This paper seeks to demonstrate the evolution of the legal concept of enterprise between two historical socio-economic milestones: the industrial society of the late nineteenth century and the contemporary risk society. Based on an analysis of economics and commercial law at the end of the nineteenth century, it is initially explained that the legal notion of enterprise then used, influenced by the industrial capitalism, was defined by an economic bias and focused itself exclusively in maximizing production efficiency and profit.
Enterprise; Industrial Society; Risk Society; Social and Environmental Responsibility