Archives de catégorie : Mémoires, Thèses, HDR / Theses, PhD, Dissertations

Démocratisation de l’entreprise et réorientation écologique. Une enquête économique des interdépendances entre gouvernance d’entreprise et investissements écologiques

Democratization of business and ecological reorientation. An economic investigation of the interdependencies between corporate governance and ecological investments

Magali Savès (2025)

Thèse en sciences économiques, soutenue le 12 novembre 2025, université de Lille
PhD thesis in economics, University of Lille

Jury  : 
Julie BASTIANUTTI, Maîtresse de conférences à l’Université de Lille – Co encadrante de thèse
Valérie BOISVERT, Professeure à l’Université de Lausanne – Examinatrice
Nicolas POSTEL, Professeur à l’Université de Lille – Co directeur de thèse
Antoine REBÉRIOUX, Professeur à l’Université Paris Cité – Rapporteur
Blanche SEGRESTIN, Professeure à Mines Paris PSL – Rapportrice
Richard SOBEL, Professeur à l’Université de Lille – Examinateur

Résumé. Cette thèse interroge le rôle de la démocratisation d’entreprise dans la réorientation écologique des investissements productifs.
Adoptant les postulats de l’approche conventionnaliste et de la socio-économie écologique, nous définissons comme écologique tout investissement qui transforme les activités productives pour respecter les limites de la biosphère, tout en reconnaissant que ces limites sont le produit d’une construction collective issue de la délibération entre acteurs et actrices économiques.
En comparant les conséquences macroéconomiques potentielles d’une réorientation écologique par le marché, par l’État ou par la voie des communs de production, nous montrons que cette dernière a le potentiel de concilier enjeux sociaux et écologiques dans une logique de double réencastrement de l’économie. La réorientation écologique de l’activité économique s’articule avec une refonte profonde des rapports productifs replaçant au cœur des entreprises la délibération sur la finalité de leurs investissements.
Nous explorons empiriquement les mécanismes reliant démocratisation et écologisation de l’entreprise. Nous menons tout d’abord une analyse économétrique fondée sur des données d’enquêtes publiques, afin de modéliser l’influence de diverses modalités de démocratisation de l’entreprise sur l’engagement et l’intensification de ses investissements écologiques. De façon contre-intuitive, l’intégration des salarié·es dans les structures décisionnelles présente une corrélation non significative, voire négative, avec l’investissement écologique. Cet effet est toutefois amélioré par la présence d’outils de gestion durables, dont nous estimons qu’ils jouent le rôle de coordination propre aux investissements de forme (Thévenot, 1986).
Pour dépasser les limites du traitement statistique, nous cherchons ensuite, par une étude qualitative compréhensive, à identifier les ressorts et conditions d’une écologisation de l’activité productive provoquée par les mécanismes de démocratisation des trois pouvoirs de gouvernance d’entreprise (Gomez, 2024). La démocratisation du pouvoir exécutif permet l’écologisation à condition que les temps de formation et de participation des salarié·es soient inclus dans le périmètre de leur travail, que des dispositifs de formation et de reconnaissance améliorent leur sentiment de légitimité, et que leur raison pratique ne soit pas étouffée par des contraintes de rentabilité imposées par le pouvoir souverain. La démocratisation de ce dernier apparaît comme une condition fondamentale d’un réencastrement socio-écologique. Elle assure les conditions d’une discussion éthique, nécessaire à la construction collective de ce que devrait être une orientation écologique. Enfin, le pouvoir de surveillance, même démocratisé, s’engage dans une réorientation écologique uniquement dans des situations d’effondrement menaçant l’entreprise et ses emplois.
Notre étude révèle que les processus de démocratisation et d’écologisation sont étroitement liés et se renforcent mutuellement. L’engagement écologique des entreprises, quelle que soit sa motivation première, les amène à reconsidérer la place des salarié·es dans les processus décisionnels, à étendre le dêmos considéré dans le « collectif » au-delà des frontières de l’entreprise et à se doter de normes de gestion pour encadrer le pouvoir exécutif. Ce processus de démocratisation renforce à son tour l’investissement écologique. La démarchandisation de la biosphère et la démarchandisation du travail apparaissent ainsi interdépendantes.
Ces résultats invitent à enrichir notre représentation de l’entreprise et d’une gouvernance démocratique, mettant au cœur de la réflexion les notions de commun et de territoire. Sur cette base, nous esquissons des dispositifs institutionnels capables de représenter les interdépendances écologiques et de les inscrire au cœur des décisions économiques, en coordonnant différentes organisations au sein d’un même socio-système écologique selon un principe de réciprocité

Abstract. This thesis explores the role played by corporate democracy in the ecological reorientation of productive investments. Adopting the conventionnalist and social ecological economics approaches, I define as ecological any investment that transforms productive activities in order to respect planetary limits, while recognising that these limits are the result of a collective process involving deliberations between economic actors.
By comparing the potential macroeconomic ramifications of an ecological reorientation via the market, via the state, or by bringing production into common ownership, I demonstrate that common ownership has the potential to reconcile social and ecological concerns through a double re-embedding of the economy. An ecological reorientation of economic activity could be achieved through a profound overhaul of productive relations that places discussions about the end goals of investments at the heart of decision-making processes within businesses.
This thesis therefore examines the mechanisms by which democratisation and ecologisation are linked within businesses. I undertake an econometric analysis in order to model how a variety of different forms of democratisation within businesses impact levels of commitment to ecological investments. Counter-intuitively, integrating employees into decision-making structures is weakly, if not negatively, correlated with ecological investment. Nonetheless, this connection is improved through the availability of sustainable management tools, which are considered here to play the coordinating role characteristic of investments in forms (Thévenot, 1986).
In order to go beyond statistical analysis, this thesis engages in a comprehensive qualitative analysis that aims to identify the conditions for an ecologisation of productive activity that could be brought about by democratising the ‘three powers’ of corporate governance (Gomez, 2024). Democratising the ‘executive power’ allows for ecologisation only if employee training and participation in decision-making processes are undertaken as part of their working hours, if training programs and measures to show recognition improve their feelings of legitimacy, and if their practical reason is not stifled by profit-driven constraints imposed by the ‘sovereign power’. The democratisation of the ‘sovereign power’ is understood as a fundamental condition of social ecological embedding. It ensures the conditions for the kinds of ethical discussion that are necessary for the collective construction of a properly ecological orientation. The ‘surveillance power’, even if democratised, will only be committed to ecological reorientation in a state of collapse when the firm and its employees are at risk.
This thesis demonstrates that processes of democratisation and ecologisation are closely linked and mutually reinforce one another. Regardless of their primary motivation, businesses’ ecological commitments are forcing them to reconsider the role of their employees in decision-making processes, to extend the dêmos considered in the collective beyond the boundaries of the business, and to adopt management standards that limit executive power. This democratisation process thereby reinforces ecological investment. As such, the decommodification of the planet and the decommodification of work are interdependent.
These results contribute to nuancing our understanding of businesses and democratic governance, placing notions of the commons and of territory at the heart of the discussion. Based on this, I provide a suggestion of institutional mechanisms that would be capable of representing ecological interdependencies and inscribing them at the heart of economic decisions, by coordinating different organisations of each ecological socio-system based upon the principle of reciprocity.

Labour Power in Purchase and Use. Employers’ Divergent Valuations in Swedish Pharmacy Retail

Hannes Landén (2025)

PhD thesis in sociology. Uppsala: University of Uppsala

  • External reviewer: Bertil Rolandsson
  • Supervisors: Patrik Aspers, Andreas Melldahl, Michael Allvin

Abstract. In sociological accounts of post-industrial societies, rising work complexity and increasing demands on workers’ competencies are seen as defining features. However, since recruitment and work are typically studied in isolation and without employer perspectives, how the expectations placed on workers during recruitment correspond to work content remains underexplored. This thesis builds on a case study of Swedish pharmacy retail – an industry marked by labour shortages and tensions between professional standards and redefined service ideals following a 2009 marketisation reform. It examines: (1) the meanings and practices through which recruitment is organised; (2) the challenges of pharmacists’ everyday work; and (3) the extent to which ideal pharmacists, as constructed in recruitment, align with actual work content. Theoretically, the thesis draws on economic sociology to conceptualise employers as situated between labour markets and customer markets, enabling an analysis of how asymmetries between them shape the purchasing and use of labour power.
The study shows that employers’ preferences for extroverted, flexible, and engaged pharmacists align with tasks requiring swiftness and interactional skills – especially in maintaining legitimacy for an industry at the intersection of welfare and commerce. Yet other findings reveal a divergence between employer practices. Although professional development features prominently in attraction discourses, the main complexities at work arise in areas partly unrelated to pharmacists’ disciplinary expertise. Moreover, selection processes are driven by a commitment to finding competence, leading to hiring thresholds beyond actual needs, even as companies opt to provide services with limited pharmacist involvement. These findings are understood through the concept of loose couplings, which can help employers meet strategic goals while reinforcing organisational control and discipline among job-seeking pharmacists.
Rather than confirming a straightforward link between complex work and higher skill demands, the thesis shows how competence is revalued across market contexts.

Extract: “Whereas the second empirical chapter focus on candidate traits, the third chapter examines how evaluations are made, that is, it examines outines, practices, tools, and ideals for what an ideal process looks like. This chapter relies on interviews with evaluators (that is, pharmacy managers, recruiters, and sometimes regional managers acting as deputy pharmacy managers). The coding procedure for this analysis focused first on the different evaluation tools, procedures, and ideals for how to evaluate candidates (cf. “conventions” (Boltanski and Thévenot 2006; Brandl 2020; Larquier and Marchal 2016)), and second on what may be termed an attitudinal dimension. In line with what in the theory chapter is called a commitment (as opposed to legitimacy as appearance), I coded instances where evaluators articulate the importance of the whole practice of selection, and to what extent spending resources (in terms of time, attention and organisational finances) on it seems worthwhile.” (p. 112)

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Las políticas europeas para la región Ártica: una perspectiva multiescalar fundamentada en la teoría de las convenciones

The european policies for the Artic Region: A multiscale perspective based on convention theory

Ana Belén López Tárraga (2025)

PhD defended on 01/07/2025 at the University of Salamanca
Supervisor: José Luis Sánchez Hernández

Resumen. Esta tesis doctoral, realizada por compendio de publicaciones, analiza las políticas desarrolladas por la Unión Europea para la región ártica a lo largo del siglo XXI. Su marco conceptual es la teoría de los órdenes de justificación (más conocida como teoría de las convenciones), formulada por Luc Boltanski y Laurent Thévenot en su obra De la Justification, publicada en 1991. Ese análisis sigue una lógica multiescalar que va desde el ámbito comunitario al plano nacional y a la práctica de las medidas en la escala regional. En primer término, se toman en consideración las notas emitidas por la Comisión Europea sobre el Ártico en 2008, 2012, 2016 y 2021. A continuación, se examina la acción española en el Ártico. Y por último se identifican los resultados y limitaciones de tres proyectos financiados por el programa INTERREG (Northern Periphery and Arctic) en la Laponia finlandesa. La tesis aplica una metodología cualitativa que incluye el análisis de contenido de un cuerpo de documentos de estrategia y política polar, entrevistas en profundidad a informantes clave y cuestionarios a actores participantes en las iniciativas estudiadas. En el plano teórico, los resultados de la tesis doctoral permiten afirmar que la teoría de las convenciones es una herramienta muy útil para el estudio de las relaciones internacionales, porque tanto las organizaciones (caso de la Unión Europea) como los Estados actúan en la escena internacional guiados por objetivos y condicionantes que se pueden interpretar conforme a los siete órdenes de justificación: industrial, comercial, doméstico, público, cívico, ecológico y de la inspiración. En el plano empírico, los datos extraídos de las fuentes primarias indican que la importancia inicial de las convenciones domésticas, ecológicas y cívicas se ve matizada posteriormente debido a las transformaciones en el contexto geopolítico internacional (ascenso de China, guerra de Ucrania, pandemia de Covid-19, nueva actitud de Estados Unidos) y al impacto del calentamiento global en la región ártica (apertura de rutas comerciales, acceso a recursos energéticos y minerales). Estos condicionantes se traducen en una mayor presencia de objetivos económicos y estratégicos en las políticas árticas, que se identifican con las convenciones industriales y comerciales. Incluso las acciones relacionadas con los órdenes de justificación ecológico y de innovación (prácticas económicas sostenibles, investigación científica) se orientan a encontrar un compromiso entre los intereses económicos y la preservación del entorno natural y cultural propio de la región ártica europea. Se concluye señalando que, en la escala europea, la Unión Europea debe actualizar su estrategia ártica para adaptarla a las nuevas circunstancias, mientras en la escala nacional España debe coordinar mejor sus acciones científicas y definir objetivos alineados con sus intereses y, en la escala regional, se recomienda reducir la carga burocrática de los proyectos europeos y darles continuidad para incrementar su impacto positivo en el territorio ártico.

Abstract. This PhD, presented as a compendium of publications, analyzes the policies developed by the European Union for the Arctic region throughout the 21st century. Its conceptual framework is the theory of orders of justification (better known as convention theory), formulated by Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot in their work De la Justification, published in 1991. The analysis follows a multiscalar logic that ranges from the EU level to the national level and down to the implementation of measures at the regional scale.
First, the communications issued by the European Commission on the Arctic in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2021 are considered. Next, Spain’s actions in the Arctic are examined. Finally, the results and limitations of three projects funded by the INTERREG program (Northern Periphery and Arctic) in Finnish Lapland are identified.
The PhD applies a qualitative methodology that includes content analysis of a body of polar strategy and policy documents, in-depth interviews with key informants, and questionnaires administered to actors involved in the initiatives studied.
At the theoretical level, the results of the doctoral thesis support the claim that convention theory is a highly useful tool for the study of international relations, since both organizations (such as the European Union) and states act in the international arena guided by objectives and constraints that can be interpreted according to the seven orders of justification: industrial, market, domestic, public, civic, ecological, and inspired.
At the empirical level, data drawn from primary sources indicate that the initial importance of domestic, ecological, and civic conventions is later qualified due to transformations in the international geopolitical context (China’s rise, the war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, the new stance of the United States) and the impact of global warming in the Arctic region (opening of trade routes, access to energy and mineral resources). These factors translate into a stronger presence of economic and strategic objectives in Arctic policies, which are associated with industrial and market conventions. Even actions related to ecological and inspired orders of justification (sustainable economic practices, scientific research) tend to seek a compromise between economic interests and the preservation of the natural and cultural environment of the European Arctic region.
The thesis concludes by noting that, at the European scale, the European Union must update its Arctic strategy to adapt it to the new circumstances; at the national scale, Spain should better coordinate its scientific actions and define objectives aligned with its interests; and at the regional scale, it is recommended to reduce the bureaucratic burden of European projects and ensure their continuity in order to increase their positive impact on the Arctic territory.

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Islamic Governmentality and Food Business Development: The Case of Brunei Halal Certification (2011- 2021)

Azrein Azalie (2025)

PhD thesis. London: University College London.

Abstract. This research delves into Brunei’s halal certification program in the food industry through the lens of Foucault’s (1991a) governmentality. Employing “Islamic governmentality”, it explores the interplay of political rationalities and governing technologies used in halal governance, as seen through Dean’s (2010) Analytics of Government (AOG), and the impact on Brunei’s food businesses. Analysis of Halal Food Control Division’s (HFCD) social media and governor interviews underscore the significant role of the monarchy in shaping political rationalities for halalisation and the use of diverse governing technologies, such as the Quran and the Hadith and industrial halal, as well as the digital space for socialisation, knowledge production, sharing, and creating halal behavioural standards. It also brings to light the existence of various governmentalities within halal certification governance. Insights from business surveys and interviews highlight the challenges in translating the idealised vision of Islamic governance into actual practices, including information asymmetries, ineffective knowledge-sharing, and personalised halal certification processes. Economically, businesses faced escalated production costs, limited market access, and imbalanced power dynamics with standard-setters, which impeded growth. These findings offer evidence of the impact of halal governance when Islamic governmentality, a concept that remains largely theoretical in contemporary Islamic ethics and governance fields, is put into action. Furthermore, assessing governmentality and its effects on the governed subject in this study provides extended linkages that Foucauldian governmentality scholars have yet to make clear, a novelty in its own terms. This is imperative as the world is in the middle of a transition, with more efforts being put into materialising the vision 2030 via the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, by proposing the integration of five components in Islamic governance for effective halal governmentality, the Integrated Islamic Halal Governmentality (IIHG) model is formulated to achieve fair and just halal governance whilst addressing some essential components relating to sustainability.

Extract: “2.0 Convention Theory on Quality Standards
Within the social sciences, studies on contemporary economics and industrial development have focused on several themes. Sources of economic organisation and coordination among firms, industrial players, and networks – especially in the case of the production networks, commodity/ value chains (Gereffi, 2001; Pratt, 2008) and structuration theories on structure-agency relationships, usually between state and societal actors have been focused. Within development studies, concepts of political economy and governance are used to study the dynamism of actors or agents within the economy. These concepts have been used to understand the structural implications of policy, power politics, consultation, coordination, and decision-making processes relating to individuals and small collective groups at macro and micro levels (Biggart & Beamish, 2003). […] A thorough exploration of the halal literature led to the conclusion that halal standards contain all the six principles of worth with one additional principle, i.e. as part of fulfilling Islamic teachings or commandments towards halal food consumption (see sub-section on halal standards for details). According to Thévenot (2002), economic forms and justification are social processes. Decision-making on what constitutes an agreeable standard is dictated by the conditions under which it is being made. The six-worth order above gives an idea of how justifications are being made. According to Jagd (2007) and Wilkinson (1997), as part of the decision-making process, conventions also call for the importance of criticisms and disputes to resolve problems and conflicts.
Concerning the second order ‘industrial’, the work by Andre Orléan (2002, 2003) provided another insight into conventions. While Boltanski and Thévenot investigated the multi-dimensional aspects of standards decision-making in conventions, Orléan’s work discussed market coordination among the economic actors. In a nutshell, Orléan’s work focused on the debates revolving around two hypotheses relating to the Walrasian approach to economics, i.e. the Nomenclature hypothesis and the Probability hypothesis (cited in Jagd, 2007). Under the first approach, the traditional view on conventions or standards emphasises the importance of economic order, the need to comply with a set of ‘pre-given’ standards, requirements and routines (a programme?) towards successful coordination (Jagd, 2007; Biggart & Beamish, 2003). Economic agents such as producers and food processors, as found in the case of food standards, are made to adopt a ‘pre-given’ standard by buyers in the name of compliance and health and safety reasons before gaining market access.” (p.71f)

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Le e-commerce « fleurissant » en Chine urbaine : la valorisation des bouquets et la dynamique de l’amour

The e-commerce blooming in Urban China: the valuation of bouquets and the Dynamics of Love

Chongyun XIE (2025)

PhD thesis. Saclay: ENS de Paris-Saclay, 23-06-2025
Jury:
Christian BESSY, Directeur de recherche, CNRS, IDHES, Directeur de thèse
Gilles GUIHEUX, Professeur des universités, Université Paris Cité, CESSMA, Rapporteur
Alexandre MALLARD, Directeur de recherche, Mines Paris-PSL, CSI, Rapporteur
Gabrielle SCHÜTZ, Maîtresse de conférences HDR, USVQ, PRINTEMPS
Marie TRESPEUCH, Maîtresse de conférences, Sorbonne Université, GEMASS
Jun WEN, Professeur des universités, East China Normal University, Co-directeur
Yeqin ZHAO, Professeure des universités, East China Normal University

Résumé. De la livraison de fleurs interrégionale standard à la composition de bouquets en mesure, des roses colorées aux fleurs importées, des cadeaux d’amour aux biens pour se faire plaisir, le e-commerce de fleurs, l’un des premiers secteurs de la vente au détail en ligne en Chine, continue à requalifier et à revaloriser les fleurs coupées et leurs modes de consommation depuis le 21e siècle. Ce marché dynamique est le témoin de l’intersection et de la co-construction du marché, de dispositifs Internet novateurs et de la culture émotionnelle d’origine occidentale, d’une part, et de l’évolution de l’intimité et de l’identité personnelle des jeunes urbains chinois, d’autre part. Basée sur Shanghai, le berceau de l’économie de fleurs coupées en Chine et l’intermédiaire de la culture amoureuse occidentale, la thèse de doctorat enquête sur le processus et la structure de la floraison de cet e-commerce du point de vue de la sociologie économique, de la sociologie culturelle, de la sociologie des technologies et de la sociologie des émotions.
Tout d’abord, en me basant sur les articles de journaux modernes et contemporains de Shanghai sur les fleurs, je présente l’histoire de la construction du marché des fleurs et de son intersection avec la romance. Cette économie romantique médiatisée par les bouquets constitue le cadre culturel du e-commerce et de la consommation de fleurs en Chine. Deuxièmement, je me concentre sur deux vagues de start-ups de e-commerce de fleurs qui ont attiré l’attention des médias financiers et des capitaux depuis 2011. Elles prônent respectivement la singularité des bouquets et la valeur des fleurs pour se faire plaisir. D’une part, en analysant les articles sur les fleuristes en ligne dans la presse professionnelle chinoise, je présente la construction du marché de vente au détail de fleurs en ligne, ainsi que de son modèle d’entreprise et de ses conventions de qualification et de production de bouquets. Cette structure et ces institutions ont rendu possibles les deux vagues d’entrepreneuriat. D’autre part, en menant deux enquêtes ethnographiques dans une école des fleuristes et chez une fleuriste haut de gamme, ainsi que des entretiens semi-structurés avec des fleuristes à Shanghai, j’étudie l’évolution des caractéristiques des fleuristes en ligne, notamment en matière de genre et de classe. Celle-ci a permis à ces start-ups de fleurs de justifier leur reconfiguration de valeurs des bouquets. Finalement, afin de diagnostiquer la représentation et la réception de ces valeurs proclamées, j’examine, par le biais d’entretiens semi-structurés avec des consommateurs de Shanghai, leurs perceptions de la singularité des relations conjugales, ainsi que leurs identités personnelles. Cette partie tente de développer le thème de l’individuation dans la société chinoise du point de vue de la classe et du genre. En outre, la thèse dialogue étroitement avec l’économie occidentale du don, en se concentrant sur le fait théoriquement paradoxal que la culture émotionnelle occidentale est fortement marchandisée en Chine, d’une part, et en comparant les différences entre les deux sociétés en termes d’individuation dans le contexte de la globalisation, d’autre part.

Abstract. From standard inter-regional flower delivery to bespoke bouquet composition, from colorful roses to imported flowers, from love gifts to goods for self-pleasure, flower e-commerce, one of China’s leading online retail sectors, continues to requalify and revalue cut flowers and their consumption patterns since the 21st century. This dynamic market bears witness to the intersection and co-construction of the market, innovative Internet devices and the emotional culture of Western origin, on the one hand, and the evolving intimacy and personal identity of China’s young urbanites, on the other. Based on Shanghai, the cradle of China’s cut flower economy and the intermediary of Western love culture, the PhD thesis investigates the process and structure of the flowering of this e-commerce from the perspectives of economic sociology, cultural sociology, sociology of technology and sociology of emotions.
First, based on modern and contemporary Shanghai newspaper articles on flowers, I present the history of the construction of the flower market and its intersection with romance. This romantic economy mediated by bouquets forms the cultural framework for flower e-commerce and consumption in China. Secondly, I focus on two waves of flower e-commerce start-ups that have attracted financial media and capital attention since 2011. They respectively advocate the singularity of bouquets and the value of flowers for self-pleasure. On the one hand, by analyzing articles about online florists in the Chinese trade press, I present the construction of the online flower retail market, as well as its business model and conventions of bouquet qualification and production. This structure and these institutions made the two waves of entrepreneurship possible. On the other hand, by conducting two ethnographic surveys at a florist school and a high-end florist, as well as semi-structured interviews with florists in Shanghai, I study the changing characteristics of online florists, particularly in terms of gender and class. This evolution has enabled these flower start-ups to justify their reconfiguration of bouquet values. Finally, in order to diagnose the representation and reception of these proclaimed values, I examine, through semi-structured interviews with Shanghai consumers, their perceptions of the singularity of conjugal relationships, as well as their personal identities. This part attempts to develop the theme of individuation in Chinese society from the perspective of class and gender. In addition, the thesis is in close dialogue with the Western gift economy, focusing on the theoretically paradoxical fact that Western emotional culture is highly commodified in China on the one hand, and comparing the differences between the two societies in terms of individuation in the context of globalization on the other.

Working hours and pay: Its discourse and justification

Mengyi Dong (2025)

PhD Thesis, Adam Smith Business School, College of Social Sciences, Accounting and Finance, University of Glasgow
Supervisors: Professor John McKernan, Dr. Alvise Favotto & Dr. Yingru Li

Abstract. The Chinese society has experienced great changes after the establishment of PRC in 1949, and especially after the economic reform in 1978. Its achievement has been an amazing success and quite unanticipated in many respects. However, inequality problems, such as the income gap between the rich and poor, rural and urban areas, eastern and western regions, are also coming up and becoming significant in the society. Most sociological analysis of the different ways of justification, in the meanwhile, is rooted in the western values, and needs to be developed into the Chinese context. Based on newspaper articles collected from seven Chinese newspapers over 12 years, the justification framework was studied in a Chinese context. The analysis of justification of Boltanski and Thévenot (2006) was explored through the dispute of working hours and pay in China. In this study, it was found that justifications in the Chinese society was influenced by its own culture and socialist attributes, and variations are recognised in the Chinese mode of justification compared with the Boltanski and Thévenot original work. A new logic of justification also emerged from the unique Chinese context. In the dispute, it also found that the justifications are changing over the years, and the preference of the logics varies between different actors. Moreover, this study also found a dialectical relationship between the discourse and practice of justification in the Chinese society. The study contributes to the work of Boltanski and Thévenot (2006) by expanding it to a new context, and by identifying a new logic of justification of significance in the Chinese context.

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Discours de justification chez les étudiants indiens de MBA : Les cas d’étude : Les instituts publics et privés de gestion dans la province de Karnataka

Justification discourse among Indian MBA students: Case study: Public and private management institutes in Karnataka province

Maziar Jafary, (2025)

Thèse en sociologie soutenue le 14/01/2025, sous la direction d’André Tremblay
PhD thesis, supervisor : André Tremblay
Ottawa: University of Ottawa

Résumé. Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur l’analyse des dynamiques des discours de justification des activités socioprofessionnelles chez les étudiants des programmes de maîtrise en gestion (MBA ou son équivalent) en Inde. Ce qui m’intéresse dans cette thèse consiste en trois objectifs soient : 1- les types des discours mobilisés et les rapports entre les discours, 2- la projection discursive du cheminement socioprofessionnel (c’est-à-dire les orientations socioprofessionnelles) chez les étudiants, et, 3- les motivations pour les études en gestion et le rôle possible de ces études dans le développement des discours. J’argumente que certains éléments discursifs mobilisés par les futurs gestionnaires indiens créent un champ fertile pour le développement d’un modèle du capitalisme par le biais de discours justificatifs autres que les gains financiers ou l’efficacité organisationnelle.
Définissons d’abord ce qu’est un discours de justification. Je comprends par là un discours légitimé, donc faisant appel à une source légitime, et axé sur la justification que les individus mobilisent pour conduire leurs actions. Les discours de justifications sont donc présents dans toutes les sphères de la vie sociale et professionnelle des individus et sont essentiels à l’atteinte des trois objectifs de la thèse. Dans cette thèse, je me concentre davantage sur les discours de justification axés sur les activités professionnelles. Mon approche est subjectiviste et non-déterministe et j’approche le discours des étudiants et étudiantes en gestion en utilisant les théories de la justification de Luc Boltanski et la méthode idéal-typique.
Dans un premier temps je retrace à grands traits l’histoire récente de l’Inde et de la pensée gestionnaire en Inde et j’établis les grands paramètres de la société indienne. Ensuite, je passe en revue, l’histoire des écoles de gestion en Inde et l’implantation de ces écoles selon le modèle américain. Après avoir élaboré les objectifs et la méthodologie de la thèse, je m’attarde sur les analyses des données obtenues des observations et des entrevues.
Au niveau des études empiriques, je m’intéresse aux étudiants des programmes de maîtrise de 2 ans en gestion dans les instituts indiens de gestion. Ces programmes d’études tournent autour du développement de certaines aptitudes et compétences chez les étudiants pour les faire devenir des « leaders » et des « gestionnaires » en même temps qu’ils essaient de développer les connaissances scientifiques en gestion. Les cas d’étude consistent en quatre instituts public et privés de gestion de la ville de Bangalore dans la province de Karnataka en Inde. J’ai classé les quatre instituts analysés en deux groupes soit institut d’élite et institut populaire. Au total, 47 étudiants et étudiantes ont été rencontrés en personne ou en ligne et deux séjours en Inde en 2019 et 2021 m’ont permis de faire de l’observation non participante.

Abstract. This doctoral dissertation focuses on the analysis of the dynamics of discourses of justification of socio-professional activities among students in Master of Management (MBA or its equivalent) programs in India. What interests me in this thesis consists of three objectives, namely: 1- the types of discourses mobilized and the relationships between discourses, 2- the discursive projection of socio-professional pathways (i.e. socio-professional orientations) among students, and, 3- the motivations for management studies and the possible role of these studies in discourse development. I argue that certain discursive elements mobilized by future Indian managers create a fertile field for the development of a model of capitalism through justificatory discourses other than financial gain or organizational efficiency. First, let’s define a discourse of justification. By this I mean a discourse that is legitimized, i.e. that appeals to a legitimate source, and focuses on the justification that individuals mobilize to conduct their actions. Discourses of justification are therefore prevalent in all spheres of people’s social and professional lives, and are essential to achieving the three aims of this thesis. In this thesis, I focus more on discourses of justification centered on professional activities. My approach is subjectivist and non-deterministic, and I approach the discourse of management students using Luc Boltanski’s theories of justification and the ideal-typical method.
First, I outline the recent history of India and of managerial thought in India, and establish the major parameters of Indian society. Next, I review the history of management schools in India and the establishment of these schools according to the American model. Having set out the objectives and methodology of the thesis, I turn to the analysis of data obtained from observations and interviews. In terms of empirical studies, I’m interested in students in 2-year Masters programs in management at Indian management institutes. These study programs revolve around the development of certain skills and competencies in students to make them “leaders” and “managers” at the same time as they try to develop scientific knowledge in management. The case studies consist of four public and private management institutes in the city of Bangalore in the province of Karnataka, India. I divided the four institutes into two groups: elite and popular. A total of 47 students were interviewed in person or online, and two trips to India in 2019 and 2021 enabled me to carry out non-participant observation.

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L’influence des agents immobiliers sur les prix du logement

The influence of real estate agents on housing prices

Nicolas Siounandan (2024)

Thèse en sciences économiques soutenue le 28 novembre 2024 à l’Université Paris Cité

Jury:
Lise BERNARD Chargée de recherche CNRS École Normale Supérieure Examinatrice
Loïc BONNEVAL Maître de conférences Université Lyon II Examinateur
Guillemette DE LARQUIER Professeure des universités Université de Lille Rapporteuse
Sophie HARNAY Professeure des universités Université Paris Nanterre Rapporteuse
Philippe MOATI Professeur des universités Université Paris Cité Directeur

Résumé. L’agent immobilier, en tant qu’intermédiaire, facilite la mise en relation entre vendeurs et acquéreurs de biens immobiliers. Dans le cadre d’une prestation de services, le praticien accompagne la fixation du prix de vente. Pour ce faire, il considère les attributs du logement, les conditions du marché, le profil du vendeur, la concurrence avec les autres intermédiaires, les outils technologiques à sa disposition et s’appuie sur son expérience personnelle. Face à la complexité de ces multiples considérations, comment les agents immobiliers procèdent-ils pour établir le prix d’un logement ? Si le prix hédonique d’un logement se fixe à partir de ses caractéristiques et des conditions du marché, comment, dans les faits, les intermédiaires immobiliers arbitrent-ils entre l’application de ce principe théorique, d’une part, et la prise en compte de leurs propres intérêts et limites, d’autre part ? Finalement quel est l’impact des intermédiaires sur les prix du marché immobilier ? Cette recherche montre qu’au-delà de l’analyse de l’interaction entre l’offre et la demande, le professionnel recourt à un ensemble de règles implicites, établies individuellement ou collectivement, afin de formuler un prix « satisfaisant » (H. Simon) pour l’ensemble des acteurs impliqués dans la transaction, y compris lui-même. Plus précisément, l’agent immobilier écarte le bien de sa supposée « valeur intrinsèque » (E. Fama) tout au long du processus de fixation du prix. Tout d’abord, le prix estimatif est calculé à partir d’une information imparfaite et de décisions subjectives ou biaisées. Ensuite, motivée par l’intensité de la concurrence entre intermédiaires, une pression à la hausse exercée sur le prix affiché se répercute dans le prix final. Pour aboutir à ce dernier, l’agent immobilier, en réponse à ses impératifs de rentabilité, incite fortement les vendeurs à revoir leurs attentes à la baisse. Par conséquent, l’étude de l’impact de l’agent immobilier sur le prix d’un logement montre que le marché ne corrige pas la subjectivité des acteurs, mais s’en alimente. Dans la lignée des travaux de Keynes et de Shiller, relatifs aux dimensions psychologique et sociale des marchés, ce sont les acteurs qui construisent les prix sur le marché immobilier plutôt que les prix qui coordonnent les acteurs en s’imposant à eux. Cette recherche se concentre sur le marché résidentiel formé par 33 communes du Val-d’Oise. Selon une démarche méthodologique mixte, elle exploite des entretiens semi-directifs (n=16), les données internes d’une agence immobilière (n=585 mandats), une revue de la presse spécialisée (n=578 articles) et de la communication institutionnelle (n=63 communiqués de presse d’organisations professionnelles) ainsi qu’une base de prix agrégés (n=1970 transactions) pour étudier les pratiques professionnelles des agents immobiliers. Le cadre théorique convoqué combine la rationalité procédurale et la théorie des conventions pour comprendre le processus de décision, tant à travers les choix individuels que les interactions sectorielles. Ce travail aboutit à la formulation de recommandations destinées aux acteurs publics chargés d’améliorer le fonctionnement du marché immobilier.

Abstract. As an intermediary, the real estate agent facilitates contact between sellers and buyers of real estate. As part of the service provided, the agent assists in setting the selling price. To do so, he or she considers the attributes of the property, market conditions, the seller’s profile, competition with other intermediaries, the technological tools at his disposal, and draws on his or her personal experience. Given the complexity of these multiple considerations, how do real estate agents go about pricing a home? If the hedonic price of a home is based on its characteristics and market conditions, how do real estate intermediaries actually arbitrate between applying this theoretical principle, on the one hand, and taking into account their own interests and limitations, on the other? Finally, what impact do intermediaries have on real estate market prices? This research shows that, over and above the analysis of the interaction between supply and demand, the professional uses a set of implicit rules, established individually or collectively, to formulate a “satisfactory” price (H. Simon) for all the players involved in the transaction, including herself or himself. More precisely, the real estate agent sets aside the property’s supposed “intrinsic value” (E. Fama) throughout the price-setting process. Firstly, the estimated price is calculated on the basis of imperfect information and subjective or biased decisions. Then, driven by the intensity of competition between intermediaries, upward pressure on the posted price is reflected in the final price. To achieve the latter, real estate agents, in response to their profitability imperatives, strongly encourage sellers to revise their expectations downwards. Consequently, the study of the real estate agent’s impact on the price of a home shows that the market does not correct the subjectivity of the players, but feeds off it. In line with the work of Keynes and Shiller on the psychological and social dimensions of markets, it is actors who construct prices on the real estate market, rather than prices coordinating actors by imposing themselves on them. This research focuses on the residential market formed by 33 communes in the Val-d’Oise. Using a mixed-methods approach, it makes use of semi-structured interviews (n=16), internal data from a real estate agency (n=585 mandates), a review of the specialized press (n=578 articles) and institutional communication (n=63 press releases from professional organizations), as well as an aggregated price database (n=1970 transactions) to study the professional practices of real estate agents. The theoretical framework used combines procedural rationality and convention theory to understand the decision-making process, both through individual choices and sectoral interactions. The result is a set of recommendations aimed at the public players responsible for improving the functioning of the real estate market.

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Intermédiation numérique, coordination et cognition distribuée. Etudes théorique, méthodologique et empirique du pouvoir des plateformes numériques

Digital intermediation, coordination and distributed cognition: theoretical, methodological and empirical studies of the power of digital platforms

Mathilde Abel (2024)

Thèse en sciences économiques soutenue le 20 novembre 2024 à l’université Sorbonne Nouvelle

PhD thesis in economics defended on November 20, 2024 at Sorbonne Nouvelle University.

Membres du jury :
M. Christophe BENAVENT, Professeur des universités Université Paris Dauphine
M. Christian BESSY, Professeur des universités ENS Paris-Saclay
Mme Guillemette DE LARQUIER, Professeur des universités Université de Lille
M. Patrick DIEUAIDE, MCF/HDR Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3
M. Fabrice ROCHELANDET, Professeur des universités Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3
Mme Paola TUBARO, Directrice de recherche CNRS

Résumé. Cette thèse a pour objet d’analyser le pouvoir des plateformes numériques en s’appuyant sur l’approche conventionnaliste de la coordination et le concept de digital labor. Elle explore la manière toute particulière dont les plateformes, en tant que firmes intermédiaires, font usage de la triangulation pour distribuer les capacités cognitives et organiser la coordination entre les différents usagers connectés. On montre que cette opération consiste à contrôler la circulation, le traitement et la mise en forme des informations échangées afin de stabiliser des solutions de coordination. Pour étayer cette proposition, une enquête statistique, combinant une analyse qualitative et des outils de traitement automatique du langage, est menée à partir d’un corpus de messages de chauffeurs VTC. Ce travail montre que les intermédiaires s’appuient sur des technologies de coordination et une division cognitive et spatiale du travail pour formater et créer un espace intermédiaire de marché. Il souligne aussi un phénomène de dualisation spatiale du travail lié à la création de cet espace, entre un espace numérique, où le travail est programmé, et un espace public (ou physique), où il est exécuté. La thèse met en évidence des asymétries de pouvoir de nature cognitive entre les plateformes et les chauffeurs VTC connectés, où les premiers valorisent le travail cognitif des seconds. Bien que les chauffeurs conservent une certaine agentivité sur des aspects professionnels de leur travail, on montre qu’ils vivent aussi dans un « monde de production » formaté par les plateformes, lesquelles imposent une subordination tacite à des conventions de marché qu’ils ne peuvent modifier.

Abstract. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the power of digital platforms, drawing on the conventionalist approach to coordination and the concept of digital labor. It explores the way in which platforms, as intermediary firms, use triangulation to distribute cognitive capacities and organize coordination between different connected users. It shows that this operation consists in controlling the circulation, processing and formatting of information exchange in order to stabilize coordination solutions. To support this demonstration, a statistical investigation combining qualitative analysis and automatic language processing tools was carried out on a corpus of messages from ride-hailing drivers. This work shows that intermediaries rely on coordination technologies and a cognitive and spatial division of labor to format and create an intermediary market space. It also highlights a phenomenon of spatial dualization of work linked to the creation of this space, between a digital space, where work is programmed, and a public (or physical) space, where it is performed. The dissertation highlights power asymmetries of a cognitive nature between platforms and connected ride-hailing drivers, where the former value the latter’s cognitive labor. Although the drivers retain a certain agency over professional aspects of their work, the results reveal that they also live in a “world of production” formatted by the platforms, which impose a tacit subordination to market conventions that they cannot modify.

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Representing renewable energy communities: A social psychological approach to imagining the future

Ross Wallace (2024)

PhD thesis. Lisboa: University of Lisboa (15-Nov-2024)

Supervisors: Susana Alexandra Alfama Blanda Batel & Nuno Bento

Abstract. This dissertation employs a critical qualitative approach to examine how the future is represented through the intertwined dynamics of institutional and everyday meaning-making, regarding national transitions to renewable energy and particularly “Renewable Energy Communities” (RECs) in Portugal. RECs, introduced at the European Union level, aim to mobilize collective action for local renewable electricity production and consumption, and are now being integrated in policy in Portugal, a country with high renewable energy production but issues in public participation and energy poverty. The research analyses formal institutions (policies and laws) that define what is possible, likely, and desirable in public energy systems, as well as how these directives are interpreted and challenged by mediating systems (the media and energy experts) and the general public. Theoretically, the research synthesizes the theory of social representations with the pragmatic sociology of engagements and critique (convention theory). Empirically, the dissertation comprises four studies. Study 1 examines the representation of energy futures and RECs in national policies and legal frameworks. Study 2 investigates how energy experts interpret REC laws and future energy imaginaries. Study 3 analyses representations of RECs in the mainstream Portuguese press. Study 4 explores how different “energy publics” perceive the energy future, distinguishing between REC participants and those affected by large-scale solar projects. Key findings highlight tensions between competing notions of the common good in REC initiatives and reveal how actors use future-oriented discourses to legitimize REC models that prioritize commercial interests and private ownership, potentially overshadowing collective action and broader social benefits.

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Egalitarian consecration. The making of egalitarian Norway and historical elite institutions

Pål Csaszni Halvorsen (2024)

PhD thesis. Oslo: Nord University.

Abstract. What are historical elite institutions, and how is it to be a part of them in an allegedly egalitarian culture? In contrast to earlier studies of elites in Norway, this book takes a qualitative approach and focus on cultural aspects and everyday experiences that are a part of historical elite institutions. The two empirical institutions are elite high schools and literary criticism, being historical elite institutions because they have cultural connotations of “eliteness” tied to them. The study finds different ways in which actors manoeuvre how they are a part of the historical elite institutions, for example it does not entail an interest in elite culture or striving to achieve an elite position on a personal level. More accurately, both students and critics struggle with these cultural aspects and instead connect themselves to a broader tradition of egalitarianism in Norway. In that regard the book argues that egalitarian traditions are not a veil to hide elite membership, but that perceptions of what elite is in Norway are strongly coloured by the egalitarian tradition.”

Extract: “3.4 Repertoire theory
Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thevenot’s theoretical framework from On Justification is one of the strands, along with Michele Lamont’s sociology of symbolic boundaries, in the new cultural sociology, and can be called a repertoire theory (Larsen, 2013). In On Justification, Boltanski and Thevenot aim to theorise critical moments in debates, epreuves, or tests, where actors mobilise arguments, values, and things in order to respond. Further, they aim to turn a historical account of such responses into a theoretical framework, in order to understand how actors make sense of their critical competencies. The result of this theorising is a framework of different orders of worth that actors draw on to appeal to the common good, thereby legitimising their arguments. The orders of worth then become different repertoires.” (p. 54)

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Performing Civic Action: Networked activism and its use of urban space

Maija Jokela (2024)

PhD thesis. Tampere: University of Tampere

Responsible Professor: Eeva Luhtakallio
Pre-examiners Senior Scientist: Luca Pattaroni
Docent: Tapio Nykänen
Opponent: Laura Centemeri
Custos: Turo-Kimmo Lehtonen

Abstract. Social media has changed the way people come together to try to make a change, be it in institutional politics or their living environment. In Finland, this new form of civic action has challenged especially the tradition of registered associations. This ethnographic dissertation offers a snapshot of networked civic action in the social media era, investigating civic groups’ cultures and their public performances on the one hand and the negotiations between the movements’ and local public authorities on the use of urban space on the other. The research cases are the Kallio movement the Kallio Block Party organized by the movement, and the asylum seekers’ protest camp Right to Live, in which I have focused on the role of its Finnish supporters. The data was gathered in 2017–2019 mainly by ethnographic participant observation and interviews to activists as well as to the City officials and the police. The dataset is complemented by a survey to Kallio Block Party attendees and other data sources such as newspaper articles. In my analyses, I have used pragmatic sociology, more specifically justification theory and sociology of engagements, and the concept of scene style, which I have applied to the analysis of the movements’ performances. I have also paid attention to embodiment, materiality, and affects, which I perceive as essential elements in the movements’ public performances. Especially compared to the Finnish political tradition of associations, which emphasizes collectivity, what surfaced in the analysis of my research cases was individualism, for instance in the forms of short-term commitment to the movements as well as an emphasis on individual creativity and, especially in the case of Kallio movement, of individual freedom. Kallio movement wanted to stress that its members were free to do whatever they wanted, as long as they followed the movement’s principles, and that they didn’t have to commit to the movement. On the other hand, the supporters of the Right to Live protest were extremely committed to the protest, but many of them only for a short time – some of the supporters continued with asylum activism after the protest while some did not. Therefore, one of the most important contributions of this work is related to discussions on individualism especially in the field of civic action. With increasing individualism, there have been concerns in Finnish discussions concerning the dismantling of the associational tradition and international discussions concerning for instance ”DIY urbanism” about the subsequent pursuit of individual interests or lack of ideologies or politics. I argue, first, that increasing individualism does not necessarily mean increasing selfishness, but a new kind of articulation of individualism and collectivism. Second, contrary to the literature, I argue that individualism in civic action does not automatically mean a lack of political aspirations, but that it may change how we understand ”ideologies” or ”political”. The two civic groups in this research differed in how they perceived what is usually considered “politics” or “political”, as institutional politics. Right to Live pursued a change specifically in institutional (asylum) politics, whereas the Kallio movement shied away from ideas about political representation and institutional politics in an ideological manner. Instead, the Kallio movement tried to mediate its values through its actions, which can be characterized as prefigurative politics. In prefigurative politics, the means of action are as important as the goals, and the underlying idea is to produce alternative futures through one’s actions. In addition, even though Right to Live primarily advocated a change in institutional politics, its prefigurative dimension was also crucial to the protest, namely creating relationships between asylum seekers and citizens and altering the asylum seekers’ stigmatized media image into a positive one. Thus, my research also takes part in discussions concerning immigrant solidarity movements that have emphasized the importance of the (political) significance of social relations between immigrants and citizens. I argue that, depending on the situation at hand, these relations had political meanings of varying scales in Right to Live. In the protest, the asylum seekers were considered to be the primary protesters and the role of the Finns was to support the protest, in multiple ways. During the public protest, it was necessary for the maintenance of the protest that it received local support, and for the public image of the protest it mattered that the supporters were recognized as Finnish citizens and that the protest was called ” Right to Live family”. The visible presence of Finnish citizens and the emphasis on the familiar- like nature of the protest showed that asylum seekers were just like ”us” and that it was possible to create relationships across citizenship statuses. However, after the protest, with increasing pressure from forced return flights of those asylum seekers with a negative decision to asylum application, it was more important to help them with their asylum applications than to merely reminisce about the “Right to Live family”. Therefore, in some situations the creation of social relations between citizens and non-citizens does not suffice to be considered as a political act if. In other words, whether an act is political or not is always context specific. The public performances of both the Right to Live and Kallio movements were central in their prefigurative politics. It is noteworthy that both of these performances emphasized peacefulness and avoided conflicts as well as conventional ideologies such as anticapitalism. To the Kallio movement, this neutrality was (paradoxically) ideological whereas to Right to Live, it was more a necessity since asylum seekers were in a vulnerable position in several ways. However, it is reasonable to ask whether there are in civic groups characteristics that have been considered typical of the post-political era, such as avoiding explicit political ideologies. Two very different pictures can be drawn out of the relationship between the activists in the two civic groups and local public officials, and the control of the use of urban space. On the one hand, there was the explicitly political Right to Live protest by racialized non-citizens that the police actively controlled and that was eventually evicted, questionably, based on safety reasons. On the other hand, there was the Kallio Block Party, organized mainly by white citizens, that looked like a non-political event and that had gained the public officials’ and the police’s trust and that had the freedom to act rather freely. One of the arguments in this research regarding the use of urban space is therefore that trust, or the lack thereof, was a relevant factor in the relationship between the activists and the public officials. Another reason to why the City of Helsinki was favorable to Kallio Block Party was that the event was perceived to enhance Helsinki’s reputation. This dissertation therefore also takes part in discussions concerning the use of urban space, emblematic to practicing democracy, arguing that while the action by white Finns that enhances the markets has gained more freedom, the action by those who are racialized on the one hand, or that politicizes the urban space on the other, is likely to face security measures by the police.

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The semiotic Infrastructure of Financial Markets. A sociological Inquiry into Valuation Practices

Tom Duterme (2024)

Thèse en Sciences politiques et sociales soutenue le 13/09/2024 à l’Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

Abstract. This thesis sheds light on the valuation practices of financial market participants in three stages. First, a socio-historical approach outlines the conditions in which market participants operate today. The scope of buying and selling decisions has been amplified by the computerization of markets. These decisions are also increasingly taken on by a particular type of actor, due to the “asset management revolution”.
Secondly, the valuation practices of market participants are clarified through an analysis of the main valuation supports used: the Bloomberg Terminal, stock market indices, central bank announcements and oil benchmarks. The influence of these supports was sometimes recognized, but the context of their emergence and the modalities of this influence remained poorly identified.
Thirdly, we draw out some of the implications of the power of these valuation tools for the functioning of financial markets. Produced by a handful of financial information companies, the conventions studied give these companies a quasi-regulatory role in the markets. This other facet of financial regulation, less visible than legislation, cannot be ignored in reform proposals aimed at making markets more stable or sustainable.

Résumé. Cette thèse éclaire les pratiques de valorisation des participants aux marchés financiers en trois étapes. Tout d’abord, une approche socio-historique expose les conditions dans lesquelles les acteurs du marché opèrent aujourd’hui. La portée des décisions d’achat et de vente a été amplifiée par l’informatisation des marchés. Ces décisions sont également de plus en plus prises par un type particulier d’acteurs, à la suite de la «révolution de la gestion d’actifs».
Dans un deuxième temps, les pratiques de valorisation des acteurs de marché sont clarifiées à travers l’analyse des principaux supports de valorisation utilisés : le terminal Bloomberg, les indices boursiers, les annonces des banques centrales et les benchmarks pétroliers. L’influence de ces supports a parfois été reconnue, mais leur contexte d’émergence et les modalités de cette influence demeuraient mal identifiés.
Dans un troisième temps, nous dégageons quelques implications du pouvoir de ces outils de valorisation pour le fonctionnement des marchés financiers. Produites par une poignée de sociétés d’information financière, les conventions étudiées confèrent à ces sociétés un rôle de quasi-régulation des marchés. Cette autre facette de la régulation financière, moins visible que la législation, ne peut être ignorée dans les propositions de réforme visant à rendre les marchés plus stables ou plus durables.

Les membres du jury :
Prof. Jean De Munck (UCLouvain), co-promoteur et secrétaire du jury
Prof. Catherine D’Hondt (UCLouvain), co-promotrice
Prof. Mathieu Berger (UCLouvain), comité d’accompagnement et président du jury
Prof. David Bourghelle (IAE Lille), évaluateur externe
Prof. Olivier Godechot (Sciences Po), évaluateur externe
Prof. Rainer Diaz-Bone (Universität Luzern), comité d’accompagnement

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Quelle coordination territoriale pour la valorisation de la donnée en région ? L’hypothèse DataLab Normandie

What kind of regional coordination is needed to make the most of data? The DataLab Normandie hypothesis

Marie-Hélène Gauthier (2024)

Thèse de doctorat en géographie, soutenue le 11/09/2024 à l’université Le Havre Normandie
PhD thesis in geography, defended on 11/09/2024 at the University of Le Havre Normandie

Jury : Fabienne Leloup, Amael Cattaruzza, Philippe Vidal (directeur/supervisor), Arnaud Brennetot, Thierry Joliveau, Emmanuelle Tixier, Marina Dufeal

Résumé. Cette thèse débutée en septembre 2020 et financée par un support CIFRE s’est déroulée au sein de la Région Normandie et de l’UMR IDEES 6266 LE HAVRE. Elle porte sur la question des conditions d’émergence et d’évolution d’un dispositif territorialisé de valorisation de la donnée à l’échelle régionale. L’hypothèse principale considère que l’échelon régional offre à l’ensemble des acteurs concernés des repères territoriaux et des raisons objectives de coopérer au travers d’un dispositif dédié, le DataLab Normandie. Celui-ci, expérimenté sous la forme d’un consortium entre 2020 et 2023, constitue le coeur de ce travail. Ce dispositif régional est susceptible d’assurer la coordination des acteurs (publics, privés et académiques), de les faire adhérer à une cause commune (la donnée) pour en faire une ressource territoriale et la valoriser autour de projets concrets. La thèse prend appui sur d’autres exemples de dispositifs territoriaux français pour discuter des modèles possibles d’organisation et révèle, à partir de la théorie des conventions, un certain nombre d’épreuves territoriales de la donnée qu’il convient d’organiser et de faire passer. Le principal résultat est que si le DataLab Normandie assume très correctement un rôle “d’impulsion”, notamment dans le cadre d’appels à projets, il peine toutefois pour l’instant à apparaître comme une structure incontournable d’ingénierie au service des acteurs régionaux.

Extrait: “C’est pourquoi, le choix est fait de retenir une approche par les conventions. Celle-ci associe à la fois une adhésion s’appuyant sur une dimension pragmatique (convention de coordination) et sur une approche plus cognitive et réflexive (convention légitimée). Elle est donc tout à fait appropriée à la donnée dans la mesure où, par exemple, « l’adhésion aux projets de partage de data seraient plus liée à des valeurs et principes altruistes généraux » (Petr et al., 2023 : 2) ce qui renvoie directement au principe d’une convention légitimée. Par ailleurs, cet exemple du partage de données par les habitants fait également appel à la convention de coordination puisque comme l’écrivent les auteurs, « distinct d’un comportement chauvin, il s’agirait plutôt d’un comportement opportuniste puisque le résident voit, dans le projet d’intérêt collectif localisé, une forme d’annonce et de garantie d’en obtenir in fine un intérêt personnel. » (Petr et al., 2023 : 2). Enfin, les conventions permettent à la fois d’adopter une analyse des dynamiques territoriales tant d’un point de vue individuel que collectif mais aussi d’en saisir les ressorts qu’ils soient implicites ou explicites, contrôlés ou non.” (p. 78)

Abstract. This thesis, which began in September 2020 and was funded by a CIFRE, was carried out within the Normandy Region and the UMR IDEES 6266 LE HAVRE. It focuses on the question of the conditions for the emergence and development of a territorial system for exploiting data at regional level. The main hypothesis is that the regional level provides all the players involved with territorial reference points and objective reasons for cooperating through a dedicated mechanism, the DataLab Normandie. The DataLab, which will be piloted as a consortium between 2020 and 2023, forms the core of this work. This regional mechanism is likely to ensure the coordination of players (public, private and academic), to get them to adhere to a common cause (data) in order to turn it into a regional resource and develop it around concrete projects. The thesis draws on other examples of French territorial systems to discuss possible organisational models and reveals, on the basis of convention theory, a number of territorial tests of data that need to be organised and passed on. The main finding is that, while DataLab Normandie does a good job of providing ‘impetus’, particularly in the context of calls for projects, it is still struggling to establish itself as a key engineering structure serving regional players.

Excerpt: “This is why we have chosen to adopt a convention-based approach. This combines a pragmatic approach to membership (coordination convention) with a more cognitive and reflexive approach (legitimated convention). It is therefore entirely appropriate to the data insofar as, for example, “adherence to data-sharing projects would be more linked to general altruistic values and principles” (Petr et al., 2023: 2), which refers directly to the principle of a legitimated convention. Moreover, this example of data sharing by residents also appeals to the convention of coordination since, as the authors write, “distinct from a chauvinistic behavior, it would rather be an opportunistic behavior since the resident sees, in the localized collective interest project, a form of announcement and guarantee of ultimately obtaining a personal interest from it.” (Petr et al., 2023: 2). Finally, conventions make it possible to analyze territorial dynamics from both an individual and collective point of view, as well as to grasp the driving forces behind them, whether implicit or explicit, controlled or uncontrolled.” (p. 78)

Lien / Link

Zwischen Weltrettung und Marktfähigkeit. Ecopreneurs im Spannungsfeld von ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit, Unternehmertum und kapitalistischer Wirtschaft

Between saving the world and marketability. Ecopreneurs in the field of tension between ecological sustainability, entrepreneurship and capitalist economy

Eltje Gajewski (2024)

PhD thesis defended at University of Duisburg-Essen 28 June 2024

Jury
Prof. Dr. Frank Kleemann (supervisor and reviewer)
Prof. Dr. Rainer Diaz-Bone (reviewer)
Prof. Dr. Helen Baykara-Krumme
Prof. Dr. Anja Steinbach
Prof. Dr. Gregor Bongaerts (dean)

Auszug: “Wichtige Impulse liefert hierfür das Modell der kapitalistischen Vereinnahmung von Kritik, welches von Boltanski und Chiapello (2001, 2003) als „Der neue Geist des Kapitalismus“ entwickelt und von Chiapello (2014) unter anderem auch auf ökologische Kritik bezogen wurde. Darüber hinaus werden jedoch auch weitere Ansätze diskutiert, die die zunehmende Bedeutung von ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit in kapitalistischen Wirtschaftszusammenhängen erklären können. Anhand dieser Ausführungen wird verdeutlicht, dass das Verständnis von ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit, das in aktuellen gesellschaftlichen, politischen und wirtschaftlichen Diskursen dominant ist, eine kapitalistisch vereinnahmte und überformte Variante ökologischer Kritik darstellt. Auf dieser Grundlage erfolgt im Anschluss eine ausführlichere Betrachtung dieses Nachhaltigkeitsverständnisses. Hierfür wird unter Rückgriff auf den Begriff der Konventionen  […] gezeigt, dass sich die kapitalistische Produktion in historisch veränderlichen Ausprägungen vollzieht, in denen unterschiedliche Ensembles der von Boltanski und Thévenot (2014) definierten und von Thévenot et al. (2011) sowie Boltanski und Chiapello (2003) weiterentwickelten Konventionen vorherrschend sind und sowohl das Denken und Handeln der gesellschaftlichen Subjekte wie auch die konkreten wirtschaftlichen Organisationsformen strukturieren […]. Vor diesem Hintergrund lässt sich der Begriff der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit für die vorliegende Untersuchung schließlich als Konfiguration ökologischer beziehungsweise grüner sowie kapitalistischer Ideen, Wertmaßstäbe und Handlungsschemata bestimmen und für die empirische Analyse zugleich zu der Fragestellung wenden, auf welche Weise(n) Nachhaltigkeit im Denken und Handeln der befragten ecopreneurs an die kapitalistische Wirtschaft andockt […]. “ (S. 86-87)

Extract: “The model of the capitalist appropriation of critique, which was developed by Boltanski and Chiapello (2001, 2003) as “The new spirit of capitalism” and was also related to ecological critique by Chiapello (2014), among others, provides important impulses for this. However, other approaches are also discussed that can explain the increasing importance of ecological sustainability in capitalist economic contexts. These explanations make it clear that the understanding of ecological sustainability, which is dominant in current social, political and economic discourses, represents a capitalistically appropriated and reshaped variant of ecological criticism. On this basis, a more detailed examination of this understanding of sustainability is then carried out. To this end, the concept of conventions […] is used to show that capitalist production takes place in historically changing forms, in which different ensembles of the conventions defined by Boltanski and Thévenot (2014) and further developed by Thévenot et al. (2011) and Boltanski and Chiapello (2003) are predominant and structure both the thoughts and actions of social subjects and the concrete forms of economic organization […]. Against this background, the concept of ecological sustainability for the present study can ultimately be defined as a configuration of ecological or green and capitalist ideas, value standards and action patterns and, for the empirical analysis, can also be turned to the question of how sustainability docks onto the capitalist economy in the thoughts and actions of the ecopreneurs surveyed […]. ” (S. 86-87)