(Newsletter #5) Is it enough to understand our mutual challenges to be able to address them?

Some of the challenges we face today are so structural that they sometimes seem almost impossible to solve. Foremost among these are climate change, technological upheaval and inequality.

Because we live in a “closed world”, understanding its limits is essential. But that is not enough.

This month, our professors draw on the variety of their research work to shed light on some environmental, technical and societal issues and to propose solutions that can help shape a desirable future.

In the spring issues, we'll be looking at new trends in leadership and the questions raised by the capacity of change in the financial sector. If this piques your curiosity, and if you’re not already following us, please subscribe here.

To browse this fifth issue directly on LinkedIn, follow this link.

Happy reading!

Beyond growth: How to unveil the path to sustainable business in a post-growth era?

By Thomas B. Long – EDHEC Associate Professor and Giacomo Buzzao – Ca’Foscari University of Venice post-doctoral Researcher

Together with welfare and technological advancements, growth has pulled millions of people out of poverty, and raised the standard of living of countless others. But our relentless pursuit of economic growth is clashing with the finite limits of our planet. In this article, the authors explore the emerging topic of post-growth, what it means for the overall economy, and consider the implications, challenges and opportunities for businesses... Read this article

How can digital technology be used to transform society and build knowledge?

By Olga Kokshagina – EDHEC Associate Professor

The digital revolution is now permeating all areas of society, to the extent that we can speak of a genuine societal transformation. But does this transformation only have virtues? Is it not, as the philosopher B. Stiegler has pointed out, both a remedy and a poison? For the author, in a society of continuous technological intermediation in our professional and personal lives, it is fortunately possible to establish safeguards, so as to put (back) digital technology at the service of human beings… Read this article

Short-term climate stresses and long-term expectations: Are markets asleep at the wheel?

A podcast with Riccardo Rebonato – EDHEC Professor, Scientific Director of the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute

The Actuary is the magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. They have invited Riccardo Rebonato (EDHEC) together with Nick Jessop (Moody's Analytics) to talk about the ways that standard climate scenarios, such as those produced by the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), can be used to create short-term stresses for financial markets and broaden the scope of climate analysis… Listen to this podcast

3 questions to Madlen Sobkowiak on Sustainable Accounting

An interview with Madlen Sobkowiak – EDHEC Associate Professor

Driven by urgent environmental and social issues each and every organizations are facing around the world, accounting is evolving at great speed. From primarily, if not exclusively, about economic indicators and performance, it is now impregnated with environmental, social, and governance criteria. The interviewee is at the forefront of these transformation, where accounting is “ecologized” by the use of planetary boundaries framework… Read this interview

Why is it so difficult to handle whistleblower reports?

By Wim Vandekerckhove – EDHEC Professor, Paulina Arroyo Pardo and Nadia Smaili – UQAM Professors

In transposing the 2019 EU Whistleblowing Directive, the member states have recently updated or introduced new legislation. A key feature is that organizations of 50 or more employees are obliged to have an internal speak-up system. Indeed, 95% of people initially blow the whistle inside their organization before considering going external. Yet, the authors consider that companies underestimate what it takes to make internal whistleblowing successful and explain what makes those kinds of reports so difficult to handle… Read this article [Originally published in The Conversation Europe]

Where are the women in museum collections and in positions of responsibility?

By Guergana Guintcheva – EDHEC Professor and Director of the Master Business Management Programme and Hager Jemel-Fornetty – EDHEC Associate Professor, Director of the EDHEC Diversity & Inclusion Chair

In the US in 2019, in the 18 largest museums in terms of visitor numbers, 87% of the artists exhibited in the permanent collections were men. In France, a 2021 study lists 93.4% male artists in the catalogues of national public museums. Similarly, compared with men, women have more difficulty accessing professional networks, which limits their access to strategic positions. The authors advocate that those difficulties are reminiscent of the difficulty women have in breaking through the glass ceiling in the corporate world… Read this article [originally published in The Conversation Europe]

Meet Joëlle Vanhamme, a professor who has turned marketing into a lever for sustainability

"I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, in a small family SME environment", Joëlle Vanhamme explains. "We've always had an approach to business marked by concern for its impact and the well-being of everyone. The company has always been seen as a tool that enables people to live and make a living, a stakeholder philosophy before its time in a way." From this original context, she drew a foundation of fundamental values that would dictate her career choices, a sincere and ongoing interest in understanding the impact of business on society.”… Read this portrait

To read the previous issues of the #EDHECVox newsletter :

• (#4) Without a collective approach, can we (really) combat our individual vulnerabilities? - follow this link
• (#3) Climate and Finance: is it now, or right now? - follow this link
• (#2) Circular economy: Why are we wasting time? - follow this link
• (#1) Greener, chattier, more connected… How do companies address "new" customers? - follow this link

Illustration (header) 2024 - Anne Moreau