Milestone Moment for Research on Purpose and Inclusion

The 10th HEC Research Day blended academic rigor with joyful connection, reaffirming its role as a unique space for critical reflection and interdisciplinary community.

The people behind the success of Research Day N°10: from left to right: Giada di Stefano, Georg Wernick, Iiris Sacchet, Rodolphe Durand.

Key Takeaways:

• The 2025 Sustainability &Organizations (S&O) Research Day anniversary edition drew more than 25 presenters and discussants and over 100 participants across leading institutions.
• The event fosters early-stage, cross-disciplinary research focused on organizations, inclusion, governance, purpose, and sustainability.
• Scholars praised its atmosphere of trust, dialogue, and constructive critique.
• Keynotes by Jonathan Bundy and Giada Di Stefano underlined the balance between research ambition and academic vulnerability.
• The format has remained deliberately modest: no parallel sessions, no prizes - just time and space to think.

Celebrating a Decade of S&O Research Day

It began in 2015 as a modest initiative: one day of internal presentations, meant to foster exchange across disciplinary silos. Ten years later, the Sustainability & Organizations (S&O) Research Day at HEC Paris has become a distinctive academic forum, respected not for prestige or scale, but for its intellectual openness and depth. The quality of past editions helped it gain a certain notoriety which swelled the ranks of its defenders.

Held this year on May 15-16, the anniversary edition welcomed over 30 researchers from around the world to the HEC campus. What they encountered was a rare blend of rigor and conviviality - a forum that rewards vulnerability as much as originality.

“This event is more than a research day,” read one widely shared comment from the LinkedIn post that followed. “It’s a space where new ideas are born, collaborations are forged, and community is strengthened.”

A Spirit of Generosity and Honest Feedback

The event featured two keynote speakers who captured this spirit from different angles. Giada Di Stefano, co-founder of the Research Day, returned after six years to reflect on her academic path in a talk titled "On elephants, chefs, and many people along the way." Drawing on her work on gourmet cuisine and knowledge sharing, she emphasized the importance of “slow science”. Her highly entertaining presentation underlined the need to resist the pressure to publish at pace and instead savoring the discomfort of complex questions.

"At that very first conference, I remember Professor Andy King presenting about misconduct in academic writing," she said in an interview during a coffee break. ". There was great advice on what we can do to increase transparency in our papers, to fight the replicability crisis. The talk was very provocative in nature, but also very introspective. But, on reflection it was foundational, an important conversation, a call to action which I think these Research Days have honored.” 

Di Stefano paused: “We all feel the pressure to become paper machines. But what this forum allows is reflection - the kind that leads to lasting insights."

Later, Jonathan Bundy of Arizona State University explored how organizations react to social pressure and reputational threats - a fitting topic for a day dedicated to researching purpose, stakeholder dynamics, and legitimacy. His presentation began with several autobiographical notes about growing up in a modest American city which hit the global map when the Netflix series Breaking Bad placed its action there.

Bundy’s presence added gravitas and reminded attendees of the practical urgency of their work. These include unanswered questions for other researchers to explore such as: “Why/how are issues perceived as consistent, conflicting, unrelated?” and “What do the different types of action look like in practice?” As organizer Georg Wernicke underlined in introducing the award-winning scholar, Bundy’s research is “getting out there”: with over 6,000 citations he is one of academia’s most prolific researchers.

Research That Challenges and Connects

Across two days, presentations spanned ESG transparency, political corporate responsibility, gender bias in AI, and the reputational risks of client selection. But rather than thematic panels or siloed tracks, the format encouraged attendees to make sense of these connections themselves.

One paper by HEC Associate Professor in Strategy, Georg Wernicke; explored how German firms are navigating the rise of far-right populism. “Executives know neutrality is a myth,” he said in follow-up remarks. “But activism has reputational costs too. It’s about defending democratic norms while staying operationally credible.”

Maciej Workiewicz, from ESSEC, shared a computational model on remote work and organizational learning. The research showed that firms with decentralized structures adapt better in hybrid environments. “It’s not remote work per se,” he emphasized, “but the structure behind it that determines learning speed.”

Clemens Lauer is soon to join the HEC researchers community after his successful doctoral studies in the Accounting department of the University of Mannheim. His work reveals how consumers' access to product-level carbon information (via tools like Google Flights) can influence stock prices - evidence that sustainability isn’t just a reputational issue, but a valuation driver.

A Forum Designed for Substance

What sets S&O Research Day apart is not just the research, but the way it’s shared. There are no breakout sessions, no competing talks. Presenters are asked to share work in progress - not polished papers - and are given time to engage with discussants and peers. 

As Giada Di Stefano reflected: “This event always prioritized substance over performance. There’s room for not knowing, for exploring.” The 10th edition underscored how rare that space is.

Warmth and Continuity

The two-day event was punctuated by shared meals, informal exchanges, and a celebratory dinner in Versailles. Online, the mood continued - with dozens of comments from participants and alumni celebrating the Research Day’s values: trust, openness, curiosity, and intellectual companionship.

“Grateful to be part of this community,” wrote INSEAD strategy professor Ilze Kivleniece, echoing many voices. From the original vision laid out by Giada Di Stefano and HEC Professor Rodolphe Durand, to the organizational leadership of Georg Wernicke and Iiris Sacchet, the Research Day has quietly become a fixture. Not because it grows bigger each year, but because it has remained true to its scale and mission.

“It’s a place to test your thinking,” said Jonathan Bundy. “To share ideas not because they’re ready, but because they’re important.”

Looking Ahead

After a decade, the S&O Research Day is thus growing a model of how academic culture can evolve without losing its integrity. In an age where conferences increasingly mirror corporate summits, this one has remained small, sharp, and personal. “If this year’s edition is any indication, the next decade will continue to challenge norms,” noted one of the outside participants, “not just in the topics explored, but in how research itself is practiced.” Or as another HEC researcher put it, “Ten years on, we’re still asking the hardest questions - and givin