Leading academic organizations officially promote multidisciplinarity as favoring a richer, more innovative research environment. Yet Julien Jourdan, Associate Professor of Management and Human Resources and his colleagues, actually found that scientists specialized in one domain tended to protect their discipline against their peers with diverse experience, especially those with strong track records, and potentially stifled innovation in the process. He explains the mechanisms behind these territorial attitudes – and suggests ways of countering them.
By Julien Jourdan
The world is constantly evolving and uncertain. However, if there is one certainty it is the need to remain humble. To better build the resilience needed to manage this change and uncertainty in a responsible way, find key findings and classic advice from HEC Paris researchers to decipher environments at all levels: from one’s own career to geopolitical business links. In this In-Depth issue, you will learn that family businesses focus more on resilience than on performance, that connecting private interests and sharing with the community is vital for sustainable objectives and that developing professional and personal resilience takes practice. You will also discover how hybrid governance and smart cities can overcome disrupted supply chains and fight social inequality. Find the PDF version of the Knowledge@HEC' In-Depth issue here.
To retain talent, sell their products or attract investors, and generally justify their existence, businesses need to be perceived by society at large as legitimate. But as social values evolve over time or after a sudden crisis, organizations may see their actions and purpose questioned. In this interview, Julien Jourdan, expert on the consequences of reputation, legitimacy and scandals on organizations, explains why legitimacy is key to resilience for businesses.
In a rapidly changing professional world, where the pandemic changed the rules of the game, careers may feel like roller-coaster rides. To better respond to turbulence and take ownership of our careers and lives, we need to move into the driving seat. How so? By learning and nurturing resilience.
Be they in Dakar, Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Lagos or Paris, it is indispensable for executives to understand social contexts. This understanding is built on a genuine interest in local practices, attentive listening to stakeholders, and a sociological spirit, which means giving thought to how societies function and are transformed. How do players construct and coordinate their activities? What relations do individuals have with society? Based on rigorous empirical work, the sociology of organizations provides keys to understand local managerial specificities. This kind of approach appears essential for anyone who wants to work in Africa. The point I would like to make here is just how important context is and why it is in the manager’s interest to listen to sociologists.
Artificial intelligence has only recently been taken on board by human resources, and only after being introduced into other fields. Where do we stand in concrete terms? Although there has been a whole host of ingenious innovations (driven on by start-ups in particular), and although everything virtual is all the rage, the technology seems to run up against serious limits when it comes to HR. Based on a survey carried out among HR managers and digitalization project managers working in major companies, I recall three potential pitfalls regarding the data used, the risk of turning AI into a gimmick, and algorithmic governance.
By Françoise Chevalier
Should I take this job? Will this new experience help me to get a promotion in future, or will I waste my time trying to master something that I am not good at? Those are questions that one would ask if proposed a job in another functional unit. Cross-functional transitions (moves between different functional units within an organization) may seem useful to boost one’s career, but what is better for long-term career advancement: to specialize or to diversify?
This special issue aims to show the excellence and diversity of the research conducted by HEC Paris PhD candidates and alumni. You will find a selection of cutting-edge findings, answering crucial questions such as: Is AI a threat to human creativity? Should we listen to the Wall Street gurus? How to better manage one’s promotion? How much do we value our private data? What are ambiguity and risk attitudes? How bad is the mere presence of a phone? HEC Paris PhD Program, headed by finance professor Johan Hombert, supports its students throughout their thesis writing and job placement in the best universities and business schools, such as the MIT, Wharton and Harvard Business School. Most PhD alumni continue to collaborate with professors at HEC, thanks to the strong relationships they have developed during their journey.
Innovation thrives in teams where diverse thinking is not only encouraged but proactively encouraged. Gender diverse teams are shown to have improved performance. Despite the evidence demonstrating the impact of diversity, we still witness mixed reactions to gender diverse teams with the situation exacerbated following the pandemic. As organizations are rebuilding after the initial waves of the pandemic, we focus on why gender diversity needs to be at the heart of this transformation.
On prosocial crowdfunding platforms such as Kiva, which benefit low-income entrepreneurs, women-led campaigns tend to be significantly more successful than men's. To find out which specific gender dynamics explained this difference, HEC Paris professor Santosh B. Srinivas sought to sort out gender differences in the justifications for funding requests entrepreneurs made on the site.
By Santosh Srinivas
