Administered investment, technology and innovation: the case of arms production in relation to competitive industries.

Summary Using an alternative mode of organization to the market, arms production makes it possible for firms to obtain a rent because of a strong informational asymmetry (bilateral monopolies). However, this aspect is not essential for understanding the specificity of this production. What differentiates it is the importance that the military attach to the technological performance of armaments. This "technophile bias" results from the need to obtain or maintain technological superiority. It gives rise to a research programme that makes it possible to transform the various armaments into systems and to develop innovative fields of research. Operating within this framework, armaments production forms more than a meso-system. The combination of industrial, political, financial and budgetary variables, as well as strategic and technological variables, gives rise to a "hypersystem" whose functioning is governed by an organizing principle: "syzygy", i.e. a set of relations stemming from a common technological fund for several mesosystems. This original configuration explains the particular role of armaments in the dynamics of the productive system. Syzygy gives rise to a scientific and technical potential that goes beyond military objectives and can find civilian applications. However, the commercial development of these new technologies requires a voluntary approach on the part of firms. Economic growth or depression explains why the connection between arms production and the economy varies according to the evolution of economic activities and investment opportunities. Not only do armaments firms play an important role in this transfer process, but civilian companies can also participate in the valorization of this potential - notably through the creation of interfaces by public military research and development centers.