Not Just Parrots: How Middle Managers Bring Purpose to Life

Why should employees articulate your company’s purpose - and not just the firm’s CEO? In this episode of Breakthroughs, we speak with Pauline Asmar, a doctoral researcher at HEC Paris, whose work reframes how purpose works inside companies, at the level of the teams. The research is co-authored by HEC Professor and Purpose Chair director Rodolphe Durand. Drawing on data from nearly 60,000 employees across 469 firms, Asmar reveals that it's the everyday managers who translate lofty purpose statements by the top brass into daily motivation. We discuss why this “purpose dialogue” at management/worker level is emerging as a vital new lever of team commitment, how companies can fail despite having purpose statements, and what happens when leaders just parrot slogans instead of listening and engaging. We also discuss how purpose-washing creates skepticism, and what can be done about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month’s HEC Breakthroughs podcast features the insights by KU Leuven professor Frank Wijen who challenges fellow researchers in sustainability to go deeper and to have greater impact. Here are some of the key points taken from our 30-minute exchange on what Wijen calls “engaged research”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is academic research into sustainability doing its job, moving the cursor forward in a time of unprecedented climate crisis? It’s a question Professor Frank Wijen discusses in the context of dramatic ecology-related incidents around the globe. “Researchers are taking snapshots and not movies,” he says, and this static orientation is not answering the urgency of real-life crises. Breakthroughs explores possible solutions with the Full Professor of Global Sustainable Strategies from KU Leuven. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.