Under the Lens
Director of ESSEC ISIS, Hervé Mathe, sheds light on the field of service innovation…
Expert Ideas & Research
New research suggests that when dieting, ‘mental budgets’ can help you resist temptation…
Business World
ESSEC teams up with the French Senate to provide funding for entrepreneurs…
Global Networks
ESSEC’s Dean & President, Pierre Tapie, talks to Singapore's Minister of Information, Communication & the Arts about surviving the crisis and stimulating economic growth in Asia…
ESSEC Life
A major expansion of the Cergy campus reveals new resources for students…
Academic Focus
A breakthrough in higher education in France enables students to obtain a double-diploma, MBA & Master of Engineering…
Hervé Mathe, Professor of Innovation and Operations Strategy and Director of the Institute for Service Innovation and Strategy (ISIS) explains more about the increasing importance of the field of service innovation and how ISIS’ work with companies and public organizations is stimulating creativity in the workforce.
Thanks to the intensity and quality of its relationships with companies and public organizations, ISIS is permanently developing and experimenting with original and highly effective methods to generate and implement relevant solutions to new and complex situations, to efficiently tap in the unlimited resources of open innovation, to mobilize and stimulate the creativity of the workforce and of the customers. The recent launching of three sponsored chairs under ISIS supervision: the CSC-EDF Chair in Innovation & Services, the La Poste Chair in Strategic Service Management, and the Sodexo Chair in Innovation and Quality of Daily Life, demonstrates the confidence leading global players in the service economy place in the value of the institute’s research.
ISIS draws upon a team of full-time professors, researchers and consultants from ESSEC, and closely collaborates with key representatives from other scientific institutions. Executives with partner companies or key consulting experts are actively involved in the delivery of the institute’s activity program via training, public conferences, and task forces. They contribute to the execution of numerous research projects and industry studies. Advanced research students also conduct in-depth investigations and experiments in direct relation with ISIS’ most important projects.
The institute is guided by a scientific committee, under the chairmanship of Prof. Roy D. Shapiro, Harvard Business School, compiled of key researchers such as Norma Harrison from CEIBS Shanghai, Georges Haour from IMD Lausanne, Paul Kleindorfer, Wharton, Yangyhuk Lee, Korea University.
The expansion of services certainly stands as the most significant business trend of the past three decades. Western economies continuously add new positions in services while regularly shedding jobs in manufacturing. Today, the need to invest in sustainable development, the scarcity of raw materials and vital natural resources, and the outstanding growth of the world population has led to a reversal of the traditional logic of value creation. As they face new global economic realities, companies re-assess the sources of their comparative and competitive advantages and adopt new strategies that stimulate innovation and facilitate partnerships. In this context, services should no longer be viewed as supporting manufacturing transformation and the consumption of goods. Rather, in the 21st century economy, the goal is to efficiently respond to the logic of a continuous delivery of service value. In that sense, service innovation is integral to all sectors of activities.
Innovation may invent entirely new service domains, and also reinvent service firms in “traditional” service sectors. Through the delivery of totally new and refined customer experiences, Google or Yahoo, on the one hand, Facebook and Twitter, on the other, have contributed to the creation of truly original patterns of communication and social relationships. Innovation may allow for the transition from a product based value creation to a more subtle network based service value delivery; following the Apple path from the introduction of the iPod in 2001 to the strengthening of its platform strategy in 2008 with the launching of its App Store to support its very popular iPhone and iTunes breakthrough offerings.
Technology implementation alone cannot be expected to lead to successful and efficient innovation in services. It has to be appropriate to the problem at hand, and compatible with the organizational structure of the firm and consistent with the dominant direction of an overall business strategy. As Clayton Chistensen, Harvard, suggests, technology implementation should be an ‘enabling option’, based on the strategic value of what the technology ultimately enables.
ISIS holds workshops for practitioners, seminars, public forums and conferences, in association with leading institutions. Annual forums include the Design, Innovation, Service Forum and the Innovation Management in the Public Sector Forum. The Matins de l’Innovation, monthly seminar series in Paris explores the latest innovative experiments in the field of service innovation.
New research unveiled at a special event at the ESSEC Business School in Singapore has revealed that in 2008, companies in Singapore and Hong Kong were making and receiving payments several days faster than they were in 2006.
The research was conducted by the newly established ESSEC Observatory of Payment Policies in Asia (ESSEC OPPA), on the Singapore campus, led by ESSEC Marketing Professor Joël le Bon, and was the first research of its kind to be conducted in the region, looking at the payment behaviours of more than 600 SGX and 800 HKEx listed companies over a 3 year period between 2006 and 2008.
Professor Lorenzo Naranjo was awarded the “Lawrence G. Goldberg Prize for Best Dissertation in Financial Intermediation” by New York University for his thesis, “Market Frictions, Momentum and Asset Pricing”.
Other recent prestigious awards & appointments
Alain Lempereur and Aurelien Colson’s latest book, edited by Michele Pekar, is heralded as an invaluable guide for business and policy negotiators on the international scene.
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Over 35 new articles and books!
Philippe Lorino, Nicolas Mottis & René Demeestere: Contrôle de Gestion et Pilotage de l’Entreprise 
Patricia Langhor: The Rating Agencies and their Credit Ratings
Author: Ayse Onculer and Serdar Sayman
Ayse Onculer’s reverse time inconsistency research shows that, contrary to traditional theory, the ‘best things come to those who wait’ aspiration may not be such an enigma after all…
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Authors: Parthasarathy Krishnamurthy and Sonja Prokopec
As obesity continues to rise and reach epidemic proportions, controlling what we consume is becoming increasingly important and apparently, increasingly difficult. Professor Sonja Prokopec’s research examines whether ‘mental budgets’ can help us to limit certain behaviors. In the context of food consumption, the potential social and commercial implications of helping people to prevent loss of self-control could have a substantial impact on the way we live our lives…
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Authors: Andras Fulop and Jin-Chuan Duan
Trading noises are fluctuations in share prices driven by factors that have nothing to do with the actual fortunes of a firm and that create a false picture of the volatility of a firm’s asset values. As the markets start to recover in the wake of the financial crisis, Professor Andras Fulop proposes a new model that promises to provide more accurate assessments of corporate liquidity…
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Co-organized by ESSEC Business School and the Senate, the 11th edition of Tremplin Entreprises took place in the French Senate on the 12th and 13th of February 2010. The forum brought together leading actors in capital risk and innovative start-up investment funding, attracting investors and entrepreneurs from some of France’s fastest growing innovative companies.
30 teams working in sectors such as Energy & Projects, Internet & Services, System Applications and Life Sciences were selected to present their projects in front of an expert panel, including representatives from Tremplin's partners in addition to Julien Morel, Director of ESSEC Ventures. KPMG and Ernst & Young consultants provided project presentation coaching to the selected candidates who were assessed on innovation, the expertise of their team and the long term prospects of their projects.
5 major prizes worth 10,000 euros each, were awarded at the end of the meeting to the best projects in each category, Energy & Projects, Internet & Services, System Applications and Life Sciences.
For more information
www.tremplin-entreprises.senat.fr
As the financial world reels following the crisis, banks recognize the importance of top talent management at ESSEC…
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Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric, goes under the spotlight
at a legendary "Mardis de l'ESSEC"…
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On October 29th, 2009, Pierre Tapie, Dean and President of ESSEC Business School and Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of the Singapore Insitute of International Affairs (SIIA), hosted a roundtable of leaders from France and Singapore to discuss Singapore’s relatively robust recovery from the financial crisis. The roundtable followed the “Franco-Singapore Forum” – a joint initiative by Jean-François Copé, President of the UMP Parliamentary Group in the French Parliament, and Singapore’s Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew. Dr. Pierre Tapie, President and Dean of ESSEC Business School, was the only academic to take part in the Forum, which also featured business leaders from top corporations (Mr. Frederic Oudea, CEO Société Générale, Mr. Stephen Lee, Chairman Singapore Airlines etc.) as well as French and Singaporean government ministers. The Forum’s activities focused on building and nurturing the links between key decision-makers in political, business and cultural fields from France and Singapore.
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On the 16 November, 2009, in partnership with the French Embassy in Beijing, the Guanghua School of Management and the CEFC, ESSEC sponsored a conference in Beijing on the move towards a new, international financial order. Keynote speakers included Dominique Strauss Kahn, Director General of the IMF, Michel Camdessus, Director General of the IMF from 1987-2000 and Chinese Finance Minister, Zhu Guangyao. The main issues addressed were: Can the global macroeconomic imbalance be ended? Regional monetary zones: European experience perspectives for Asian monetary cooperation? Is a new international monetary system feasible?
Experts from Cass Business School, London, and ESSEC Business School joined forces on the 17th November for the first of two special events to analyze the evolution of the financial sector in the wake of the credit crisis. The Paris event, hosted by Credit Suisse, included short presentations and discussions with ESSEC and Cass Business School faculty and alumni, including Professor François Longin and Professor Georges Fernandez from ESSEC and Professor Stefan Szymanski from Cass, in addition to Cass alumnus Michael Beraha, Managing Director, Country Head of France, The Bank of New York Mellon and Eric Richard, Managing Director, European Head of Banking Coverage, Credit Suisse. Presentations and discussion focused on the evolution of the finance sector.
The second event took place in London on December 2nd, attracting over 150 participants.
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An event jointly organized by the CICC of the University of Cergy-Pontoise, (Professor Victor Bergasa), and ESSEC Business School (Sylvia Desazars de Montgailhard) and in direct collaboration with the Universities of Salamanca (Alfredo Pérez Alencart), Malaga (Juan Antonio Garcia Galindo), the Bibliothèque Internationale de Nanterre (BDIC), the Institut Cervantes de Paris and the Center for European Diaspora. Featuring Francoise Moulin, President of the Civil UCP, Pierre Tapie, Dean of ESSEC Business School, and ESSEC professors Laurent Bibard, Ashok Som and Aurélien Colson.
After construction over the last four years of four new buildings, covering 16,000 m2, dedicated to teaching, the ESSEC Group has completed an additional expansion featuring two new recreation areas for students and staff, designed to bring together state-of-the-art technology, comfort and harmonious design.
Spanning 3,000 m2, this library/resource center houses 60,000 publications, 600 periodicals, has complete Wi-Fi coverage, private booths for group meetings, reading and relaxing areas in a comfortable and user-friendly environment.
The entirely renovated 2,000 m2 restaurant situated on 2 levels features floor-to-ceiling windows to include natural light and specially designed acoustics to reduce noise levels and maintain a harmonious atmosphere. The space includes a cafeteria with an expansive courtyard including additional recreation space in the heart of the campus. Seating areas have chic, designer furnishings and the second floor is a large, luminous mezzanine with sofas and armchairs for more relaxed dining or study breaks. A separate quieter recreational area provides an ideal meeting place for informal study groups or meetings.
Renovation was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Regional Council of Ile de France, the General Counsel of Val d’Oise and the Community of Cergy Pontoise.
Buildings were designed and constructed by Marc Siefert, CEO of Agence Equerre who has designed various other buildings on the campus in the past. Marc is the son of Ivan Siefert, the visionary architect who designed the original Cergy campus in 1973.
Today the ESSEC campus hosts over 4,200 students (including approximately 1300 international students) undertaking a range of higher education programs, and employs over 600 staff.
Pierre Tapie, Dean and President of ESSEC Business School talks about the importance of cooperation between business schools and the business world in creating sustainable and economic value for the future.
B4E Summit 2009, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Global Compact.
Pierre Tapie on how education is driving sustainability…
ESSEC’s Social Entrepeneurship Chair has been selected as one of 5 regional partners in the Global Social Venture Competition (‘GSVC’), the largest and oldest student-led business plan competition providing mentoring, exposure, and prizes for social ventures from around the world. GSVC is organized by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in cooperation with 5 Regional Partners and 4 Outreach Partners. A select number of plans will be chosen to move forward to the EMEA Regional Round hosted by ESSEC Business School (Francophone) and London Business School (Anglophone). During the Regional Round, the top 11 blended value and top 5 Social Impact Assessment plans will be selected to compete in Global Finals at the Haas School of Business, at UC Berkeley. The 2010 Francophone Final took place on the 1st and 2nd of February, during the launch of the Institute of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (IIES) by ESSEC Business School's Social Entrepreneurship Chair.
The mission of the GSVC is to catalyze the creation of social ventures, educate future leaders and build awareness of social enterprises. The competition supports the creation of real businesses that bring about positive social change in a sustainable manner. Each year, entrant teams from around the world compete for over $45,000 while gaining valuable professional feedback on their ventures. Since its inception in 1999, the GSVC has awarded more than a quarter of a million dollars to emerging social ventures and has introduced early-stage social venture entrepreneurs to the investment community. Nearly 25% of past GSVC entrants are now operating companies.
5 March 2010: EMEA Final at London Business School, UK – 3 finalists to be selected
22-24 April 2010: World Final at the Haas Business School, University of Berkeley, California, USA
Columbia Business School
London Business School
Indian School of Business
Thammasat University, Thailand
ESSEC Business School, France
Yale School of Management
Social Venture Competition Korea
ALTIS Program, Business and Society, Catholic University, Milan, Italy
Guanghua School of Management, University of Peking, China
Following the success of the Social Entrepreneurship Chair and with the support of prestigious corporate partnerships, ESSEC has launched the first institute dedicated to Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. IIES will experiment with new tools designed to stimulate education and research methods in the social entrepreneurship and equal opportunity in education.
For more information visit: www.lancement-iies
The ESSEC Chair of Social Entrepreneurship was created in January 2003 with the support of the MACIF, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, the Fondation de France, and the Délégation Interministérielle a la Ville. ESSEC was the first French business school to establish a centre of expertise in this field. The Chair aims to mobilise and train entrepreneurs and managers capable of offering innovative solutions to social problems, of establishing trans-sectoral partnerships and of maximising the social impact of their initiatives.
Antropia is ESSEC Business School’s social incubator and philanthropic venture capital fund, created in 2008 in partnership with a French bank to support the launch of social innovations by new social entrepreneurs. It offers strategic, technical, logistical and financial support to innovative social entrepreneurs.
Successful projects include ESSEC Alumna, Anne Roos-Weil’s project Pésinet, in sub-saharien Africa, designed to significantly reduce infant and maternal mortality by improving basic health conditions. Pésinet aims to ensure the treatment of illnesses by mobilizing local networks and the implementation of new technologies and a micro-insurance program. After specializing in social entrepreneurship at ESSEC, Anne Roos-Weil presented Pésinet at the finals of the GSVC Competition in Berkely in 2009.
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AnnGaid Plourde and Isabelle Combes’ project Arboresences led to the opening of a school in November 2009, in the Paris region, for gifted children. The school’s mission is to provide a pedagogic, fulfilling environment for gifted children and break the cycle of suffering and failure these children often experience in the classic educational system.
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ESSEC Business School and Ecole Centrale Paris, one of France’s most prestigious engineering schools, have announced their decision to sign a strategic alliance in a move that will enable students from the two leading institutions to receive double business-engineering degrees.
Students will have the opportunity to embark on an alternate learning program over 5 years that will enable them to receive a degree from each university. Those selected will be expected to fulfill an equivalent portion of the work experience and international experience requirements of each school in order to graduate. Double-degree students will be selected by their respective school in the first year following a formal application process and presentation before an admissions board of representatives from both institutions.
The partnership will extend the training of Centrale engineers by ESSEC to the Centrale campus in Beijing, where ESSEC will deliver management courses to Chinese students. This international aspect not only ensures that Centrale engineering students worldwide can benefit from the strategic alliance, but will also provide ESSEC with a forum in which to promote European management teaching and research.
In September 2009, ESSEC and Centrale jointly launched an Advanced Master in Entrepreneurship, a program that places emphasis upon innovative technologies. The initial success of this initiative has encouraged the two schools to continue working together.
Our long cooperation with ESSEC has reassured us that ESSEC embodies the same values and ambitions as Centrale, particularly the importance of innovation and international outlook. This strategic alliance with ESSEC undeniably reinforces the originality, attractiveness and international visibility of the two institutions. 
Hervé Biausser, Director of Ecole Centrale Paris
In 2002, ESSEC and Ecole Centrale, together with the University Paris Descartes and INSERM, created Paris Biotech, a public biotechnology incubator specialized in healthcare that accompanies company projects resulting from scientific and technological research. Paris Biotech received a rating of “A” in an evaluation by government ministers, and is continuing to develop the program further in order to fully integrate a business incubator.
In 2006, France’s first interdisciplinary product innovation program, “Creation d’un Produit Innovant” (CPI) was conceived, that aims to foster the creation of new products and develop entrepreneurial spirit by bringing together a diverse group of students from ESSEC and Centrale, and more recently, Strate Collège Designers, one of France’s leading industrial design schools. Companies recently involved in this program include Gemalto, Orange, Orange TV, La Poste, SFR, Cofiroute, the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
ESSEC’s pedagogy has always been on the cutting edge of teaching. The strategic alliance with Ecole Centrale, which brings together ESSEC’s fundamental values, innovation, excellence and humanism, with Centrale’s huge potential for growth in entrepreneurship and international engineering, fits perfectly into this perspective.
Pierre Tapie, Dean and President of the ESSEC Group
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