Purpose – To describe and analyse the Compagnons du Devoir (CdD), a French Compagnonnage ; that is, a labour brotherhood and a community of practice; and to identify the reasons for its success as a human resource development system (HRD). Design/methodology/approach – A one‐off case study...

Purpose – The “classical” logic of organisations existing as generators of shareholder value, with the human “resources” seen as a means to this end, has been the subject of criticism regarding alienation in its members and the instrumentalisation both of work and of people. This paper...