As a delegate for Strategic Affairs at the Canton of Geneva and in charge of the implementation of digital policy for the Geneva State Council, Vincent Mottet joined the Business Science Institute in 2013.
He defended his Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in 2015 on the theme of “Tetranormalization and strategic territorial management: The case of Greater Geneva” under the direction of Professor Marc Bonnet, Professor of Management Sciences at the iaelyon School of Management at Jean Moulin University (ISEOR).
Vincent MOTTET published the book “”Construire une agglomération transfrontalière – Méthode pour surmonter les contradictions normatives” (Building a cross-border conurbation – Method for overcoming normative contradictions) through EMS. It is part of the Business Science Institute collection.
Thesis Direction
Pr. BONNET Marc
Thesis Title
Tetranormalisation and strategic territorial management. The case of Greater Geneva.
Abstract
This research focuses on the implementation of strategic environmental management in the Franco-Valdo-Genevoise urban area, known as the Grand Genève [Greater Geneva Area]. The area has faced the difficulties of organizational learning and defensive routines as studied by Chris Argyris (1970), given the normative divergences observed in this cross-border area.
Its ambition is to initiate a process of reflection with decision-makers and practitioners and, above all, to provide a practical, action-oriented solution to the problems caused by tetranormalization through socio-economic management and in particular, through a qualitative approach. It is thus clearly interventionist research, an experiment whose objective is to demonstrate the interest and plausibility of the approach, anchored in the reality of the organization.
This topic is original and specific in that it deals with the issue of governance and public management of an organization through targeted research and intervention, with the support of a case study. We deliberately adopted an exploratory type of approach, as the construction of this urban area is a relatively recent process.
It is the observation of a new and little documented context that calls for innovative solutions in a global and integrated vision. We therefore highlight the scientific intention of this initial journey, namely the desire to move towards more scientificity, considering the field of knowledge that our thesis opens up.
The boundary between the public and private sectors is shrinking, the former borrowing the methods and management tools from the latter, without having the same prerogatives, while the expectations of the latter increase with respect to the former. The result is a form of perpetual procrastination, a dissatisfaction that in itself is deserving of one’s interest.
The consideration for environmental issues is now anchored in each of the preoccupations of the organizations, because they are a current and quasi universal theme. Awareness of the scarcity of natural resources, energy needs, climate change, and sustainable development is at the heart of concerns, and therefore has come to structure the strategy of enterprises, for example in terms of corporate social responsibility16 (CSR) or investment policy. Future legislative changes also pose a potential threat to companies that would not have adapted their strategy in time.
To our knowledge, there is no single answer to the treatment of environmental problems. Rather than waiting for an unexpected solution to emerge spontaneously, we have decided to tackle this issue on a regional level, and in a context that is familiar to us because of our position in the organization. We have the ambition to provide a concrete solution that addresses a real problem faced by the players in Greater Geneva Area.
The strategic intent of this project lies in the stated willingness to respond to the problem raised, through the application of the socio-economic method, by demonstrating the value of continuing down this promising path.
The results obtained in 10 real cases, obtained through a qualitative analysis, reveal the endogenous development potential of this urban area.