Adapting firms to change relies heavily on the small initiatives taken by operatives in the field or on the line. A group ingenuity is thus produced that can be interpreted in the light of the theory of gift-giving, whence a major issue for management: how to take advantage of unremunerated...

Norbert Alter explains here the utility and topicality of Marcel Mauss’ theory in an analysis touching both on cooperation within a business structure and on people’s commitment to work. He reviews the heuristic qualities and critical scope that must be mobilised to create ways of...