The 20th Year of GERPISA Networking Activities

Founded in March 1981, GERPISA (the Permanent Group for the Study and Research of the Automobile Industry and its Employees) is coming to the end of its second decade as a scientific network of researchers originating from a wide range of social sciences (history, sociology, economics, management, geography etc.) - each of whom has a shared interest in the automobile industry. The groupís foundation was based on the need for the creation of a forum where researchers with a first hand experience of this sector of activity could meet. The automobile industry is not a theoretical construct it is a real area of social interest, one that possesses a rich history of societal interactions, and which is characterised by the contradictions that can be generated by human relationships. By emphasising ìthe Automobile Industry and its Employeesî in its title, the GERPISA group explicitly acknowledges the significance of social relations as a way of apprehending the dynamics that drive the automobile industry.

During its first ten years of existence, GERPISA was comprised of a group of French researchers who met once a month on the premises of the Centre de Recherches Historiques, de líEcole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (C.R.H.-E.H.E.S.S.) in Paris as part of the work that they were carrying out for the Centre for Historical Research. These meetings were used as a means for exchanging information (above all of a bibliographic nature); and for debating the research papers that would be presented by one of the groupís members, or else by a non-French researcher passing through Paris. The 123th ëJournées de travailí of this type will take place on 6th October next.

The first issues of the Lettre du GERPISA summarised the approach that the group was following at the time. This included the completion of a number of group projects: workshops that lead to the publication of the first issues of the Actes du GERPISA (no longer in print); a volume on ìThe Automobile Industryî (one of the first publications in the collection ìRepèresî , Editions La Découverte); the compilation of a historical datasí directory on the automobile industry; two research reports (one on employment relationships, the other on project management), amongst others.

From 1991 onwards, as a result of the Japanese automakersí remarkable breakthrough during the 1980s, productive models became a critical issue. To understand the structural change that the worldís automobile industry was facing, it became necessary to analyse the various dimensions of this phenomenon, and to establish a historical perspective from which conclusions could be drawn. The Emergence of New Industrial Models research programme was thus established, leading in June 1993 to GERPISA First International Colloquium, a new stage in the life of the group, and one which caused GERPISA to transform itself into an international network. This was made possible because of the material assistance that was provided by the European Commission, Renault and PSA, CCFA (the French Carmakersí Association), and France Telecom and as a result of the GERPISAís having been recognised by the French Ministry of Education and Research as an ìEquipe díaccueilî of the University of Evry-Val díEssonne.

As a national (and later international) scientific network, Gerpisa is run according to a gift exchange à la Mauss (don / contre-don) logic: each member contributes to the group, and derives from it, whatever s/he chooses to, in a spirit of reciprocity that excludes market or hierarchical relationships. As is the case for any network that generates externalities, it is the extensiveness of the network (the number of participants, and the speed with which new information and knowledge is diffused) that defines its value. GERPISAís longevity has been underpinned by the disciplinary and geographic variety of its members; by the scientific quality of the research projects that are carried out within its framework; and by the freedom that it affords members to debate subjects of interest. At the same time, the group does not endure any free-rider behaviour.

These dynamics have enabled the achievement of major scientific productions, relating to the implementation of the initial programme, and to the accomplishment of the second one. The first collective volume to present the programmeís findings, Global Strategies and Local Realities: The Auto Industry in Emerging Countries (edited by J. Humphrey, Y. Lecler and M. Salerno) was published this summer by Macmillan in Great Britain, and by St. Martin in the U.S. Two other volumes are currently being prepared: one which analyses firmsí internationalisation strategies; and the other which delves into the regionalisation processes that affect automobile spaces. Finishing these works before the end of the year 2000 will enable a rapid diffusion of the programmeís findings allowing people to focus their energies on a new issue (which the GERPISA has been studying since last June) - Coordinating Competencies and Knowledge in Regional Automobile Systems. This topic is an extension of the CoCKEAS project, which has received the support of the European Commission. The schedule that is currently being defined is already filled with working meetings, workshops, and other colloquia. You can find the list of these events on the last page of the present Lettre. The Steering Committee will be meeting on 15-16 December 2000 to finalise the programme, and you are very welcome to provide us with any proposal or comments that you would like to make, following on from the discussions that we had last June.

In the mean time, and before these new debates and exchanges take place, the CCFA has invited us to share a moment of automotive friendship during the visit of the ìMondial de líautomobileî to Paris on the 6th of OctoberÖ before we celebrate Gerpisaís twentieth birthday in spring 2001.

Index of number 145;
All the Editorials in La Lettre du GERPISA ;
Available numbers ;
Information on this server.