Theses defended in 2022

Date: December 15, 2022

Thesis supervisor : Olivier DE LA VILLARMOIS

Jury members:

• Olivier DE LA VILLARMOIS, Professor, IAE Paris Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Adel BELDI, Associate Professor, HDR, IÉSEG School of Management, Rapporteur
• Patrick VALÉAU, Professor, IGR-IAE Rennes, Université Rennes 1, Rapporteur
• Ariel EGGRICKX, Professor, Senior Lecturer, HDR, University of Montpellier, Suffragante
• Marc VALAX, Professor, IAE Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, Suffragan

Summary

The aim of this research is to define, explain and study the influence of customer control that is the result of technological development. Technological change has transformed previous business practices and shifted the role of the customer from passive to active. This change in role has a direct influence on employees. The customer, as an integral part of a company, is studied in various forms: co-creator, co-producer, participant, facilitator, coordinator, innovator and differentiator. This study extends the customer's role to that of controller. Customer control can enhance employees' social needs, but it can also lead to powerlessness and role ambiguity. To keep employees aligned with organizational goals, management control systems (MCS) are adapted. In the past, MCS were mainly focused on the internal environment, but the external environment such as the market and the customer has proved its importance. This study defines customer control as the authority given to the customer to evaluate employees. It will recognize the impact of customer control on employee behaviors such as affective commitment, professional involvement and alienation. Another aim of this research is to observe the moderating effect of organizational support and supervision. In addition, we want to study the impact of self-determination theory by investigating its role as a mediator between customer control and employee behaviour. This study is being carried out in two countries, Pakistan and France. Data from both studies are collected via questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The results of studies I and II show that customer control has a positive correlation with employee behavior (affective commitment and work involvement) and is non-significant with alienation in study I, while it is negative for alienation in study II. These results run counter to our proposed theory that customer control has a negative impact on employees' affective commitment and work involvement, and a positive one on alienation. Moreover, the proposed moderating effect of organizational support and supervision is barely supported in Study I but somewhat more so in Study II, but on the other hand, self-determination (motivation theory) mediating the relationships between customer control and employee behaviors is confirmed in Study I but rejected in a few cases in Study II.

Date: December 13, 2022

Thesis supervisor: Géraldine MICHEL

Jury members:

• Géraldine MICHEL, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Sandra CAMUS, Professor, University of Angers, Rapporteur
• Rémi MENCARELLI, Professor, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Rapporteur
• Nil ÖZÇAGLAR TOULOUSE, Professor, Université Lille Nord de France, Suffragante
• Dominique ROUX, Professor, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Suffragante

Abstract

Starting from the relative failure of French cultural policies in an age of cultural abundance, this work questions the determinants of cultural consumption choice and accessibility of works. The first part addresses the issue through a case study of 12 digital cultural platforms, followed by 12 semi-structured interviews with French consumers. We compare the organization of the catalog by the market with the organization of consumers' cultural repertoires. We demonstrate the decisive role played by the categorization of cultural products in the choice of cultural consumption and in the cultural experience, and highlight the central role played by the anticipation of the experience. We then apply these results to the study of a specific market, that of classical music in France, whose audience is aging and becoming rarer. Here again, we compare supply and demand through the successive study of 23 concert offers presenting themselves as accessible, and 12 semi-structured interviews with French consumers with varying levels of affinity towards classical music. By mobilizing two theoretical frameworks - Derrida's Spectres study and symbolic violence - we consider the role of the codes of a secular and legitimate musical genre in the apprehension of experience. Our results question the particular characteristics that marketing literature lends to cultural consumption and the cultural product, revealing in particular the importance of anticipating experience in the constitution of value. Thus, we call for the undertaking of more holistic research, taking into account multiple determinants of cultural consumption, namely the market, psychological factors and sociological factors.

Date: December 12, 2022

Thesis supervisor: Didier CHABAUD

Jury members:

• Didier CHABAUD, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Marie-Christine CHALUS SAUVANNET, Professor, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Thesis co-director
• David B. AUDRETSCH, Distinguished Professor, Indiana University, USA, Rapporteur
• Karim MESSEGHE, Professor, University of Montpellier, Rapporteur
• Christina THEDORAKI, Professor, Toulouse Business School, Suffragante
• Jean-François SATTIN, MCF HDR, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Suffragan
• Martin CLOUTIER, Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal, Suffragant

Summary

One of the important factors stimulating well-being and economic development in a territory is entrepreneurship. The environment in which it emerges is the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Consequently, understanding its structure and configuration is essential to building stimulation strategies. However, its structural and configurational model is currently poorly understood, not least because of the theoretical confusion between its economic understanding and an organizational explanation of its structure and processes. The result is a wide dispersion of conceptual frameworks in an abundant literature centered on an economic theoretical framework, limiting the emergence of convincing organizational theories, as noted by many leading researchers. Throughout this doctoral work, we strive to bring together what is scattered, which leads us to propose an original method of measurement. Based on a quantitative methodological orientation, we are led to discover the beginnings of a structural model, based on the mobilization of network theory applied to entrepreneurial ecosystems. This article-based thesis presents five complementary articles, systematically studying the application of this method in Africa, providing interesting results on the impact of entrepreneurial ecosystems on entrepreneurial dynamics. We discovered the extent to which the factors of information diffusion and proximity in entrepreneurial ecosystems are correlated with strong entrepreneurial dynamics, and identified a factor of resource distribution for entrepreneurs. We find that when these entrepreneurial ecosystem attributes are weak, a process of discontinuity occurs in the distribution of resources to entrepreneurs, leading to a decrease in the associated entrepreneurial dynamics. More than a thesis, this work constitutes the first steps of a research program aimed at better understanding how one entrepreneurial ecosystem may be more conducive to entrepreneurial dynamics than another.

Date: November 23, 2022

Thesis supervisor: Stéphane SAUSSIER

Jury members:

• Stéphane SAUSSIER, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Carine STAROPOLI, Associate Professor, Paris School of Economics, Thesis co-director
• Frédéric MARTY, CNRS Research Fellow, Member of the College of the French Competition Authority, Rapporteur
• Jean BEUVE, Maître de conférences HDR, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Rapporteur
• Laure ATHIAS, Professor, Institut des hautes études en administration publique, Suffragante
• Simon PORCHER, Professor, Université Paris 2 Panthéon Assas, Suffragant

Summary

In a context of global warming and amplifying social needs, the issues of sobriety and sustainable development transcend economic sectors. Increasingly, political decision-makers and economic players are working to move towards more sober production methods, reduce the negative externalities inherent in their activity and improve their impact. However, these initiatives are often based on voluntary action, and because of the complexity with which they may be associated, the costs they may generate, and the stakeholders to whom they are addressed, they may face reluctance to be adopted, as well as difficulties in implementation. This thesis addresses these two dimensions. Firstly, through a study of the deployment of sustainable public purchasing at local level in France, we examine the determinants of the adoption of such a policy, and demonstrate the importance of ideology and political interests in this process. Secondly, we study the implementation difficulties associated with the introduction of a new social performance reporting tool in an organization, and their determinants. We show that a mismatch between the tool adopted and the nature of the organization in which it is introduced can be detrimental to social performance itself, as well as to the social workers in charge of reporting. Chapter 3, however, shows that social workers use such tools in a variety of ways (from rejection to complete adoption), not least because of their different perceptions of them and their varied professional backgrounds. Avenues for improving social performance reporting tools are thus suggested.

Date: November 14, 2022

Thesis supervisor: Géraldine MICHEL

Jury members:

• Géraldine MICHEL, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Fabienne BERGER-REMY, Senior Lecturer, IAE-Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Co-supervisor
• Catherine VIOT, Professor, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Rapporteur
• Sébastien SOULEZ, Professor, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Rapporteur
• Olivier HERRBACH, Professor, IAE Bordeaux, Suffragant
• Nathalie FLECK, Professor, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, Suffragant
• Clotilde CORON, Professor, Université Paris-Saclay, Suffragante

Summary

Relying on employees to enhance brand value is commonplace today. Internal brand management, a stream of research that focuses on the employee/brand relationship, has focused on the practices that need to be put in place to ensure that employees take ownership of the brand's promise and values, and adopt brand-friendly behaviors. Research into how employees perceive and experience these practices is scarce. Based on two qualitative studies and two experiments, this research reveals that employees experience both comfort and discomfort with the brand. To characterize these shared feelings, we propose the idea of an ambivalent relationship with the brand. We also highlight the preponderant role of brand trust, as well as the importance of employee/brand value congruence in achieving brand-friendly behavior.

Date: June 14, 2022

Thesis supervisor: Florent NOËL

Jury members:

• Florent NOËL, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Patrice LAROCHE, Professor, Professor, IAE Nancy, Université de Lorraine, Rapporteur
• Max VALAX, Professor, IAE Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, Rapporteur
• Ola BERGSTRÖM, Professor, University of Göteborg, Sweden, Suffragant
• Clotilde CORON, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne Business School, Suffragante
• Anna GLASSER, Assistant Professor, ESCP Business School, Paris, Suffragante
• Alain LACROUX, Professor, IAE de Valenciennes, Université Polytechnique des Hauts-de-France, Suffragan

Summary

Research has long discussed the effects of job cuts on various dimensions of performance. It has, however, relatively neglected the effects of downsizing on innovation capacity, particularly at the individual level. It seems to us, however, that these critical events can lead to an increase in conflictuality, harming individuals' ability to innovate. These observations lead us to propose a research project devoted to the following question: How and when do job cuts affect people's innovation performance? To address this question, we rely on a quantitative study based on data from a questionnaire sent to managers working in various Pakistani organizations. Three complementary studies have been carried out. The first examines how and when job cuts lead to interpersonal conflicts (conflicts linked to tasks, processes or relationships). The mediating role of workload and the moderating effect of restructuring efforts accompanying job cuts are examined. The second study extends the previous one and focuses on task and process conflicts, seeking to show that functional disagreements over what work to do and how to do it can lead to relational conflicts. The mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence are highlighted. Finally, the third study examines the relationship between interpersonal conflict and individual performance in terms of innovation. Employee goal orientation or role mastery is identified as one of the moderators of this relationship. Our results show that downsizing leads to interpersonal conflicts between "survivors" when workloads increase, which may result from insufficient restructuring of the organization, which continues to operate with a reduced workforce without having redefined tasks or processes. These task- or process-related conflicts can generate negative emotions and, consequently, relational conflicts, particularly when employees' emotional intelligence is low. Finally, we show that these task or process conflicts or relational conflicts reduce individual performance in terms of innovation, particularly when they are results-oriented. When they are focused on mastering their activity, this negative effect of conflict on innovation is reduced. These three empirical studies confirm the sets of hypotheses emerging from the literature review, and contribute to a better understanding of the links between job cuts, restructuring, interpersonal conflict, emotions, emotional intelligence, employee orientation and innovation performance. These contributions provide some recommendations on how to manage job cuts by reducing some of their perverse effects.

Date: April 4, 2022

Thesis supervisor : Géraldine MICHEL

Jury members:

• Géraldine MICHEL, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Valérie ZEITOUN, Senior Lecturer, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Co-supervisor
• Sandra CAMUS, Professor, University of Angers, Rapporteur
• Bernard COVA, Professor, Kedge Business School, Rapporteur
• Delphine DION, Professor, ESSEC Business School, Suffragante
• Fabien PECOT, Professor, Toulouse Business School, Suffragan

Summary

Rap is now the most listened-to musical genre in France, and gives brands a very special place. Indeed, rappers frequently include brands in their artistic creations. Despite the scale of the phenomenon, little is known about the impact of brand use in rap. Our doctoral work therefore aims first to identify how rap takes hold of brands, then to better understand how consumers apprehend this presence of brands in rap, and finally this work attempts to explain the dynamics of influence between rappers and brands. Following a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) research approach, this research shows that:

1) Rap takes hold of brands in different ways (different media, positive or negative mention).

2) Rap consumption takes place within a subculture in which consumers
expect brands to have a positive presence. Indeed, individuals find it hard to accept if rappers include negative mentions of brands, and this despite the permissive nature of this musical genre.

3) Finally, drawing on the theoretical frameworks of the boomerang effect and meaning transfer, this work shows the dynamics of influence between rappers and brands.

More specifically, our experimental study reveals that when the mention about the brand is positive it has a positive impact on both protagonists. In contrast, when the brand mention is negative, individuals have a more positive reaction to the brand and a negative reaction to the rapper. We also show that these results are more or less nuanced according to attachment to the rapper and attachment to the brand.

Date: February 22, 2022

Thesis supervisor: Philippe EYNAUD

Jury members:

• Philippe EYNAUD, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Damien MOUREY, Professor, University of French Polynesia, Thesis co-director
• Aude DEVILLE, Professor, IAE de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, Rapporteur
• Hélène RAINELLI-WEISS, Professor, IGR-IAE, Université Rennes 1, Rapporteur
• Géraldine SCHMIDT, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Suffragante
• Rémi BOURGUIGNON, Professor, IAE Gustave Eiffel, Université Paris Est-Créteil, Suffragant

Abstract

The financial cooperative model, which has emerged since the 19th century, has undergone several changes relating to their identity as well as modes of governance. Various factors explain these changes: regulatory changes, evolving initial needs and the transfer of certain initial objectives of financial cooperatives to other players in the social and solidarity economy ecosystem. In order to understand the identity dynamics in motion and the different modes of governance, the theoretical framework of the dynamics of identity change is used. It was developed by Ravasi and Schultz (2006), who take a more in-depth look at the concept of identity and propose to define it in terms of two components: identity affirmations and identity understandings. This theoretical framework enabled us to explore and analyze the dynamics of identity change in the two case studies selected for this thesis. The objective of these organizations, according to their context, is to consolidate this dynamic of identity change. We have chosen the theoretical framework of accountability in order to understand the role of participation and transparency in the management of major challenges to cooperative identity. The problem posed asks how accountability practices in financial cooperatives contribute to the consolidation of identity dynamics and modes of governance. Our research shows that the issue of participation is very important, and is the main challenge that financial cooperatives must take up if they hope to claim a cooperative difference. The case study approach enables us to understand different participation mechanisms and their role in managing the tensions inherent in the cooperative model. The difference between the two cases studied reflects the diversity of ways in which the cooperative organization is managed, despite institutional and regulatory attempts at grouping.

Date: 11 January 2022

Thesis supervisor: Frédéric GAUTIER

Jury members:

• Frédéric GAUTIER, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Thesis Director
• Marc LASSAGNE, Senior Lecturer, Art et métiers Paris, Thesis co-supervisor
• Benoît JOURNE, Professor, IAE Nantes, Rapporteur
• Eric PEZET, Professor, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Rapporteur
• Philippe EYNAUD, Professor, IAE Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Suffragant

Summary

At JCDecaux, itinerant professions do not benefit from a local managerial presence and are forced to apply prevention methods developed for stationary and fixed professions. The use of ICT is essential, but not without risk, as it places prevention at the heart of individual interests. However, before dedicating a digital tool to health and safety prevention, it is important to identify what works, what is acceptable, and what type of organization needs to be put in place. Semi-structured interviews and integration into the research field have enabled us to interpret the opinions of employees at different hierarchical levels. This work provides contextualized answers derived from intervention research carried out before and during the Covid-19 crisis. Each of the three essays integrates, with prevention management, concepts associated with sociomateriality in order to open up a perspective to ICTs in prevention approaches.