Skip to main content
About HEC About HEC
Summer School Summer School
Faculty & Research Faculty & Research
Master’s programs Master’s programs
Bachelor Programs Bachelor Programs
MBA Programs MBA Programs
PhD Program PhD Program
Executive Education Executive Education
HEC Online HEC Online
About HEC
Overview Overview
Who
We Are
Who
We Are
Egalité des chances Egalité des chances
HEC Talents HEC Talents
International International
Campus
Life
Campus
Life
Sustainability Sustainability
Diversity
& Inclusion
Diversity
& Inclusion
Stories Stories
The HEC
Foundation
The HEC
Foundation
Summer School
Youth Programs Youth Programs
Summer programs Summer programs
Online Programs Online Programs
Faculty & Research
Overview Overview
Faculty Directory Faculty Directory
Departments Departments
Centers Centers
Chairs Chairs
Grants Grants
Knowledge@HEC Knowledge@HEC
Master’s programs
Master in
Management
Master in
Management
Master's
Programs
Master's
Programs
Double Degree
Programs
Double Degree
Programs
Bachelor
Programs
Bachelor
Programs
Summer
Programs
Summer
Programs
Exchange
students
Exchange
students
Student
Life
Student
Life
Our
Difference
Our
Difference
Bachelor Programs
Overview Overview
Course content Course content
Admissions Admissions
Fees and Financing Fees and Financing
MBA Programs
MBA MBA
Executive MBA Executive MBA
TRIUM EMBA TRIUM EMBA
PhD Program
Overview Overview
HEC Difference HEC Difference
Program details Program details
Research areas Research areas
HEC Community HEC Community
Placement Placement
Job Market Job Market
Admissions Admissions
Financing Financing
Executive Education
Home Home
About us About us
Management topics Management topics
Open Programs Open Programs
Custom Programs Custom Programs
Events/News Events/News
Contacts Contacts
HEC Online
Overview Overview
Degree Program Degree Program
Executive certificates Executive certificates
MOOCs MOOCs
Summer Programs Summer Programs
Youth programs Youth programs

Think

S&O Research

To promote the creation of a European way of thinking about enterprise and society

 

 

An Institute of Excellence for research

 

Founded in 2008 under the aegis of Rodolphe Durand, the S&O Institute brings together 60 professors, researchers and PhD students from HEC Paris. Our research approach combines a broad range of methods tailored to the studied phenomena. It also incorporates theoretical lenses from various disciplines including economics, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history, which is then integrated with a management focus. The research is conducted in partnership with other leading academic institutions in Europe and North America.

 

Research that directly addresses the challenges of our time

The S&O Institute offers new ways of understanding the world, helping organizations reconcile economic priorities with a new series of imperatives. The research conducted by the Institute’s academics tackles concrete issues, yielding results that businesses can immediately put to use in these following areas: climatic constraints, responsible finance, impact investment, social inequality, ethical imperatives, implementation of CRS policies, renewable energy, circular economy, partnership between public and private sector, action of NGOs, incentives at work, diversity in the workplace, liberalization, regulation, and more. 

 

Research of global significance

The S&O Institute has become a vibrant center of reflection recognized throughout Europe. Over the past five years, the Institute’s members have already produced more than 60 research papers, of which more than half have been published in leading academic journals. Through its publications, academic exchanges and partnerships, organization of international events (the Medici Summer School, the European Theory Development Workshop), and its doctoral scholarship scheme, the S&O Institute is proudly contributing to the development of an international research community concerned with key contemporary challenges.

 

dessin Rodolphe plus petit

We engage in the study of what forms the basis of responsible capitalism.

Rodolphe Durand

page think sno 2

What you need to know about Sustainability and CSR

These 19 factsheets summarize, on a single page and in a simple and easily understandable language, academic and practical knowledge on various CSR-related topics: the Sustainable Development Goals, the triple bottom line, inclusive business, social business..

Have a look at our collection of 19 factsheets
Seminars & Workshops

Latest Research

 knowledge

Activist Hedge Funds: Good for Some, Bad for Others?

Do activist hedge funds help or harm the companies they target? Mark DesJardine of Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business and Rodolphe Durand of HEC Paris (fondateur of the HEC’s Society & Organizations Institute) investigated the long-term effects of hedge fund activism on companies that get targeted by these activists. In their extensive research, they found the value of targeted companies spikes the first year after targeting but drops in later years relative to similar non-targeted companies. In addition, the authors found that being targeted by activist hedge funds put a halt to the broader investment portfolios and socially responsible efforts of companies.

Read the article

Also featured in the Financial Times and the Institutional Investor

Full Press Review on the Hedge Fund and Impact on CSR Research

 

 

Labor Market Polarization and the New Geography of Jobs

The labor market is strongly polarized. What consequences on the society? Based on their latest research, professors of Economics Tomasz Michaslki and Eric Mengus explain this "Great Divergence", and give insights on how to find new ways to create added value, both in bigger and smaller cities.

Read the article

Also featured in VOXeu

 

Optimizing Feed-In Tariffs to Boost Renewable Energy Production

Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are crucial tools to increase the adoption of renewable energy technologies. But setting them at the right level (price) is a balancing act. If they are poorly designed, they can backfire, stunting the industry and wasting public money. A duo of HEC researchers, along with a colleague from the University of Texas at Austin, have shown that, to set optimal FIT levels, regulators must take into account the behaviours all players affected, including technology manufacturers.

Read the article

 

Walking the talk: why companies should be politically transparent

More and more companies flaunt their policies regarding social or environmental sustainability. However, these same companies may promote policies that contradict their stated CSR objectives through their political actions. Enough is enough, says a group of top researchers arguing for political transparency in a paper that won the California Management Review’s Best Article Award 2019.

Read the article

 

 

 

page think sno 1

Inclusive Business: What it is and Why it matters

We explain what an inclusive economy means to us and detail barriers to inclusion and levers that businesses can use to remove these obstacles.

Download and Read the Report

 

 

page think sno 3

Social Impact Assessment Strategy Report

Make the best of social impact measurement

Download the report
S&O ARCS Accelerating Researcher-Practitioner Collaborations in Sustainability Research

Accelerating Researcher-Practitioner Collaborations in Sustainability Research

Tackling societal challenges, including climate change and social inequality, requires the proactive engagement and leadership of business and academic communities.

Read and download the report

Medici Summer School

 

The Medici Summer School in Management Studies is a unique opportunity for doctoral students and young researchers to interact with thought leaders in the management field. The Summer School combines lectures and research seminars that contribute to the development of enlightened practice in the management of business.

Read more

Research Partnerships

 

The S&O Institute has cultivated various partnerships ranging from business schools to academic institutions in order to facilitate research on topics including, but not limited to, climactic constraints, social inequality, technological disruption, and corporate social responsibility.

Read more

KNOWLEDGE@HEC

fires in California - thumbnail - Adobe Stock
Law

Are Carbon Markets the Solution Against Climate Change?

By Arnaud Van Waeyenberge

social entrepreneurship - adobe stock
Social Innovation

How to Drive Innovators for the Common Good

By Marieke Huysentruyt

luc paugam and herve stolowy - vignette
Strategy

Sustainability Indices: Do Investors Actually Care?

By Rodolphe Durand, Luc Paugam, Hervé Stolowy

usine Tom Bayer-AdobeStock vignette
Marketing

The Role of Marketing in Climate Change: Carbon Footprinting and Pricing

By Daniel Halbheer