Knowledge@HEC

President Donald Trump’s dismantling of American Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs is happening at breakneck speed. His Executive Orders label DEI policies as "illegal and immoral forms of discrimination”. HEC scholars Matteo Winkler and Marcelle Laliberté scrutinize this shift of narrative which is challenging certain constitutional rights. They share their research on this seismic shift which, they say, could undermine the very essence of American - and by ricochet, European – societies and their notion of equal rights. Read the highlights here.

Japan’s “super-aged society” (over 28% of its population aged 65 or above) and the US’ “aged society” (around 16% over 65) pose new challenges to the retirement period. And they’re set to rise. Just how do these two countries answer them? HEC professor Lisa Baudot plunges us into her new research through the eyes of CEO retirees from accounting’s Big Four.

“I just make the time to read a book and it gives me this burst of fire in the belly to give me another two or three hours of creativity or productivity.” This cry of passion by author Robin Sharma is a call to arms four HEC researchers have heard throughout their respective careers. Gilles Deleuze, Norbert Elias, Sherry Turkle and E.O. Wilson are so many references inspiring our academics in their devotion to further their disciplines. They share their passion for books in this first Breakthroughs podcast of 2025. Find the written highlights in Knowledge@HEC here.

The questions of language, culture and merit have long intrigued researchers. HEC accounting professors Daniel Martinez and Keith Robson share the challenges these issues pose for diversity and equity. Professor Robson describes the cultural notions like language that favor the progression of elite groups in service firms in the UK. Whilst Associate Professor Martinez joins with fellow-researchers Javier Husillos and Carlos Larranaga to challenge the monolingual hegemony of English in academic publishing. This, he claims, affects non-native speaking academics’ very identity and puts them in a position of subservience. Find the written highlights in Knowledge@HEC here.

HEC research academic Craig Anderson has been exploring the impact of “awe” on Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, and well-being for over a decade. The specialist in affective science recently published a paper on culture and awe, comparing the emotional approach of Americans and Chinese to this phenomenon. Anderson’s research was at the heart of a 2023 National Geographic documentary “Operation Artic Cure” which traces the use of awe to alleviate PTSD in veteran soldiers. The American academic shares his insights into a new science reshaping policies in sustainability, marketing and health. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here.

This summer’s eruption of violence in the UK has renewed searching questions on the role social media plays in our society. It has also accelerated calls for new or revamped regulation of the country’s social media platforms, encapsuled in the UK’s Online Safety Act. But online violence does not confine itself to politicized and stigmatized communities. For the past 12 years, HEC Professor Kristine de Valck has explored the presence of direct, cultural and structural violence in an online community that few researchers would imagine: the British electronic dance music community. Kristine shares her decade-long research on such leisure-oriented communities, also observed on Reddit, Twitch and Discord platforms, and suggests ways to mitigate such brutalization of online consumers.Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here.

Notre série du podcast Breakthroughs fête ce mois-ci les événements sportifs de l’été avec un programme hors-série dédié au lancement d’un nouvel électif sport et commerce pour les étudiants. Intitulé « Sport & Business », ce programme de six mois comprend un travail théorique, puis de terrain en partenariat avec le club de football professionnel Racing Club de Lens (présidé par Joseph Oughourlian, un alumnus d’HEC). Le professeur Luc Arrondel dirige les contenus académiques de l’électif. Ce chercheur partage avec nous son approche pédagogique centrés sur l’économie du foot. Puis, dans la deuxième partie du podcast, nous suivons le premier rassemblement de l’Economie du Sport dans lequel HEC Paris, Bpifrance et EY ont uni les acteurs clés de l’écosystème sportif. Etaient présents pour HEC, des dirigeants, des étudiants et des alumni pour des séances dédiées à la recherche, à l’enseignement et à l’action de l’école de commerce dans ce secteur florissant. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here.

2024 marks 20 years since the birth of social media. Since then, it has become a major communication force in the lives of teenagers’ lives - a 2024 Pew survey claims that 93% of American youth use it, for example. Unsurprisingly, research on its impact has followed suit. But just how reliable are the conclusions in this new field of studies? In April 2024 HEC professors Tina Lowrey and L.J. Shrum co-signed a research paper with their former doctoral student Elena Fumagalli (H18), showing conflicting findings on the negative and positive effects of social media on youth. They warn against major policies and lawsuits founded on inconclusive studies and contradictory scientific research. Professors Lowrey and Shrum share with Breakthroughs their empirical study to try to make sense of a subject matter inflaming public debate. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC here.

Ever since he published “Strategic Management”, Edward Freeman has been at the forefront of a theory that stakeholders are interconnected. For his collective body of work, the economist from Darden School, Virginia, received an Honorary Doctorate from HEC Paris, adding his name to the 48 illustrious scholars on the HEC Honoris Causa list. The March 4 ceremony was followed by several thousand spectators, both live and on line. Freeman’s visit to the Jouy-en-Josas campus was the occasion to discuss his stakeholder vision with a prism of the 21st century. This is an exceptional Breakthroughs podcast, recorded for Knowledge@HEC. Find the written highlights on Knowledge@HEC.