ABSTRACT
There is no single model for a corporate pact, as evidenced by the evolution of the business concept over the last two centuries and the persistence of multiple avatars of this notion. Nevertheless, there are some major trends:
As a consequence of the need to accumulate capital for industrialization, the power has gradually shifted from the enterprising family to the technocratic manager, then to the shareholders and financial investors: this has resulted in a gradual depersonalization of relations in a enterprise;
Tertiarisation has not slowed down this process. On the contrary: on average, employees now work in larger companies than thirty years ago, but in smaller institutions which increases the feeling of distance from decision-making places;
The emergence of enterprises operating in networks (cross-linking), against the backdrop of outsourcing for productive purposes, has also modified relations between stakeholders, with business-to-business relationships becoming a determining factor in achieving the industrial pact.
