Strategy and Performance for the Society

Below is a highlight on some of the latest research activities from our strategic research field “Strategy and Performance for the Society”

Latest Top-quality and quality publications

On the Tax behavior of polluting firms under a carbon-credit scheme

Vincent Compagnie, along with Wouter Torsin and Kristof Struyfs (Open Universiteit) published a paper in the Journal of Corporate Finance that explores how polluting firms engage in corporate tax avoidance, particularly in response to significant changes in carbon prices. Their analysis indicates that the tax avoidance behavior among heavily polluting firms is influenced by their operating cost structure rather than their financing needs. They conclude that firms may attempt to offset carbon costs by minimizing their tax contributions, but effective monitoring mechanisms can help prevent such behavior.

How do local actors set the Sustainability agenda?

In parallel with the publication of the paper on Smart city strategies addressing the SDGs  (co-written with Jessica Clement and Benoit Ruysschaert. See explainer here), Nathalie Crutzen, along with Lama Alarda (Lead author), François Pichault and Giovanni Esposito have published a paper in the International Review of Administrative Sciences that explores, through the example of the Walloon Region in Belgium, how local actors reach a compromise on a shared sustainability agenda focusing on three economies of worth (green, civic, industrial). The authors identified three mechanisms that facilitate interactions among stakeholders: reflection, engagement, and alteration, being the first mechanism the major of all three.

Contribution in The Oxford Handbook of International Tax Law

Isabelle Richelle has contributed with the chapter “Alternative dispute resolution in the European Union” in this new Handbook. This contribution considers the efforts made over time to try to encourage States to resolve cross-border tax disputes, and then focuses on the European directive establishing a mechanism that now obliges Member States to resolve cross-border disputes. The handbook comprises contributions from sixty authors from 28 different countries.

Demonstrating that normative control is relevant for self-managed organizations

Didier Van Caillie along with our PhD candidate Louise Colling and Kim Ceulemans (TBS Business School) have published a book chapter in Contrôle, Comptabilité et Audit. Embracing a more emancipatory and engaged perspective on research into traditional accounting practice lies behind this publishing collaboration between the CEPE and Toulouse Business School's Department of Accounting, Controlling and Audit. In their chapter, the authors expose the need for control in self-managed organizations and reflect on the relevance of normative control through a selection of empirical articles. They highlight the limitations of the traditional perspective based on agency theory and institutional theory to fit the context of self-managed organizations. They therefore draw on microfoundations to propose a conceptual framework for a dynamic and co-constructed normative control that is favorable to self-managed organizations.

Frédéric Ooms, guest-editor for a Special Issue of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice

Frédéric Ooms along with Martin Obschonka (University of Amsterdam); Moren Lévesque  (York University); Jeffrey M. Pollack (NC State University);  Denis A. Grégoire (HEC Montréal); Tara S. Behrend (Michigan State University);  and Boris Nikolaev (Colorado State University) will be guest-editor for a Special Issue on Entrepreneurship Ex Machina: Transformative Artificial Intelligence for Theory and Practice of the journal Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.

The special issue seeks to explore the intersection of transformative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and entrepreneurship. This issue aims to understand the transformative impact of AI tools in entrepreneurship. It recognizes the potential of AI to significantly advance entrepreneurship theory and practice by improving efficiency in various human tasks and addresses the growing gap in academic understanding of AI's effects on entrepreneurial practices. The call for papers is now open.

New research grants

The EntCogFlex (Uliège’s ARC funding) project led by Frédéric Ooms, and Fabienne Collette, (GIGA-Cyclotron Research Centre-In Vivo Imaging - GIGA-CRC-IVI) explores the impact of entrepreneurial experience on cognitive flexibility and brain activity. This innovative research aims to shift the focus from the personality traits of entrepreneurs to understanding how their cognitive processes, particularly cognitive flexibility, are influenced by entrepreneurial experience. Cognitive flexibility is hypothesized to increase with entrepreneurial experience, potentially moderated by environmental uncertainty and mental well-being. This multidisciplinary effort combines neuroscience with entrepreneurship research, utilizing behavioral tasks, fMRI, and longitudinal analyses to uncover the neurological underpinnings of entrepreneurship.

Didier Van Caillie, Louise Colling and Nathalie Crutzen will be involved in the MedNathan project (a RPD PROJECT from 2024-2027) on the valorization of the medicinal and agroecological potential of natural extracts in northern Vietnam, promoted by Prof. Pierre Duez (UMons) & Prof. Pham Hai (Vietnam National University)

Some forthcoming research events …

Prof Scott Shane from Case Western Reserve University at HEC Liège

Professor Scott Shane will deliver the conference “Trust Me: How Founder Smiles Encourage Investors to Invest” on April 22 at 16:00 in N1d Classroom 0/86. This seminar was organized by Frédéric Ooms.

HEC Family Entrepreneurship Day

The second edition of HEC Liège Family Entrepreneurship Day will take place on May 30. Co-organized by Raphaëlle Mattart, Laurent Weerts and Fabrice Pirnay, it will feature Dr. Maria Rodriguez Garcia and Raphaëlle Mattart, who will delve into the crucial topic of family governance. Through engaging seminars and workshops, this event aims to bridge the gap between researchers and entrepreneurs, offering valuable insights into family councils, constitutions, and governance mechanisms. Participants can expect to gain practical knowledge, best practices, and real-world experiences shared by experts and successful family entrepreneurs.

Prof Martin de Jong (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam) on “Smart city development as spatial manifestations of 21st century capitalism”

Professor De Jong, Professor of Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity at the EUR, will deliver a research seminar on June 25. Over the last 20 years, Smart Cities have been the subject of a growing body of literature and the concept of the 'intelligent city' has been widely debated. Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) and the University of Liège are both actively involved in the European university alliance network UNIC, where the study of Smart Cities has been identified as a priority area for cooperation. You can register here.