Grasset Affair: Could Publishers Become Mission-Driven Companies?

In a column for Le Monde, management science researcher Armand Hatchuel proposes that publishing houses explicitly enshrine their values in their corporate statutes to ensure long-term sustainability. This suggestion comes in the wake of the Grasset affair, where the publisher faced controversy over its editorial choices. Hatchuel argues that formalizing ethical commitments could protect publishers from market pressures and ideological conflicts, drawing on the French legal framework of "sociétés à mission" (mission-driven companies). He contends that such a move would not only safeguard editorial independence but also reinforce the cultural role of publishers. The column does not specify which values should be inscribed or how enforcement would work, but it frames the proposal as a structural solution to recurring crises in the publishing industry.