone (manipulation and fraud). ​​The second covers medieval times, with Tristan and Isolde, the tale of the Grail, the Roman de Renart and the ballads of Christine de Pisan, which illustrate the difficult material and social conditions of peasants, women and the bourgeoisie of cities and fairs. ​​The third sequence is marked by the shift in the market economy, with analyses of the works of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Lafayette, La Fontaine, Rousseau and Casanova, marked by tensions between financial interests and friendship, rules of the past and the future, work and income, nature and culture, investment and speculation. ​​The fourth age is that of the transition from economics to the state of science with the economic lessons of Goethe, Austin, Stendhal, Balzac, Dostoievki, Zola, Mann and Wharton, who describe the effects of capitalism and conventions on the economic situations of women, the bourgeois, workers and consumers. ​​The next phase is devoted to London (work ethic), Kafka (the excesses of bureaucracy), Yourcenar (the end of religions), Akhmatova (totalitarianism), Ayn Rand (individualism), Perec (consumerism), Druon (social declassification), Pamuk (standardisation) and Wolf (ambition). ​​The last sequence focuses on 21st century literature, with books by Houellebecque (the attraction of platforms), Adiichie (migration), Coe (the torments of the middle class), Egan (the development of digital technology) and Koenig (digital and ecological transitions). Anne de Guigné’s book thus makes it possible to rediscover or discover the thoughts and biographies of authors who have lived through their century and economic laws that have spanned the centuries. ​​The author’s elegant and lively style gives the book a character that is both educational and cultural. Anne de Guigné is a senior reporter at Le Figaro, in charge of economic issues, and the author of several books. Jean-Jacques Pluchart

This is an essay on the “hidden” dangers of digital currency. As central banks around the world prepare to roll out their digital currencies (CBDCs), a historic shift is brewing in the shadows, according to the author.  This incisive and accessible investigative book delves into the heart of this silent revolution of technologies presented as innovative, secure, and practical, when “CBDCs actually conceal a logic of permanent surveillance, the extinction of cash, and algorithmic control of populations.” The author deciphers what he claims to be the real objectives of this technology, its intertwining with artificial intelligence, social credit, green passports, and digital identities. He highlights his vision of a global agenda, “shared by both Western institutions and emerging powers (BRICS+, etc.), aimed at establishing a cashless society, driven by algorithms and subject to behavioral compliance criteria.” However, the book does not mention the advantages of central bank digital currencies, nor the risks inherent in their implementation, nor the measures envisaged to manage these risks. There is a negative, even conspiratorial bias in some pages: “there is a technological mechanism which, under the guise of progress, threatens the autonomy of peoples and the very survival of humanity.” And again, “the ultimate goal of the financial elite is clear: to enslave humanity through eternal debt that people will carry until their last breath.” It is therefore not surprising that the information on this subject provided in this book is incomplete. This book claims to be an “intellectual weapon for resistance”: by calling for the reappropriation of monetary sovereignty, the preservation of gold and silver metal, and a questioning of the all-digital approach, the author « urges us not to become spectators of the fourth industrial revolution, but to actively challenge its most dangerous excesses. We must inspire the world and Europe by proving that an alternative is possible: reintroducing gold and silver, restoring the franc, and driving the merchants from the temple ». Marc Gabriel DRAGHI is a lawyer and essayist. Dominique Chesneau