Abstract
In this introduction, Corine Vedrine introduces the definitions of both the Michelin spirit and the Michelin myth. She introduces also this ethnographic investigation with its data, sources, methods, assumptions and difficulties linked to both an enquiry “at home” (as a grandfather of a Michelin worker and as an inhabitant of Clermont-Ferrand) and about a firm known to be very secrete.
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Notes
- 1.
Bibendum, also known as the Michelin man, is the company’s symbol and mascot. Its history and name will be discussed in Chapter 1 [translator’s note].
- 2.
The French text uses the term “maison”, which carries connotations that cannot easily be conveyed in a single word in English. This is particularly true when it takes on its primary sense of “house”. “Firm” seems to be the closest translation matching the context and has therefore been used throughout the book [translator’s note].
- 3.
An asterisk indicates that the work that is being quoted has not officially been translated into English. The English version is therefore the translator’s and the page number refers to the French version.
- 4.
French intelligence services [translator’s note].
- 5.
The comité d’établissment (for companies with several sites), or Works Council, is a legal requirement in French companies with fifty staff or more. It is a body consisting of elected employee representatives, nominated union representatives and the head of the company. It is financed by the company and organises social events and negotiates benefits [translator’s note].
- 6.
In the interview excerpts used in the text, I have changed the names of the people I questioned to preserve their anonymity.
- 7.
In addition, since 2006 I have had many more informal conversations.
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Védrine, C. (2019). Introduction. In: The Spirit of Capitalism According to the Michelin Company. Palgrave Studies in Urban Anthropology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96610-6_1
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