Two I³-CRG PhD students win awards

Juliette Keohane receives the Honoris Causa Award and the RNI Bonus Award in partnership with the Research Institute of the Caisse des Dépôts Group.

In the face of the decline of the French textile industry, marked by the disappearance of much of its production capacity and many historic brands, how can regions be reindustrialized in a sustainable way? In addition to this crisis, major environmental and social challenges now arise: decarbonizing production, reducing globalized transportation, preserving local jobs, and addressing growing criticism of fast fashion. This is the question explored in Juliette Keohane’s dissertation, conducted at the École Polytechnique’s Center for Management Studies (I³-CRG ) in partnership with the company Terre & Fils Investissement. Her research is based on several case studies, including two industry associations committed to rebuilding local production systems: the wool industry in the Creuse department and the footwear industry in Romans-sur-Isère. The researcher’s work relies primarily on a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, workshop visits, and the analysis of documentary and press sources.

Her work shows that an alternative path to sustainable reindustrialization is emerging, distinct from both the simple relocation of existing activities and the creation of large, automated factories. This model is based on the gradual rebuilding of collective capacities, the development of stakeholders’ skills, the pursuit of quality and positioning in segments with higher value-added, as well as new forms of cooperation and value sharing among the various links in the supply chain.

Building on these findings, the doctoral thesis formalizes a new approach to the management of industrial heritage, distinct from traditional models focused on the preservation and management of a single company’s heritage. It demonstrates how resources inherited from the past can serve as the foundation for collective action aimed at building new productive capacities, coordinating interdependent actors, and fostering the emergence of new local industrial clusters. While French innovation policies have historically favored an approach primarily geared toward supporting the most innovative companies, this research calls for a rethinking of reindustrialization policies based on available resources and expertise, as well as the capacity for action within local regions. The proposed analytical framework also offers insights for supporting the transformation of other sectors, such as the wood, agri-food, and construction industries, which face similar sustainability challenges.

Daniela Bulatova, a doctoral student at I³-CRG, was honored along with her colleagues Mette Præst Knudsen and Rita Faullant for their paper “Innovation in Times of Geopolitical Tensions: How Firms Respond to the EU Sovereignty Agenda” at the 33rd Innovation and Product Development Management Conference.

The study examines how companies respond to the growing importance of technological sovereignty in Europe. Based on interviews with company representatives, the authors show that firms increasingly perceive technological sovereignty as both a strategic challenge and an opportunity. Companies that identify market and political developments early on and deliberately adapt their innovation activities can not only strengthen their own competitiveness but also contribute to Europe's technological sovereignty. The findings provide new insights into how companies shape innovation in an increasingly geopolitical environment.

*I³-CRG: a joint research unit CNRS, Mines Paris - PSL,  Télécom Paris, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France