The diversity of employment management policies, summed up by the duality between the primary market and the secondary market, is clearly shown for the French labour market following the example of previous work on the United States. A classification of employment management methods distinguishing four establishment profiles is put together based on the 1998 DARES Response survey on establishments with 20 or more employees. We use this basis to evaluate the elements that influence why establishments use one management method rather than another. The factors of influence studied are grouped into four categories. They concern alternatively the structural context (business sector, the establishment's characteristics, etc.), the productive equipment, the product market supply strategy and the firms' ownership structure. The estimates made suggest that the structural, commercial strategy and productive equipment factors as well as the financial factors all have varied, but very real influences. There are many complementary factors involved in the definition of an employment management policy. For example, a highly active employment management policy prioritising individual skills is found more among market service sector establishments using computer-aided systems. At the same time, small establishments with an unstable demand have employment management policies that are guided more by the need to minimise costs.