Understanding, training, transforming: a center of excellence for a more responsible economy
This research group within the CSR-SD Center of Excellence aims to study and understand alternative modes of engagement by individuals, entrepreneurs, and organizations for social justice and environmental transition.
To this end, researchers are particularly interested in the figure of the social entrepreneur, work in nonprofit organizations, and more generally in alternative organizational practices in terms of management, governance, and control. The issue of the tensions faced by SSE and alternative organizations, which combine economic, social, and environmental goals, is at the heart of our concerns.
The aim is to understand how actors navigate these tensions and find compromises. We also study the mechanisms of organizational hybridization that contribute to proposing desirable and sustainable futures beyond conflicts of representation, power struggles, and legitimacy issues.
The theoretical frameworks used to address these questions are diverse. They include critical management approaches, psychological theories (identity, psychological reactance, moral injury), assemblage theory, and institutional sociology, among others
The contexts studied by the researchers in this focus are varied:
Most often qualitative to enable an in-depth study of complex topics, the methods used are adapted to the questions and objectives of each research project.
Researchers in this focus conduct in-depth case studies (interviews, non-participant observations, document analysis), ethnographic approaches in some cases, participatory research methods for certain studies.
The diversity of methods and theoretical frameworks reflects the pluralism and openness of the research group to experimentation.
Andrew BARRON is a professor of international business. His research interests center on the individual and collective political strategies of firms in international contexts
Andrew BARRON’S work adopts a critical posture, seeking to expose the ‘dark sides’ of alternative organizational forms mobilized by firms as vehicles for their political interests.
His recent projects explore the conditions under which firms may infiltrate and manipulate multi-stakeholder initiatives for their own political advantage.
Marie BOITIER is a professor of management control. Her research focuses on governance and the management of social and solidarity economy (SSE) organizations, highlighting the tensions between social and financial logics.
Marie BOITIER is particularly interested in how democratic governance enables leaders to reconcile these contrasting demands.Â
The topic of impact measurement in organizational management is also central to her research. In this context, she examines the role of sustainability indicators, particularly in higher education programs.Â
Finally, she explores conflicts between stakeholders’ logics on sustainable development issues, such as controversial infrastructure projects, which remain a key focus of her work.
Charline COLLARD is a researcher specialising in organisational dynamics within the framework of strong sustainability. She investigates the tensions experienced within both traditional and alternative organisations, such as citizen or activist collectives.
Charline COLLARD employs various theoretical frameworks and methods within a qualitative and participatory action research approach.
This enriches her analyses of the researcher’s responsibility and the co-construction of knowledge, incorporating academic and non-academic researchers, as well as non-human entities.
Caecilia DRUJON D’ASTROS focuses her research on silence in management control practices, power relations and resistance in the workplace, as well as “alternative” organisations, such as those in the social and solidarity economy (SSE).
Caecilia DRUJON D’ASTROS studies the tensions between sometimes contradictory logics and imperatives, as well as the role of control practices in organisational hybridisation.
Using qualitative methods (ethnography, case studies), she challenges dominant ways of thinking and contributes to discussions on alternative organisations in trade and work, shaping desirable and sustainable futures.
Seamus DUFURRENA is a researcher in accounting. His research focuses on managing professional stigma, particularly in the American cannabis industry, where he explores how professional accountants handle the stigma associated with their clients.
Seamus DUFURRENA uses qualitative approaches to study stigma transfer and the impact of social perceptions on accounting practices.
His work contributes to a better understanding of the interactions between professional ethics, stigma, and professional identity.
Shirah FOY is a researcher in entrepreneurship and strategy. Her research focuses on representations of value creation, exploring sociocultural influences, trade-offs, and tensions. She is particularly interested in how individual identity and a sense of legitimacy influence motivations for value creation.
Shirah FOY also examines the extent to which businesses serve as vehicles for social and political value creation. These questions apply to various contexts (e.g., formerly incarcerated individuals and value creation projects; entrepreneurs).
Additionally, she analyzes specific organizations such as the Solar Impulse Foundation, investigating the challenging reconciliation of sustainable development goals with economic imperatives.
Camille GAUDY specialises in the study of alternative forms of accounting and auditing, particularly within non-profit organisations. One of her main ongoing projects focuses on the effects of carbon accounting on the practices of a major humanitarian NGO.
Camille GAUDY’s work highlights the tensions between sometimes contradictory logics: the humanitarian logic, centred on urgency and immediate support, and the environmental logic, aimed at reducing the carbon footprint and managing waste.
More broadly, Camille questions the role and social uses of accounting and auditing in alternative organisations by drawing on critical theories, including recognition theory, counter-accounts, and emotional labour.
Richard JABOT focuses his research on carbon accounting. More specifically, he studies the effects of this accounting practice on the functioning of organizations, both businesses and NGOs, and the reality of commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Richard JABOT employs a qualitative approach through case studies that prioritize interviews, observations, and secondary data collection.
Wafa KHLIF is a professor of management accounting. Her work questions the foundations of contemporary governance models, offering a critical reading of neoliberal approaches and exploring alternatives rooted in the complexity of economic and social realities.
Wafa KHLIF views governance not as a managerial mechanism, but as a field of power relations, local resistance, and aspirations for social justice.
Her interdisciplinary approach bridges corporate governance, social accounting, and political economy, focusing on three main areas: systemic sustainability, hybrid governance models, and the governance of SMEs in transitioning environments.
Fabienne ORIOT is a professor of management control. Her research focuses on the management of organizations in the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and the public sector.
Using a qualitative approach, Fabienne ORIOT explores how tensions between financial logic and social mission are managed.
She highlights daily hybridization and the multiple uses of management control to foster social transformation and the empowerment of actors in complex institutional contexts.
Her publications examine the compromises and challenges faced by nonprofit organizations in their pursuit of social impact and sustainability.
Yasmine EL ALAMI-PINZON studies the dynamics of social inclusion through market-based collaborations between NGOs and market actors (such as a network of merchants engaged in active solidarity).
Using an anthropological approach, Yasmine EL ALAMI-PINZON research focuses on precarious and marginalized consumers, examining egalitarian practices initiated and developed by market actors.
Yasmine explores how logics of distributional justice manifest through different forms of consumption and questions the capacity of such initiatives to contribute to social inclusion.