With :
Thomas Paris (HEC Paris)
Aurélien Rouquet (NEOMA Business School)
Françoise Chevalier (HEC Paris)*
Pierre-Jean Benghozi (CNRS, Polytechnique)*
Alain Charles Martinet (Lyon 3 University)*
*Business Science Institute faculty members
At the Business Science Institute's international week in Versailles, the discussion focused on the interaction between research and practice in the field of management.
Thomas Paris: A microscopic approach to reinventing the economy and creation
Thomas Paris, professor at HEC Paris and researcher at the CNRS, opened the discussion with an account of his personal and intellectual journey, marked by a twenty-year quest to understand and explain the role of the Paris School of Management, but also how the global pandemic acted as an eye-opener.
A Revelation in Times of Crisis
Thomas Paris began with a striking anecdote: the global pandemic of COVID-19, which prompted decision-makers to rethink the world. The President of the French Republic, in a historic address, called for a "rethinking of the world afterwards", a message that resonated strongly with him. However, he expressed his disappointment at the composition of the commission entrusted with this task, dominated by prestigious economists with little innovation in their approaches, often rooted in traditional macroeconomic models.
It was against this backdrop that Thomas Paris grasped the importance of the École de Paris, which offers an alternative: a microeconomic perspective focused on the creative industries. For him, these sectors - fashion, cinema, design, publishing, video games - constitute a "creative economy", essential to understanding and anticipating tomorrow's world.
The École de Paris du management: a place where practical knowledge emerges
Thomas Paris emphasized that his work at the École de Paris, in collaboration with Michel Berry, has created a unique space where practitioners and researchers meet to exchange practical knowledge. The seminar, which has been running for 18 years, is distinguished by its multidisciplinary approach and its commitment to exploring dynamics often overlooked by macroeconomic approaches.
The École de Paris principle is based on the idea that much valuable knowledge is to be found in the field, in a microscopic approach. Unlike the vast amounts of data used in public decision-making, this emerging knowledge, often invisible to traditional tools, is critical to thinking about tomorrow's world. Thomas Paris explained how these exchanges, by highlighting the approaches and processes of individuals and organizations, make it possible to gather varied perspectives, thus enriching our understanding of the creative economy.
Exploratory and open research
For Thomas Paris, the methodology adopted at the École de Paris is fundamentally exploratory. It is distinguished by its ability to generate and bring to light knowledge that is not always well documented, in an open and divergent approach. This approach leaves room for surprise and discovery, essential elements in developing solid expertise in understanding the creative industries.
In conclusion, Thomas Paris pointed out that, over the past 30 years, the École de Paris has highlighted numerous initiatives in the field - in companies, NGOs and local authorities - that are attempting to respond to the ecological, social and societal challenges of today's world. He stressed the importance of harnessing this valuable knowledge to visualize the new society we must inevitably move towards.
Aurélien Rouquet: The French journal of management (Revue française de gestion), a vital link between theory and practice
Aurélien Rouquet, professor at NEOMA Business School and editor-in-chief of the Revue Française de Gestion (RFG), has chosen to illustrate his vision of the magazine with a metaphor taken from a song by Alain Bashung, "Gaby oh Gaby". The song ends with an enigmatic line: "À quoi ça sert les frites si t'as pas les moules? À quoi ça sert le cochonnet si t'as pas les boules?". For Aurélien Rouquet, these lyrics capture the essence of RFG's mission: to marry theory and practice, to produce comprehensive and relevant research.
A Journal Connected to Business
Aurélien Rouquet emphasized the importance of management research that remains connected to business realities. Founded in 1975, RFG has always aimed to bring together researchers and practitioners, a fundamental premise it continues to uphold. In its early days, the magazine featured interviews with leading managers and counted many business leaders on its editorial board.
Over time, however, the magazine underwent a certain "academicization", with an increase in the number of academics on its editorial board and a tendency to publish more theoretical articles. Rouquet acknowledges this evolution, but insists on RFG's constant efforts to resist this drift, notably by maintaining readable and accessible articles, directly linked to current events and societal issues.
Strategies for resisting academicization
Aurélien Rouquet described several strategies implemented by the magazine to counter excessive theorization. The first is to ensure that articles remain readable, avoiding the methodological clumsiness often found in other academic journals. RFG favors clear, relevant texts that tackle topical issues with a direct impact on managerial practices.
The journal launched a call for papers on the impact of the Anthropocene on management sciences, which attracted over 25 proposals, testifying to RFG's commitment to addressing contemporary issues. In addition, the journal has encouraged the dissemination of thought through videos and has encouraged management researchers to take part in public debate, notably with the Nemesis call, which aimed to strengthen the presence of management researchers in the media and public discussions.
Defending a French-speaking model
Aurélien Rouquet also stressed the importance of RFG's French-speaking positioning. He argued for the need to maintain a French-language journal, not only to preserve linguistic diversity, but also to defend a different model of capitalism from that promoted by Anglo-Saxon journals. In his view, language influences the way we think about and conceive economic models, and it is essential to propose a French-speaking and European model compatible with contemporary issues, particularly those linked to the Anthropocene.
Aurélien Rouquet concluded by reaffirming the importance of RFG as a major French-speaking voice in the global academic landscape, a journal that, while remaining rigorous, continues to marry theory and practice, ensuring that its publications remain relevant and accessible to practitioners and decision-makers alike.
Françoise Chevalier: Between research and practice, a relationship to be reinvented
Françoise Chevalier, Associate Professor at HEC Paris, offered an in-depth reflection on the relationship between research and practice, a central theme in management science. Structuring her talk around three main points, she explored how these relationships can be rethought and enriched in today's context.
The DBA: rethinking the relationship between research and business
Françoise Chevalier's first point concerns the Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA), a program which, she believes, encourages a rethinking of the relationship between academic research and business. DBA doctoral students, who are often working managers, are directly confronted with business issues. They have an intimate knowledge of the issues that arise in the field, and a vast body of empirical material at their disposal.
One of the major challenges of this program is to enable doctoral students to take a step back from their professional experience, in order to come back armed with new research questions. This involves converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, while maintaining a balance between scientific rigor and accessibility. Françoise Chevalier stressed the importance of rethinking research methods and tools to make them accessible to managers and companies, while avoiding what Voltaire called "admirably deduced falsehoods".
The Business Science Institute: an extended academic enterprise
The second point of her talk concerns the Business Science Institute, which she describes as an "extended academic enterprise". This notion implies that the organization is not limited to its employees or board of directors, but also includes suppliers, customers and all the players in its environment. This model is particularly widespread in sectors such as aeronautics, automotive, healthcare, and even banking and insurance.
Françoise Chevalier explained that this notion of the extended enterprise also applies to the academic field, where open-access platforms enable teachers-researchers and learners to find relevant educational resources. The Business Science Institute, which brings together teachers and doctoral student-managers from a wide range of disciplines and countries, functions as an extended academic enterprise pursuing a common project. What is fascinating, according to Chevalier, is that the Business Science Institute, as an object of research, itself becomes a subject of study, illustrating a reversal of perspective in which the academic organization is both producer and object of knowledge.
The Blob: an experiment in collaborative science
The third point in Françoise Chevalier's talk concerns a collaborative science experiment launched by the CNRS, entitled "Le Blob, la cellule qui apprend". This project, open to all volunteers in 2021-2022, aims to study the blob, a fascinating unicellular organism that is neither an animal, nor a plant, nor a fungus, but which possesses the ability to learn and transmit information by merging with its congeners.
Participants in this experiment received blob samples from CNRS, which they hydrated, fed and exposed to different environmental conditions. The data collected was then sent to the CNRS for analysis. Françoise Chevalier emphasized that this type of project is a perfect illustration of how collaborative intelligence can be implemented in a scientific setting, requiring fine-tuned management and rigorous pedagogical codification. This type of approach could become essential in many scientific fields.
Pierre-Jean Benghozi: Research as a combat sport and the art of decision-making
Pierre-Jean Benghozi, emeritus director of research at the CNRS, professor at the École Polytechnique and former member of the ARCEP college, has delivered an in-depth reflection on the evolution of research and practice, particularly in the field of telecommunications and digital technology.
From theoretical research to practical commitment
Benghozi began by recalling his career path, evoking his transition from academic research to telecommunications regulatory responsibilities, a transition that led him to occupy a central position in public decision-making. He stressed that this experience was not simply a continuation of his research career, but a real immersion in practical action, which led him to rethink the role of research.
As a regulator at ARCEP, Benghozi had the opportunity to access key strategic information, engage in dialogue with the leaders of the sector's major companies, and gain an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of public policy and regulation. He described this role as an extension of research, but with an added dimension: direct involvement in decision-making.
Decision research: beyond action research
Pierre-Jean Benghozi introduced the concept of "decision research", which he distinguished from traditional action research. According to him, being in a decision-making position implies not only mastery of a specific field, but also the ability to bring together different, often contradictory, points of view to build a shared vision.
This work of mediation and synthesis, which is not necessarily consensual, is very close to the epistemology of research, where the aim is to link varied perspectives to create a more complete understanding of a subject. He emphasized that this decision-making process in a regulatory environment is not simply the application of existing knowledge, but a form of research in its own right, enriching and shaping our understanding of the dynamics at play.
Pierre-Jean Benghozi used a powerful metaphor to describe research: a "combat sport". He explained that research, like regulation, involves confronting different visions, actors with divergent interests, and navigating complex environments where decisions have concrete consequences. This confrontation, he believes, is essential for refining knowledge and making it applicable in the real world.
Academic entrepreneurship and listening to points of view
Finally, Pierre-Jean Benghozi spoke of the importance of academic entrepreneurship, i.e. the idea that researchers should actively engage in the creation and dissemination of knowledge, while listening to different points of view. This concept is in line with the practice of managers at institutions such as the Business Science Institute (BSI), where the creation of knowledge goes hand in hand with a strong commitment to the institution's mission.
For Pierre-Jean Benghozi, research should not be limited to theoretical analysis or data collection. It must be a dynamic process, deeply rooted in practice, where the production of knowledge takes place in constant interaction with the reality on the ground. This perspective, he believes, should guide the evolution of the research profession, strengthening the link between research and practice, and encouraging researchers to become more actively involved in decision-making processes.
Alain Charles Martinet: Pragmatist epistemology at the heart of strategy research
Alain Charles Martinet, Professor Emeritus at the University of Lyon 3, has proposed a profound reflection on the evolution of strategy research, emphasizing the importance of a pragmatist epistemological approach. His vision can be introduced by quoting Picasso: "First I find, then I seek", a phrase that perfectly illustrates his own intellectual approach.
From discovery to research: an epistemic approach
Alain Charles Martinet shared that, as early as his doctoral thesis, he had found a little something - a precise epistemological position - which he then spent 50 years exploring and substantiating. For him, research cannot be dissociated from constant epistemological work. This idea, inspired by thinkers like Piaget, means that epistemology must be integrated into the research process itself, rather than remaining an external reflection.
Martinet spoke of his intellectual journey, enriched by a variety of influences, from complexity with Edgar Morin and Jean-Louis Le Moigne, to ethnography and systemics. These explorations finally led him to adopt the term pragmatist epistemology some fifteen years ago, preferring it to constructivism, which he considers misguided.
Pragmatist epistemology and strategy
According to Alain Charles Martinet, strategy research is particularly congruent with a pragmatist epistemology. Unlike approaches that seek to apply general rules, Martinet insists that strategy must be developed according to specific situations and contexts. He draws a parallel with the notion of inquiry developed by John Dewey, where the strategist's inquiry is not very different from that of the strategy researcher.
Martinet stressed that recent events, such as the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, reinforce this conviction. These upheavals no longer allow us to rely on the publications accumulated over the decades. On the contrary, they call for a radical aggiornamento - a reassessment of traditional approaches. Today's organizations have to deal with unprecedented situations in totally new contexts, and this calls for a pragmatic approach, based on problem situations rather than preconceived hypotheses.
The researcher's responsibility: to criticize and transform
For Alain Charles Martinet, strategy and management research must go beyond the neutral explanation of phenomena to include a critical and transformative dimension. He illustrated this idea by quoting Keynes: "We would be capable of extinguishing the sun and the stars because they don't pay us dividends". Martinet thus denounced the financialization of capitalism, which he saw as partly due to shortcomings in strategy research, too often inappropriate in its approach to problems.
He concludes by quoting Albert Camus, reminding us that the task of current generations may not be to remake the world, but to prevent it from unravelling. This quote underlines the urgency of acting to preserve the world in the face of contemporary challenges, a message that resonates particularly well in the current context of multiple crises.
Conclusion: essential dialogue for progress
The round table highlighted the importance of rethinking the relationship between research and practice. The speakers showed how research rooted in the field and committed to practice can not only enrich knowledge, but also contribute to resolving major contemporary issues. This collaborative, pragmatist approach appears to be essential for the development of management and organizations in a constantly changing world.
Discussions also highlighted the need for ongoing commitment and adaptation of research methods to meet emerging challenges. Academics need to open up to new forms of collaboration with practitioners, adopting more flexible and interdisciplinary approaches. The role of management research is not limited to the production of knowledge, but also encompasses the transformation of this knowledge into concrete, relevant action for business and society.
Finally, the round table highlighted the importance of humility and questioning, essential qualities for tackling a fast-moving and constantly changing environment. Researchers must remain open to new ideas and different perspectives, while striving to maintain scientific rigor. It is this balanced thinking that will enable us to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to the complex challenges we face.
To view the video of the round table:
Watch all the speeches given to launch the Rencontres Stratégiques at the Business Science Institute's international seminar:
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