Article pp.205-207 du Vol.36 n°203 (2010)

(1)

UNCERTAINTIES AND STRATEGIES

Guest Editors : Véronique Perret, Jean-Philippe Denis, Audrey Rouziès

9 Contributors to this issue

13 RFG-AIMS.The special issue confirms its positionning and responds to the call– Véronique Perret

15 Uncertainty(ies) and Strategy(ies)

Jean-Philippe Denis, Véronique Perret, Audrey Rouziès

25 The uncertain linkage between CSR and market value creation:

an interpretation based on external effects theory Thibault Daudigeos, Bertrand Valiorgue

The implementation of new social and environmental practices is often thought as a business opportunity for companies to improve their competitive advantage. The aim of this paper is to question the taken-for-granted economic value creation asso- ciated with corporate social responsibility while probing the conditions of the emergence of a shared value between business and society. We build upon external effects theory to evaluate strategic options a company may choose to manage its negative external effects in such a way that it creates social and economic value.

41 Competitive strategies in a crisis industry. The wine industry in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France

Franck Duquesnois, Frédéric Le Roy, Calin Gurau

This article aims to identify the main competitive strategies implemented by firms in a crisis industry. An empirical study was conducted and primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey that was addressed to wine pro- ducing firms from Languedoc-Roussillon region, in the south of France. The results of this study indicate that rather than using cost leadership strategies, firms attempt to grow through niche and differentiation strategies.

57 Raising the uncertainty about the consequences of strategic innovation Laurence Lehmann-Ortega, Bertrand Moingeon

The study of 47 cases of strategic innovations in existing companies allows to understand the uncertainty resulting from this type of strategy. When the new business model, introduced by the strategic innovation, concerns a niche or

issue 203 April 2010

S U M M A R Y

Cet article des Editions Lavoisier est disponible en acces libre et gratuit sur archives-rfg.revuesonline.com

(2)

creates a new market, it can coexist in the company with the former model. But when it addresses successfully the heart of the market, it outperforms the pre- vious model, which disappears.

71 The case of a school of strategic innovation: a primer in respect to legitimacy Alexandre Asselineau

Disruptive strategic innovation is becoming a popular theme of current Strate- gic Management and Innovation literature. However, a lot still has to be done in order to understand the conditions required for developing a successful innovation strategy. We are following the evolution of an innovative project being carried out in the Burgundy wine market: Is the failure of this project due to the conditions in which the innovation strategy was implemented or the role played by the institutional framework and uncertainty?

85 Reproduction of the institutional order in face of uncertainty.

The role of the Majors’ discourse in the music industry Antoine Blanc, Isabelle Huault

In this paper, we examine the issue of how institutions are maintained, despite an uncertain and changing environment. More specifically, we investigate the efforts of actors to maintain the institutional order through discourse, approa- ching this issue through an in-depth and longitudinal study of actors’ efforts to maintain institutions in the French Music Industry from 2004 through 2008.

Our study focuses on how the discursive work of some actors fixes meaning about artists and helps to maintain institutions.

101 Accepting uncertainty in market transition : a sensible sensemaking Thomas Reverdy

This article builds on the experience of the liberalization of gas market in conti- nental Europe to examine the action under uncertainty. Our survey of industrial gas suppliers and buyers reveals intersubjective sensemaking that contribute to the progressive institutionalization of shared meanings and practices. The article highlights the following paradox : in order to increase their legitimacy, traders defend an offensive sensemaking with formalized and sophisticated practices ; but many events challenge their practices and incite them to adapt their attitude for a more prudent sensemaking, more robust against unexpected events.

119 Interacting to improvise during crisis: the 2003 French heat wave case Anouck Adrot, Lionel Garreau

Three types of interactions – discursive, translating and based on experience – allo- wed actors to improvise consistently and manage the critical aspects of the 2003 French heat wave. Our study suggests that managers should help to generate these interactions during crisis response. It also provides and discusses practical recom- mendations for managers to handle organizational improvisation during crises.

206 Revue française de gestion – N° 203/2010

(3)

133 Managers and their bosses: building the managerial relationship Magali Ayache, Hervé Laroche

Paradoxically neglected as a topic of interest in management literature, the managerial relation is questioned in this article through an upward and dynamic point of view: we intend to understand the process of building the managerial relationship as it is experienced by the manager vis-à-vishis/her superior. We carried out a study through semi-structured interviews with 22 managers. We propose that the managerial relationship is built in at least two phases, a progressive learning phase and a relationship maintenance phase. We show also that the manager play an active role vis-à-vishis/her superior.

149 From resources to practice: analyzing a vegetable strategy in haute cuisine Isabelle Bouty, Marie-Léandre Gomez

This article compares the practice-based approach on strategizing and the resource-based view on the ground of their ability to link micro and macro pers- pectives and tackle uncertainty. It uses these two theoretical frameworks suc- cessively to analyze the same empirical case of three-star gourmet restaurant Arpege’s turn to vegetable gastronomy. The practice-based approach advances our understanding of strategizing as a dynamic constellation of heterogeneous practices, emphasizes reasonable vscalculative aspects as well as subjective features of uncertainty in strategizing

163 Reflections crossed on the measure and the uncertainty François Vatin, Alain Caillé, Olivier Favereau

The authors, who were invited by the coordinators to give their point of view about uncertainty, show that, in the context of a University, there is an uncertainty for users as producers of knowledge about value. Introducing quantitative measure seems to be the way towards objectivity. But for the scientific commu- nity, as for others, is it reasonable to seek always to reduce by a quantitative way uncertainty, whereas this one will always be at the heart of human relationships?

183 In memoriam– Jean-François Chanlat

185 The dynamics of identity among organizations and individuals: the case of five Brazilian organizations– José Roberto Gomes Da Silva

This article aims to analyze the relationship between the dynamics of organizational identity and individual identity in five Brazilian organizations in the context of change, working in several sectors. We share the idea that there is a recursive logic or interplay between these two levels of analysis of identity: that of the organization (macro) and individual (micro). The article proposes a theoretical framework for thinking recursion between these two levels of identity.

205 Summary

Summary 207