Short of time? Here's an abridged version of the Breakthroughs podcast exchange with HEC strategy professor Aline Gatignon. Her research focuses on the ripple effect of corruption, tracking how scandals reshape cross-sector partnerships between nonprofits and multinationals. The lessons are urgent for any leader whose organization touches public trust, whether in emerging markets or in Western capitals. Often, multinationals turn to nonprofits in times of crisis, funding environmental or social causes to show they’re part of the solution. But are these partnerships real, or just spin? Hear more from Aline as she gives advice to both parties on how to work together. Her research is a story about power, legitimacy, and the resilience of civil society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When a corporate scandal explodes, like Volkswagen’s Dieselgate or BP’s oil spill, companies scramble to save their reputations. Often, they turn to nonprofits, funding environmental or social causes to show they’re part of the solution. But are these partnerships real, or just spin? Strategy professor Aline Gatignon suggests answers. Her new study uncovers how crises change the way corporations and nonprofits work together - and how nonprofits sometimes resist being used as PR cover. Her research is a story about power, legitimacy, and the resilience of civil society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HEC academics Pauline Asmar, Matteo Winkler, Lisa Baudot and Olivier Sibony share with Breakthroughs the books which sustained or transformed their approach to research. For, as the 19th century Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle once said: "What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books." These books are now available in HEC's Learning Center, thanks to the efforts of Elise Thomas: Livres recommandés par nos professeurs-chercheurs - Groupe HEC. Click on this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/from-huxley-to-frankl-research-academics-pinpoint-their/id1524786528?i=1000723447474. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why should employees articulate your company’s purpose - and not just the firm’s CEO? In this SHORT LISTEN Breakthroughs speaks with Pauline Asmar, a doctoral researcher at HEC Paris, whose groundbreaking work reframes how purpose actually works inside companies. Drawing on data from nearly 60,000 employees across 469 firms, Asmar reveals that it's the middle managers who translate abstract mission statements into daily motivation - not the top brass. We discuss why this “purpose dialogue” at management/worker level is emerging as a vital new lever for team commitment, how companies can fail despite having purpose statements, and what happens when leaders just parrot slogans instead of listening. Plus, how purpose-washing creates skepticism, and what can be done about it. For the full version, go to https://shows.acast.com/knowledgehec/episodes/not-just-parrots-how-middle-managers-bring-purpose-to-life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why should employees articulate your company’s purpose - and not just the firm’s CEO? In this episode of Breakthroughs, we speak with Pauline Asmar, a doctoral researcher at HEC Paris, whose work reframes how purpose works inside companies, at the level of the teams. The research is co-authored by HEC Professor and Purpose Chair director Rodolphe Durand. Drawing on data from nearly 60,000 employees across 469 firms, Asmar reveals that it's the everyday managers who translate abstract purpose statements by the top brass into daily motivation. We discuss why this “purpose dialogue” at management/worker level is emerging as a vital new lever of team commitment, how companies can fail despite having purpose statements, and what happens when leaders just parrot slogans instead of listening and engaging. We also discuss how purpose-washing creates skepticism, and what can be done about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This month’s HEC Breakthroughs podcast features the insights by KU Leuven professor Frank Wijen who challenges fellow researchers in sustainability to go deeper and to have greater impact. Here are some of the key points taken from our 30-minute exchange on what Wijen calls “engaged research”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Is academic research into sustainability doing its job, moving the cursor forward in a time of unprecedented climate crisis? It’s a question Professor Frank Wijen discusses in the context of dramatic ecology-related incidents around the globe. “Researchers are taking snapshots and not movies,” he says, and this static orientation is not answering the urgency of real-life crises. Breakthroughs explores possible solutions with the Full Professor of Global Sustainable Strategies from KU Leuven. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’ve heard it a thousand times: diversity is good for business. But what if that familiar line doesn’t stand up to scrutiny or serious research – and, to cap it all, it’s counterproductive? In this SHORT LISTEN version of the HEC Breakthroughs podcast, HEC Paris professor and best-selling author Olivier Sibony explains why the “business case” for diversity may be leading us astray. If we want fairer, smarter organizations, we need to stop trying to change minds - and start redesigning the systems that shape them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’ve heard it a thousand times: diversity is good for business. But what if that familiar line doesn’t stand up to scrutiny or serious research – and, to cap it all, it’s counterproductive? In this latest HEC Breakthroughs episode, HEC Paris professor and best-selling author Olivier Sibony explains why the “business case” for diversity may be leading us astray. If we want fairer, smarter organizations, we need to stop trying to change minds - and start redesigning the systems that shape them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
President Donald Trump’s dismantling of American Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs is happening at breakneck speed. His Executive Orders label DEI policies as "illegal and immoral forms of discrimination”. HEC scholars Matteo Winkler and Marcelle Laliberté scrutinize this shift of narrative which is challenging certain constitutional rights. They share their research on this seismic shift which, they say, could undermine the very essence of American - and by ricochet, European – societies and their notion of equal rights. Read the highlights here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Japan’s “super-aged society” (over 28% of its population aged 65 or above) and the US’ “aged society” (around 16% over 65) pose new challenges to the retirement period. And they’re set to rise. Just how do these two countries answer them? HEC professor Lisa Baudot plunges us into her new research through the eyes of CEO retirees from accounting’s Big Four. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I just make the time to read a book and it gives me this burst of fire in the belly to give me another two or three hours of creativity or productivity.” This cry of passion by author Robin Sharma is a call to arms four HEC researchers have heard throughout their respective careers. Gilles Deleuze, Norbert Elias, Sherry Turkle and E.O. Wilson are so many references inspiring our academics in their devotion to further their disciplines. They share their passion for books in this first Breakthroughs podcast of 2025. Find the written highlights in Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The questions of language, culture and merit have long intrigued researchers. HEC accounting professors Daniel Martinez and Keith Robson share the challenges these issues pose for diversity and equity. Professor Robson describes the cultural notions like language that favor the progression of elite groups in service firms in the UK. Whilst Associate Professor Martinez joins with fellow-researchers Javier Husillos and Carlos Larranaga to challenge the monolingual hegemony of English in academic publishing. This, he claims, affects non-native speaking academics’ very identity and puts them in a position of subservience. Find the written highlights in Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HEC research academic Craig Anderson has been exploring the impact of “awe” on Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, and well-being for over a decade. The specialist in affective science recently published a paper on culture and awe, comparing the emotional approach of Americans and Chinese to this phenomenon. Anderson’s research was at the heart of a 2023 National Geographic documentary “Operation Artic Cure” which traces the use of awe to alleviate PTSD in veteran soldiers. The American academic shares his insights into a new science reshaping policies in sustainability, marketing and health. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This summer’s eruption of violence in the UK has renewed searching questions on the role social media plays in our society. It has also accelerated calls for new or revamped regulation of the country’s social media platforms, encapsuled in the UK’s Online Safety Act. But online violence does not confine itself to politicized and stigmatized communities. For the past 12 years, HEC Professor Kristine de Valck has explored the presence of direct, cultural and structural violence in an online community that few researchers would imagine: the British electronic dance music community. Kristine shares her decade-long research on such leisure-oriented communities, also observed on Reddit, Twitch and Discord platforms, and suggests ways to mitigate such brutalization of online consumers.Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Notre série du podcast Breakthroughs fête ce mois-ci les événements sportifs de l’été avec un programme hors-série dédié au lancement d’un nouvel électif sport et commerce pour les étudiants. Intitulé « Sport & Business », ce programme de six mois comprend un travail théorique, puis de terrain en partenariat avec le club de football professionnel Racing Club de Lens (présidé par Joseph Oughourlian, un alumnus d’HEC). Le professeur Luc Arrondel dirige les contenus académiques de l’électif. Ce chercheur partage avec nous son approche pédagogique centrés sur l’économie du foot. Puis, dans la deuxième partie du podcast, nous suivons le premier rassemblement de l’Economie du Sport dans lequel HEC Paris, Bpifrance et EY ont uni les acteurs clés de l’écosystème sportif. Etaient présents pour HEC, des dirigeants, des étudiants et des alumni pour des séances dédiées à la recherche, à l’enseignement et à l’action de l’école de commerce dans ce secteur florissant. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024 marks 20 years since the birth of social media. Since then, it has become a major communication force in the lives of teenagers’ lives - a 2024 Pew survey claims that 93% of American youth use it, for example. Unsurprisingly, research on its impact has followed suit. But just how reliable are the conclusions in this new field of studies? In April 2024 HEC professors Tina Lowrey and L.J. Shrum co-signed a research paper with their former doctoral student Elena Fumagalli (H18), showing conflicting findings on the negative and positive effects of social media on youth. They warn against major policies and lawsuits founded on inconclusive studies and contradictory scientific research. Professors Lowrey and Shrum share with Breakthroughs their empirical study to try to make sense of a subject matter inflaming public debate. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ever since he published “Strategic Management”, Edward Freeman has been at the forefront of a theory that stakeholders are interconnected. For his collective body of work, the economist from Darden School, Virginia, received an Honorary Doctorate from HEC Paris, adding his name to the 48 illustrious scholars on the HEC Honoris Causa list. The March 4 ceremony was followed by several thousand spectators, both live and on line. Freeman’s visit to the Jouy-en-Josas campus was the occasion to discuss his stakeholder vision with a prism of the 21st century. This is an exceptional Breakthroughs podcast, recorded for Knowledge@HEC. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Unlike the steam engine or the birth of the Internet, AI and LLMs (such as ChatGPT) do not need expensive hardware for access. Hence, a universalization which Carlos Serrano underlines in this wide-ranging podcast. He’s Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Economics in the Department of Economics and Decision Sciences at HEC Paris. With his colleague Professor Thomas Åstebro, he organized a groundbreaking AI & Entrepreneurship Workshop at HEC, inviting top researchers and business experts from different disciplines and backgrounds to discuss how to bridge the gap between research and business. Key points included the transformation of risk management for machines and how, in the words of Serrano, industry practitioners are generally thinking ahead of academics. That, and much more in this frank and often personal podcast exchange. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When trying to figure out the outcome of a given situation, or the fallout of a sudden event, is it better to reason by analogies and resort to past experience or to think ahead and apply probabilistic reasoning? Researchers present a new mathematical model on making decisions in uncertain circumstances, which takes into account both modes of reasoning.Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.