Les conditions de formation et d'appropriation d'un club d'entreprise de PME en territoire rural.. Une autre facette de l'activité des dirigeants de PME

This article deals with the conditions of constitution of a club of companies in rural territory. It aims at understanding the political, social and economic factors of SMEs leaders?collective action at a local level. At first, we analyse the political processes which made possible the constitution of this employers? club. It is indeed the result of the combined actions of local public authorities and of the local chamber of commerce and industry at a time when the way local public action was implemented was being rethought. Then, we show that the institutionalisation of this employers?club is also linked to the way their social sphere is structured. We first highlight the social mechanisms at stake when club members are selected. Then, we study how the diversity of these SMEs and of their leaders explains their unequal proneness to get involved in the club as well as the reasons why some of its members actively take part in its activities. As a result, we try to find out how the recompositions of family and patrimonial industrial capitalism impact the commitment of SMEs leaders in the club.