Fatemeh Movahedian

Composition of the Jury

Abstract

SMEs (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises), which have limited resources, are increasingly participating in collaborative networks. These networks enable them to access the complementary knowledge they need to successfully carry out their innovative projects. To achieve this, SMEs must deploy their absorptive capacity (ACAP)—that is, their ability to acquire, assimilate, transform, and apply external knowledge. These capabilities, deployed both individually and collectively, take the form of various practices known as routines when they are repeated and collectively accepted. However, the various dimensions of these routines are still poorly understood. The purpose of this interdisciplinary dissertation in management science and computer science (methodology engineering) is to: (i) propose the participatory ISEACAP (Identification, Simulation, Evaluation, and Improvement of Absorption Capacity), which incorporates gamification techniques (ii) model and describe in detail the knowledge mobilized as well as the associated absorption routines within innovative projects, by detailing the practices of each of the ACAP dimensions (acquisition, assimilation, transformation, application) (iii) to highlight the role of ISEACAP facilitators in promoting participants’ reflexivity regarding their ACAP routines (iv) to describe the ISEACAP phases that facilitate participants’ learning within their ACAP routines. The methodology followed in this dissertation consisted of a qualitative analysis of data collected through semi-structured interviews and experiments conducted by ISEACAP. Following interviews and experimental sessions conducted in France and England with practitioners across various sectors, two case studies were developed in the textile and food industries. The data collected from the case studies were coded using thematic analysis. The contributions in the field of methods engineering consist of the proposal and formalization of the ISEACAP method. In the field of management science, the dissertation contributes to a better understanding of ACAP routines.

Read the thesis