Knowledge@HEC

We’ve heard it a thousand times: diversity is good for business. But what if that familiar line doesn’t stand up to scrutiny or serious research – and, to cap it all, it’s counterproductive? In this SHORT LISTEN version of the HEC Breakthroughs podcast, HEC Paris professor and best-selling author Olivier Sibony explains why the “business case” for diversity may be leading us astray. If we want fairer, smarter organizations, we need to stop trying to change minds - and start redesigning the systems that shape them.

We’ve heard it a thousand times: diversity is good for business. But what if that familiar line doesn’t stand up to scrutiny or serious research – and, to cap it all, it’s counterproductive? In this latest HEC Breakthroughs episode, HEC Paris professor and best-selling author Olivier Sibony explains why the “business case” for diversity may be leading us astray. If we want fairer, smarter organizations, we need to stop trying to change minds - and start redesigning the systems that shape them.

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.

“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.