Sandra Charreire Petit: modelling the learning process
Sandra Charreire Petit is a university professor in strategic management, director of the Networks, Innovation, Territories and Globalisation Laboratory (RITM) at Université Paris-Saclay and Vice-Dean of the Jean Monnet Faculty (Law, Economics and Management) where she is in charge of research and the Graduate Schools. A specialist in the learning process, she is interested in the use of whistleblowing platforms and digital health.
Sandra Charreire Petit is, as she likes to say, “A true product of the university system”. After studying Economics at Université Paris-Nanterre and a DEA (the equivalent today of a Master 2) at Université Paris-Dauphine, in 1995 she defended her thesis on the modelling of organisational learning processes within France Télécom. She then took up a position as a lecturer at Université Paris-Est Créteil, before in 2003 becoming a university professor with an ‘agrégation’ (teaching degree) after passing a competitive exam. Very early on, she became interested in the management of research projects. From 2004 to 2009, she managed the Economic and Social Steering of Organisations Laboratory (PESOR) at Université Paris-Sud, then took on the management of a doctoral school within the Jean Monnet Faculty, which later became the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) doctoral school at Université Paris-Saclay after the creation of the new university. Since 2018, she has been in charge of the Networks, Innovation, Territories and Globalisation Laboratory (RITM) at Université Paris-Saclay, which is the result of the merger between her former laboratory and the Analysis of Industrial and Social Dynamics Laboratory (ADIS). “I’m delighted to have been able to contribute to the creation of this joint economics and management centre in which we can share our expertise on a daily basis,” explains Sandra Charreire Petit.
The learning process as a common thread
As regards research, Sandra Charreire Petit has been interested in the learning process since the beginning of her career. “More precisely, I try to understand how work collectives (either organisations or institutions) learn through the use of management systems,” she explains. Since 2006, she has devoted her initial work to the tools of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which she has looked at from a critical perspective. In particular, she has been working on the development of identification and diagnostic systems to distinguish between opportunistic strategies implemented by certain organisations and systems developed in accordance with the spirit of the CSR standard. “What interests me about these innovative systems is that they raise managerial questions which I think it’s important to address - not at a later stage but rather while they are being deployed,” explains Sandra Charreire Petit. Her research work is in line with her teaching, as shown by the seminar on the strategic management of CSR which she designed for the Master's degree in International Strategy and Management at Université Paris-Saclay.
Understanding whistleblowing
Early in 2010, Sandra Charreire Petit decided to turn her attention to whistleblowing platforms and their use. This new field of research opened up due to the use of the practice of whistleblowing in France, which originated in the United States as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. One of the aspects of the Act is that it applies to all companies listed in the United States, even if they are not American. “Overnight we found ourselves in the position where French companies were forced, albeit completely reluctantly, to set up whistleblowing platforms while hoping that no one would ever use them. This paradox was a first in the history of management and deserved to be addressed,” explains Sandra Charreire Petit. How does a law transfer to a cultural context which is different to its original context? Are there typical profiles for whistleblowers ? Are there arrangements for dealing with whistleblowing? How can whistleblowers be protected from retaliation? These are some of the issues being addressed during the research work led by Sandra Charreire Petit. The researcher does not intend to stop there, as the subject is far from exhausted. “I’m planning to very soon start on an historical approach to whistleblowing and to compare experiences between here in France with those in the United Kingdom so that cultural differences can be investigated.”
Thinking about digital health devices
Since 2015, Sandra Charreire Petit has also been analysing learning processes within the context of digital health systems. These systems have seen a sharp increase in use during the health crisis resulting from Covid-19. “For the first time in the history of medicine, medical consultations are at the point where they no longer need to be face-to-face conversations. This will change not only professional practice but also relationships with and expectations of patients and carers,” explains Sandra Charreire Petit. In this fascinating overview, the researcher looks at how doctors will learn to use these tools and adapt or bypass them. “We’re also examining the question of proximity, which seems to us to be an interesting subject to associate with learning as digital health devices are intended to eliminate distance. In particular, we have seen patients becoming key players in their own health, as well as other stakeholders in the health care system who are often not considered by the present system,” adds the researcher. Such insights as these Sandra Charreire Petit hopes will advance research, of course, but also, and perhaps more importantly, ”That they will inform the public decision-maker called upon to design the global health system of the future.”
Promoting the ‘soft sciences’
Sandra Charreire Petit has always felt it is important to promote dialogue between disciplines, whether working with economists in her laboratory, with lawyers on the issue of whistleblowing or with doctors on the issue of digital health. “I’ve always been comfortable in multi-disciplinary settings.” It is therefore not surprising that, as a board member of the Centre of Human Sciences MSH Paris-Saclay and coordinator of the health line of research from 2016 to 2020, she has worked to develop a cross-disciplinary approach within Paris-Saclay. She likes to describe her discipline as ‘flexible’ rather than ‘soft’, and also thinks that it is very important to promote the social and human sciences. “Hard sciences and soft sciences must learn to work together in a world where many societal issues can no longer be addressed through the scope of a single discipline. However, this must not happen by subordinating the latter to the former, as is too often the case,” warns Sandra Charreire Petit. What is the best way then? “By working as equals, which perhaps means rebalancing the support given to each other by directing more doctoral and post-doctoral contracts to the social and human sciences. It mustn't be forgotten that we also require resources to carry out our own programmes and conduct good science!” says the researcher in conclusion.
