Value-based management: theoretical study and analysis of an implementation example.

Summary This research proposes to analyze the conditions of implementation of an operational planning system using a notion of economic value. It is based on a theoretical study of some "value-based management" models, as well as on a more empirical analysis of systems implemented in a large French company. The study of the analytical formulation of these first models allowed us to identify the hypotheses on which they are based, and which lead, for some of them, to delimit the conditions of their application. We thus show that these models do not constitute universal criteria for evaluating the activities of firms, but that they are better adapted to certain forms of economic and industrial contexts. Moreover, these models are part of a conception of control that focuses on the ex ante evaluation of operational plans and investments. According to this approach, the definition of relevant decision-making criteria coupled with incentive mechanisms should ensure the convergence of internal resource allocation decisions towards the objective of "value creation" for the company's shareholders. In contrast, the tools put in place in the company studied are focused on the problems of coordination between the company's general management and the managers of the operational divisions. These tools are organized, in particular, around the negotiated construction of a "target period" for each of the activities. A quantification of this target period and of a transition period then authorizes a value calculation. This operational plan is associated with a "value conservation" indicator, in updated terms, which makes it possible to monitor and update these references from one operational planning exercise to the next. The implementation of these tools is also based on a form of modeling of the economic and industrial context of the activities considered, and is part of a relational conception of planning and control.