Globalization but Still a Large Diversity of Productive Models and Corporate Governance Styles

Built upon a series of international comparisons and historical retrospective analyses of the car industry, the article challenges the vision that lean production is the best productive model for the 21st century. From a theoretical standpoint, a productive model is defined by the conjunction of a profit strategy and a company governance compromise in order to make coherent product policy, productive organization and employment relationships. along with the relevance with respect the macroeconomic macro growth mode. The empirical analysis shows that at least 3 productive models co-exist: the toyotian is organised along permanent costs reduction, the hondian one is built upon innovation and flexibility. whereas the sloanian model, based upon volume and diversity. is still alive and quite efficient in the relevant European context. The prognosis is that this diversity of productive models is bound to continue, even the era of globalization and after the mega merger mania.