PRESENTATION
The « Social Enterprise and Business Ethics » field pursues three major goals:
- to develop research in the areas of social enterprise and business ethics mainly from the perspectives of economics, management and organization theory
- to feed, through its work, teaching in the areas of social enterprise and business ethics at the University of Liège and elsewhere;
- to participate in building an ecosystem that fosters the development of social enterprises and ethically-driven businesses.
Research projects cover a wide range of topics, both at the theoretical and empirical levels, using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, which are grouped under five main categories:
- conceptual work defining the notions related to social enterprise and business ethics (e.g. social economy, non-profit or cooperative economy, philanthropy, etc.)
- entrepreneurial dynamics underlying social and sustainable entrepreneurship in new fields of activity (e.g. ethical finance, fair trade, integration of low-skilled workers, etc.) and in the context of the sustainability transition (e.g. recycling, renewable energy, short food supply chains, etc.)
- new financing modes for social and sustainable enterprises, including through philanthropy and social investment; new approaches to social impact measurement
- organizational models and management practices in social enterprises, foundations and ethical businesses
- institutionalization of social innovation in the context of transitioning to a more sustainable economy, including through cross-sector partnerships and networks with businesses and public authorities
These research themes are developed in direct connection with teaching and dissemination to practitioners. To do this, the domain relies on 3 chairs (W. ALTER, Cera and Baillet-Latour) and on numerous action research projects. For example, the ES.CAP project, thanks to funding from the Walloon region, aims to systematize the links between research, teaching and practice around various themes identified jointly. The research results thus make it possible to feed the course programs related to the subject, in particular the master's specialization in “Management of Social and Sustainable Enterprises” as well as the master's specialization in social economy (in collaboration with UCLouvain).
MEMBERS OF THE FIELD
FACULTY
DEFOURNY Jacques, Full Professor, PhD
HUYBRECHTS Benjamin, Associate Professor, PhD
MERTENS DE WILMARS Sybille, Associate Professor, PhD
XHAUFLAIR Virginie, Assistant Professor, PhD
SENIOR RESEARCHERS
MOREAU Charlotte, Researcher, PhD
RIJPENS Julie, Researcher, PhD
UL HAQ Shoaib, Researcher, PhD
JUNIOR RESEARCHERS
BOUCHAT Maxime, Researcher
BROLIS Olivier, Teaching & Research Assistant
DAVID Romain, PhD Candidate
DESSY Elodie, Researcher, PhD Candidate
DETHIER Fanny, Researcher, PhD Candidate
KISANGA Arsene, Researcher, PhD Candidate
LANZI Florence, Researcher, PhD Candidate
SAVARESE Claudia, Researcher, PhD Candidate
SIDANI Neamat, PhD Candidate