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This paper explores the question of the design activity at the shop floor level. The design activity has been confined for a large part in the design and the methods office. However, a certain form of design adapted to the factory remains. It is necessary to solve the problems which appear during the manufacturing process and to improve the productivity. However another form of design can emerge; it has a stronger impact on the factory, since the rules of the manufacturing system are modified under its effect. The paper studies 21 cases of design in the Airbus factory at Saint-Nazaire. It shows that the design activity does exist at the shop floor level. It characterizes this activity distinguishing two types of design which can co-exist in a factory. It shows that the type of results reached is not the same according to the type of design implemented.

The literature on design distinguishes between exploration-based experimentation and validation-based experimentation. This typology relies on an assumption that exploration and validation cannot and should not be performed simultaneously in the same experimentation. By contrast, some practitioners, such as les Sismo, propose that proof of concept might combine these two logics. This raises the question of what design logic might enable this type of combination of exploration and validation. We first use design theory to build an experimentation design framework. This framework highlights a typology of proof logics in experimentation related to proof of the known and proof of the unknown. Second, we show that these proof models are supported by les Sismo's cases and describe a diversity of arrangements of exploration and validation mechanisms: sequential, parallel, and combinational. Through the formalisation of proof of concept as a double proof (proof of the known and proof of the unknown), we show that proof of concept can be more than a tool for the go/no-go decision by gradually validating propositions, questioning the relevance of propositions, and discovering new propositions to be investigated and tested.

For the past 5 years, more and more established technological firms have structured domain of expertise dedicated to breakthrough innovation management, in order to foster their innovative capabilities. Our paper studies how such expertise may be organised to identify and exploit more effectively new design paths. Our case study is based on the Renault's experts who demonstrate how the design theories could support the firm's innovation capabilities through an exploration partnership. The conclusion presents new co-exploration models and proposes organisations of the expert's activities.

International audience

The objective of this paper is to elucidate an organizational process for the design of generic technologies (GTs). While recognizing the success of GTs, the literature on innovation management generally describes their design according to evolutionary strategies featuring multiple and uncertain trials, resulting in the discovery of common features among multiple applications. This random walk depends on multiple market and technological uncertainties that are considered exogenous: as smart as he can be, the gambler must play in a given probability space. However, what happens when the innovator is not a gambler but a designer, i.e., when the actor is able to establish new links between previously independent emerging markets and technologies? Formally speaking, the actor designs a new probability space. Building on a case study of two technological development programmes at the French Center for Atomic Energy, we present cases of GTs that correspond to this logic of designing the probability space, i.e. the logic of intentionally designing common features that bridge the gap between a priori heterogeneous applications and technologies. This study provides another example showing that the usual trial‐and‐learning strategy is not the only strategy to design GTs and that these technologies can be designed by intentionally building new interdependences between markets and technologies. Our main result is that building these interdependences requires organizational patterns that correspond to a design of exploration phase in which multiple technology suppliers and application providers are involved in designing both the probability space itself and the instruments to explore and benefit from this new space.

Confronted with the need to improve their innovation capabilities in an increasingly holistic context, companies are creating new forms of collaborative organizations to collectively explore potential radical innovation fields. In this paper, we propose a study of the nature of these new collectives for innovation through two managerial patterns: objects of collaboration and organizational mechanisms of co-ordination. This research is based on longitudinal collaborative research with the French carmaker Renault and analyses the Renault Innovation Community, whose members participated in original collaborative initiatives to stimulate the industrial ecosystem of mobility and support the potential emergence of new ecosystems. The main results of the empirical research emphasize that: (1) tasks of collaboration favour a focus on the regeneration and dissemination of sociotechnical imaginaries rather than on societal expectations, and (2) organizational mechanisms of collaboration exceed open innovation logics to focus on the collective creation of favorable conditions for the emergence of new industrial ecosystems.

International audience; Rebuilding society through the creation of innovation communities. The case of SpotLAB workshops on new mobilities in French regionsInnovation is a key to territorial development, but the management to achieve it remains a challenge. In line with works on the building of collaborative innovation capabilities through design, our intervention research introduces SpotLAB, an original device inspired by KCP workshops. Three proposals for a territorial innovation model appeared: the conditions for the emergence of a territorial community of innovation, its engineering (polycentric laboratory-network), and ephemeral institutionalization.; L’innovation est une clé du développement territorial néanmoins la nature du pilotage pour y parvenir demeure un challenge. Dans la lignée de travaux sur la restauration de capacités collaboratives d’innovation par la conception, cette recherche-intervention présente les SpotLAB, dispositif original inspiré des ateliers KCP. Il en ressort trois propositions pour un modèle territorial d’innovation : les conditions d’émergence d’une communauté territoriale d’innovation, son ingénierie (laboratoire-réseau polycentrique), et l’institutionnalisation éphémère.

We studied the management of internal R&D stakeholders and their involvement dynamics in breakthrough R&D projects. Building on a longitudinal research partnership with a global car manufacturer since 2005, this research highlights the important dynamics of involvement among internal R&D stakeholders in the engineering development organization. Some stakeholders—who served as experts, innovation design strategists, or internal collaboration strategists—succeeded in involving the individuals needed for the project's progress, sometimes generating an over-commitment. The success of the rationale of these stakeholders on engineering resource involvement depended on the perceived legitimacy of their owners.

Organizing for idea generation is a recurring challenge in intensive innovation contexts. The literature on ideation has reached a compelling consensus on the features that such organizational devices must possess to support sufficient creativity: learning processes and a creative climate of confidence to promote collaboration. However, current practical methodologies struggle to simultaneously realize these two features. In this paper, we explore the potential of Serious Games, a collaborative tool that has been used since the 1960s to facilitate learning processes through the simulation of reality and a role-playing game, to induce an immersive experience and, more recently, to support the ideation process. To do so, we conducted an exploratory case study using a Serious Game to support ideation in a French medium-sized business. We then assess the strengths and areas for improvement of this Serious Game with respect to an ideation performance framework based on the existing literature. Our findings show that Serious Games are efficient tools for supporting existing knowledge exchange between participants and collaboration by providing a creative climate, but they may not sufficiently support learning of the external knowledge required to attain high levels of originality. Accordingly, we discuss some crucial parameters to be further explored to allow for the effective managerial use of such methodologies, such as the fine-tuning of the knowledge content that serves as a basis for the game.

The dead are everywhere in the landscape in Acholi, northern Uganda. In the homes, the dead are present through their gravesites, situated next to houses and huts, and as spiritual presences in their family’s daily lives. In the bush, the dead are present as a constant potentiality, in the form of abandoned bones and rootless spirits; the remnants of years of civil war. This chapter deals with these landscapes of death, and explores how consolation is found through tying the dead to the land: to the home. It also explores the constant peril that this way of life poses, as living in such close proximity with the dead, furthermore, signifies an obligation, which, if it is not upheld, might have catastrophic consequences. In the ‘consolationscapes’ of Acholi, people work with their grief, while at the same time maintain ongoing, active, relationships with the beloved and feared entities, for whom they are grieving.

Cement pillars and graves play significant roles as land markers in disputes over land in postconflict northern Uganda. Contemporary land cases from Acholi and Ikland display different histories of land use and conflict. In Acholi, cemented graves constitute concrete indices of belonging in wrangles. In Ikland, national nature authorities have brought cement pillars into the landscape. We explore how cemented graves and cement pillars are used for land claims in societies affected by conflict and displacement and how articulations of belonging are created, with the specific materiality of cement signaling modernity, permanence, and inflexibility.

Firms striving to maintain high rates of innovation need a continuous flow of new ideas. This is resulting in the establishment by large firms of IT platforms to generate ideas for innovation, and to encourage employees and customers to participate in innovation contests. However, there has been little published research on the use of IT platforms for idea generation by employees, and it is unclear whether they facilitate in-house innovation. The purpose is to investigate how firms use IT platforms internally to generate ideas, and how their use contributes to the innovation process in large firms. We rely on data from two collaborative research projects in the automotive industry: Volvo Cars and Renault. We found that both firms used IT platforms as campaigns to promote innovation and to involve employees in the innovation process. The findings suggest that these virtual idea campaigns support innovation in large firms mainly by (1) encouraging employee creativity in idea generation and (2) involving employees and top managers simultaneously in the innovation process. This paper contributes to idea management systems theory by highlighting the importance of virtual idea campaigns for the firm's innovation process, and their dual role.

This chapter explores the role of photographs in burials and in peoples’ relationships with the dead in Acholi, Northern Uganda. It focuses on three avenues of analysis: Firstly, the role of photographs of the dead in the grieving process of children, and how they help them to remember. Secondly, it describes how photographs of the dead are used by elders to create a “collective memory” of Acholi burial rites, and through this cement their own authority in society. Thirdly, it delves into the social lives of such photographs and shows how they can engender deep feelings in those who behold them, and through these emotional responses obtain some power to influence peoples’ social lives

Cet article rend compte d’une recherche-intervention menée autour de la gestion d’un bien commun : une race locale au Pays basque. Pour dépasser les crises de la coopération entre les acteurs menaçant ce bien commun, une démarche de conception innovante s’appuyant sur la méthode KCP (Knowledge, Concept, Proposals) a été mise en place. Cette méthode, conçue dans le domaine des entreprises, a nécessité des adaptations pour la rendre opérationnelle dans le cas d’une situation distribuée sur un territoire. La démarche a produit trois principaux résultats : la conception d’innovations techniques et organisationnelles, la redéfinition d’un objectif commun permettant l’action collective, la création de capacités d’innovation durables. Notre analyse offre des clés opérationnelles pour la mise en œuvre de démarches de conception innovante dans le cas de situations distribuées, enjeu des innovations dans les agroécosystèmes., This article reports an intervention research project on the management and breeding of a local dairy sheep breed in the French basque Country, the Manech Tête Noire. The collective management of this breed and long-term sustainability of this biological resource considered as a “common good” have been threatened by several cooperation crises. To overcome them an innovative participative approach was designed based on the KCP method (Knowledge – Concept – Proposals, Elmquist & Segrestin, 2009). From March to October 2012, we facilitated KCP workshops which brought together local stakeholders and the breed users in order to work out innovative technical and organizational schemes to redesign the breeding program and management system of the breed. This method, initially developed in business and industries, required adaptations so as to be operational in a territorial and distributed context. This approach produced three main results: the design of technical and organizational innovations, the redefining of a common objective for collective action, and the creation of sustainable capacities for innovation. Our analysis of this intervention research based on KCP methods provides useful tools for researchers and stakeholders involved in design processes for the management of common goods in the case of distributed situations of collective action.

C-K theory has been developed by Armand Hatchuel and Benoit Weil and then by other researchers since 1990s. In this paper we show that its very abstract nature and its high degree of universality actually supported a large variety of industrial applications. We distinguish three types of applications: 1) C-K theory provides a new language, that supports new analysis and descriptive capacity and new teachable individual models of thoughts; 2) C-K theory provides a very general framework to better characterize the validity domain and the performance conditions of existing methods, leading to potential improvement of these methods ; 3) C-K theory is the conceptual model at the root of new design methods that are today largely used in the industry.

International audience; In several industries, competitive and societal factors have highlighted the need for incubating dedicated radical innovation (RI) capabilities. Traditional approaches to RI strategies have often emphasised either organisational or cognitive aspects, but tend to overlook how these dimensions interact within the organisation. This paper tackles the issue of these interplays by investigating the effects of a creativity-based collaborative method, the KCP Workshops, on the RI capability of a firm. We present an in-depth case study of a leading aeronautics firm that adopted the method to face its RI challenges. While being consistent with prior research and underscoring the impact of organisational settings on creative cognitive processes, our analysis empirically demonstrates a triple capability developed through the KCP Workshops: (1) collectively building a conceivable RI strategy, (2) deploying a monitoring process adapted to the exploration of cognitive breakthroughs, (3) collectively building “emerging creative organisations” at the ecosystem level to support the development of RI strategy. Beyond the performance of the RI capability for commercial applications, these findings underline how the collective design of an RI strategy also involves players in the exploration and establishment of organisational innovations.

C-K theory has been developed by Armand Hatchuel and Benoit Weil and then by other researchers since 1990s. In this chapter, we show that its very abstract nature and its high degree of universality actually supported a large variety of industrial applications. We distinguish three types of applications: (1) C-K theory provides a new language, that supports new analysis and descriptive capacity and new teachable individual models of thoughts; (2) C-K theory provides a very general framework to better characterize the validity domain and the performance conditions of existing methods, leading to potential improvement of these methods; (3) C-K theory is the conceptual model at the root of new design methods that are today largely used in the industry.

International audience; In competitive industries, intensive innovation is a recognized necessity (Wheelwright and Clark, 1992; Le Masson et al., 2010). One success factor of breakthrough R&D projects lies in the knowledge articulation between innovation definition phases, composed of fuzzy front-end (FFE) and innovative new product development (NPD) stages (Koen et al, 2002; Cooper et al, 2001), and industrial development processes. Then, central issue for innovation projectsmanagers becomes internal R&D stakeholders’ management (Elias et al., 2002) and sustainable learning dynamics across the two parts of the organization (O’Connor, 2008). Our paper fits into this research gap for local breakthrough R&D in the dominant design. We discuss the role of technical expertise level of NDP stakeholders involved in early stages of innovative projects. The research mobilized two longitudinal studies (Yin, 1989) carried out with a global car manufacturer through collaborative management research (Radaelli et al., 2012) since 2005, one focusing on the FFE management, while the other was devoted to learning dynamics of engineering development departments. A cartography of the internal network of breakthrough R&D (Mitchell et al, 1997) underlined a stable organizational network across projects. Nevertheless, a quantitative analysis of accounting data on 8 projects highlights important dynamics of involvement or dis-engagement within the network. The analysis showed that the accounting reporting at the portfolio level used to hide to top-managers the heterogeneity and depth of resources dynamics at the project level. The impacts of local breakthrough R&D on the engineering development organization was similar to waves: some stakeholders, who played roles of experts, spokespersons or innovation design strategists, were able to involve quickly the individuals to maintain the project progress, sometime generating an over-commitment on innovation projects. At the opposite, a lack of trust of the design partners generated withdrawal of resources that needed a strong stakeholder management to be prevented.

International audience; Research questionThe study investigates the micro-processes of concept generation at ideation stages, on the case of innovation-oriented discussions within online communities of employees.Literature review and research positioningPrevious research has already described a variety of approaches and techniques to support collaborative generation of a large number of ideas (Garfield, 2001; Knoll and Horton, 2011; Harvey, 2014). This literature states the importance and interdependence of a cognitive process within individual group members and a social process as group members interact (Knoll and Horton, 2011). Existing innovation studies show that development of collaborative Web platforms facilitates social interaction, enabling different departments to gather knowledge and engage in idea generation (Michaelides et al. 2013). Xiaomi et al. (2013) investigate the role of knowledge management to support Collaborative Innovation Community Capacity Building (CICCB) in order to enhance the effectiveness of innovation within the online community of employees.However, there has been little research that analyzes the micro-process of collaborative concept generation. Taura and Nagai (2012) highlight the concept generation process to be a synthetic one, which is investigated through analogy, blending and integration by thematic relation as a research method (Taura and Nagai, 2012). We propose to empirically investigate this issue in the context of innovation-oriented online discussions. Furthermore, we aim to analyze which sequences of cognitive entities (i.e. groups of words corresponding to elementary ideas) explain the evolution of interactions between the participants and how initial ideas are, successfully or not, developed into concepts.Methodology and empirical materialThis paper focuses on the nature and dynamics of online discussions at the ideation stage in a virtual idea generation environment. In order to empirically study the micro-processes of concept generation, an action research method (Coughlan & Coghlan, 2002) was employed in this research: through collaboration with a consulting firm, the authors conducted and facilitated four online debates within an international group. The innovation-oriented online discussions were launched in the context of an online community of employees to allow its members to go beyond daily discussions and further explore one trend or opportunity for the group. Our role was to mobilize and stimulate collaborative innovation community capacity (Xiaomi et al, 2013) and creativity of community members during a whole week, in order to support the community ability to generate innovative concepts and ideas for the given topic. To obtain more detailed view of the observed discussions, every interaction and the content of every message posted in the debate were categorized and deeply analyzed through combination of Pena-Schaff and Nicholl’s analytical framework (Pena-Shaff & Nicholls, 2004) and Taura and Nagai design theory framework (Taura and Nagai, 2012)Findings and managerial implicationsWe present three sets of results: firstly, we describe the general dynamics of an online innovation-oriented conversation through its main characteristics (the number of participants, the nature of interactions, the response-time between messages and topics discussed); secondly, we describe the micro-processes of concept generation by deeply analyzing the content of the subsets of messages that contributed to generation. We further analyze the innovative potential of generated concepts for the international group; finally, we propose a framework of participatory roles by correlating the nature of interventions to specific cognitive entities. While limited, this study aims to help researchers and practitioners to better understand the process of concept generation in an online environment and thus, provide the archetypes defined by the patterns of analyzed interactions.

International audience; The aim of this paper is to shed light on an innovative strategy for the design of generic technologies (GTs). Research on radical innovation management, while recognizing the success of GTs, generally describes their design according to evolutionary strategies featuring multiple and uncertain trials, which would finally result in the discovery of common features between multiple applications. Building on a case study conducted on two technological development programs at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), we exhibit an anomaly to this rarely discussed idea: we describe an alternative strategy that consists in intentionally designing common features that bridge the gap between a priori heterogeneous applications and a priori heterogeneous technologies. This anomaly brings three main results: 1) The usual trial-and-learning strategy is not necessarily the only strategy to design a GT; 2) beyond technological breakthrough, the value of GTs also relies on the capacity to reuse and connect existing technologies; 3) the design of GT might require sophisticated organizational patterns to be able to involve multiple technology suppliers and applications' providers.

International audience; Facing the necessity to increase their innovation capabilities in a more and more holistic context, companies are creating new collaborative organizations aiming to collectively explore potential radical innovation fields. In this paper, we propose to study the nature of these new collectives for innovation through two managerial patterns: objects of collaboration and organizational mechanisms of coordination. Based on longitudinal collaborative research with the French carmaker Renault, the research analyses the case of the Renault Innovation Community, which involved members in original collaboration features to stimulate the industrial ecosystem of mobility and to support the potential emergence of new ecosystems. The main results of the empirical research underlined that: (1) objects of collaboration surpassed the detection of societal expectations to focus on sociotechnical imaginaries stimulation and dissemination; and (2) organizational mechanisms of collaboration exceed open innovation logics to focus on the collective building of favorable emergence conditions for new industrial ecosystems.

International audience; This paper describes two initiatives to develop the capabilities for innovation in two automotive firms, focusing on the efforts of individuals in their two missions: to manage an innovation portfolio and to systematically build capabilities for innovation. The research is based on longitudinal studies of two European car manufacturers and makes several contributions. First, it contributes to innovation capability theory by addressing the efforts under- taken by managers to develop the capabilities for innovation, underlining the need for political astuteness and a learning perspective. Second, it shows the challenges involved in large mature firms and the need for explicit management support.

Cet article a pour objectif de comprendre les bouleversements contemporains, et les enjeux d’innovation associes, auxquels fait face Turbomeca, fabricant francais de turbines a gaz et leader mondial dans cette discipline dont le siege est situe a Bordes (Pyrenees-Atlantiques) depuis 1942.L’etude de la naissance de la turbine a gaz aeronautique en Angleterre permet de decouvrir cet objet qui est au centre des bouleversements que connait Turbomeca aujourd’hui, mais aussi de comprendre les conditions d’apparition d’une innovation radicale. Une relecture approfondie de l’histoire de Turbomeca au travers de l’evolution de ses capacites d’innovation radicale depuis sa creation jusqu’en 2009, qui nous fait remonter aux etudes du fondateur, donne un materiau tres riche pour saisir l’evolution des capacites de conception de l’entreprise au regard de l’evolution de ses moteurs.Cette genealogie permet de comprendre et caracteriser la situation d’innovation radicale contemporaine de Turbomeca face aux nouveaux enjeux environnementaux. L’entreprise prend alors conscience de la dualite des nouveaux defis de conception innovante avec des bouleversements a design constant, causes par des facteurs internes ou externes qui imposent des objectifs de performance en rupture avec le modele de conception dominant, et des bouleversements a design non constant, dont les facteurs internes ou externes imposent des changements modifiant les attributs – valeurs, identites des objets, modele d’affaires – du modele de conception dominant.

International audience; In competitive industries, intensive and repeated innovation is a recognized necessity (Wheelwright and Clark, 1992; Le Masson et al., 2010). Literature on innovation (Utterback, 1994; Henderson & Clark, 1990) distinguishes Dominant Design revisions (radical innovations) from local improvements (incremental innovations). Regarding the innovation process management, one success factor lies in the knowledge articulation between front end and new product development (NPD) stages (Koen et al, 2002; Cooper et al, 2001). Then, central issue becomes NPD stakeholders' management (Elias et al., 2002) and their ability to establish perennial learning dynamics across the two parts of the organization (O'Connor, 2008). Our paper fits into this research field for local innovations on the dominant design. We discuss the role of technical expertise level of NDP stakeholders involved in early stages. The research mobilized two longitudinal studies (Yin, 1989) carried out with a global car manufacturer since 2005, one focusing on the innovation management process and organization, while the other was devoted to learning dynamics of engineering development departments. Leading as collaborative management research (Hatchuel and David, 2007), analyses were enhanced through deep interviews with project managers, technical experts and decision-makers. Analyzing local innovation impacts, we find that effect of breakthrough innovation projects on NPD organization was similar to waves: close expertise are quickly and strongly affected while distant expertise are more weakly and later affected. Our research material shows that tracking of key stakeholders is based on functional division of the organization whereas force and temporality of the innovation impact could potentially follow other propagation logic. Stakeholders identified by the organization as key actors could be in reality weakly impacted but we observed they were able to convey useful knowledge to heavily affected actors inside their organization when they had a high level of technical expertise of the dominant design. Expertise robustness plays a screen role that returns, as an amplified echo, the innovation low impact on their technical perimeter toward those heavily impacted.

International audience; Long-term success of firms depends on the efficiency of their management of R&D projects. However, there is a gap between standard economic and strategic indicators and the high uncertainty, complexity of commitments, and organizational issues that can be observed in the more innovative R&D projects. This paper presents the results of an eighteen-month study in the R&D departments of Renault SAS, which aimed to develop a new monitoring approach of R&D projects. In partnership with R&D teams and managers, a first empirical research on a sample of 64 projects assessed a series of hypothesis about what could be an appropriate monitoring for highly innovative projects. Then, a new monitoring system was built, based on a triangular approach of the project status: economic performance (value and reliability of the value), strategic potential indicators, organizational impact and resource assessment. This paper describes this model and associated tools, as well as the research methodology used to implement them. This monitoring system is now used routinely in the company.

While affirming the vital need for technical, economic and social breaks, their conditions of emergence and institutionalization in large companies still remained an object of fundamental research and many questions were still open : what design engineering to face intensive innovation ? What organization should be put in place to professionalize the disruptive processes and integrate them into the strategic agenda ? What model of institutionalization is compatible with this new regime of the firm ? Based on many works spread over more than a decade, in large public transport companies, this thesis shows that the institutionalization of breakthrough innovation is built and analyzed according to a model with three complementary dimensions : the industrialization of innovative design methods, the metabolization of professionalized actors and the governance of intensive innovation. In addition, this model highlights the endogenous process of piloting intensive innovation that is at the heart of this institutionalization. It begins with the routinisation of collaborative innovation devices (KCP) in the form of "laboratories / networks". Demonstrated in a repetitive way, the generative power of these devices gives credibility to new innovative domains, as well as the multiple actors involved. Then emerges a transversal organization (Innovation Intensive function) that capitalizes on new collective metabolism: breakthrough innovation then integrates, with its benchmarks and resources, into the daily activity of the company. On these bases, a real "design" governance, adapted to breakthrough innovation, is then made possible. Thus, the institutionalization of disruptive innovation mobilizes classic forms of institutionalization, but it also distances itself from it by its necessary coupling to the strong cognitive generativity that the rupture requires. Ultimately, this model refers in a certain way to the emergence of the modern enterprise itself, when it has institutionalized scientific research.; Alors que s’affirme la nécessité vitale de ruptures techniques, économiques et sociales, leurs conditions d’émergence et d’institutionnalisation dans les grandes entreprises demeuraient encore un objet de recherche fondamentale et de nombreuses questions étaient encore ouvertes : quelle ingénierie de conception face à l’innovation intensive ? Quelle organisation mettre en place pour professionnaliser les processus de rupture et les intégrer à l’agenda stratégique ? Quel modèle d’institutionnalisation est compatible avec ce nouveau régime de l’entreprise ? En s’appuyant sur de nombreux travaux étalés sur plus d’une décennie, dans de grandes entreprises de transports publics, cette thèse montre que l’institutionnalisation de l’innovation de rupture se construit et s’analyse selon un modèle à trois dimensions complémentaires : l’industrialisation des méthodes de conception innovante, la métabolisation d’acteurs professionnalisés et la gouvernance de l’innovation intensive. En outre, ce modèle met en lumière le processus d’endogénéisation du pilotage de l’innovation intensive qui est au cœur de cette institutionnalisation. Celui-ci, débute avec la routinisation de dispositifs collaboratifs d’innovation (KCP) sous la forme de « laboratoires/réseaux ». Démontrée de façon répétitive, la puissance générative de ces dispositifs crédibilise de nouveaux domaines innovants, ainsi que les multiples acteurs impliqués. Emerge ensuite une organisation transversale (fonction Innovation Intensive) qui permet de capitaliser sur de nouveaux métabolismes collectifs : l’innovation de rupture s’intègre alors, avec ses repères et ses ressources, dans l’activité quotidienne de l’entreprise. Sur ces bases, une véritable gouvernance « conceptive », adaptée à l’innovation de rupture, est alors rendue possible. Ainsi, l’institutionnalisation de l’innovation de rupture mobilise des formes classiques d’institutionnalisation mais elle s’en éloigne aussi par son couplage nécessaire à la générativité cognitive forte qu’exige la rupture. In fine, ce modèle renvoie d’une certaine manière à l’émergence de l’entreprise moderne elle-même, quand elle a dû institutionnaliser la recherche scientifique.

While affirming the vital need for technical, economic and social breaks, their conditions of emergence and institutionalization in large companies still remained an object of fundamental research and many questions were still open : what design engineering to face intensive innovation ? What organization should be put in place to professionalize the disruptive processes and integrate them into the strategic agenda ? What model of institutionalization is compatible with this new regime of the firm ? Based on many works spread over more than a decade, in large public transport companies, this thesis shows that the institutionalization of breakthrough innovation is built and analyzed according to a model with three complementary dimensions : the industrialization of innovative design methods, the metabolization of professionalized actors and the governance of intensive innovation. In addition, this model highlights the endogenous process of piloting intensive innovation that is at the heart of this institutionalization. It begins with the routinisation of collaborative innovation devices (KCP) in the form of "laboratories / networks". Demonstrated in a repetitive way, the generative power of these devices gives credibility to new innovative domains, as well as the multiple actors involved. Then emerges a transversal organization (Innovation Intensive function) that capitalizes on new collective metabolism: breakthrough innovation then integrates, with its benchmarks and resources, into the daily activity of the company. On these bases, a real "design" governance, adapted to breakthrough innovation, is then made possible. Thus, the institutionalization of disruptive innovation mobilizes classic forms of institutionalization, but it also distances itself from it by its necessary coupling to the strong cognitive generativity that the rupture requires. Ultimately, this model refers in a certain way to the emergence of the modern enterprise itself, when it has institutionalized scientific research.; Alors que s’affirme la nécessité vitale de ruptures techniques, économiques et sociales, leurs conditions d’émergence et d’institutionnalisation dans les grandes entreprises demeuraient encore un objet de recherche fondamentale et de nombreuses questions étaient encore ouvertes : quelle ingénierie de conception face à l’innovation intensive ? Quelle organisation mettre en place pour professionnaliser les processus de rupture et les intégrer à l’agenda stratégique ? Quel modèle d’institutionnalisation est compatible avec ce nouveau régime de l’entreprise ? En s’appuyant sur de nombreux travaux étalés sur plus d’une décennie, dans de grandes entreprises de transports publics, cette thèse montre que l’institutionnalisation de l’innovation de rupture se construit et s’analyse selon un modèle à trois dimensions complémentaires : l’industrialisation des méthodes de conception innovante, la métabolisation d’acteurs professionnalisés et la gouvernance de l’innovation intensive. En outre, ce modèle met en lumière le processus d’endogénéisation du pilotage de l’innovation intensive qui est au cœur de cette institutionnalisation. Celui-ci, débute avec la routinisation de dispositifs collaboratifs d’innovation (KCP) sous la forme de « laboratoires/réseaux ». Démontrée de façon répétitive, la puissance générative de ces dispositifs crédibilise de nouveaux domaines innovants, ainsi que les multiples acteurs impliqués. Emerge ensuite une organisation transversale (fonction Innovation Intensive) qui permet de capitaliser sur de nouveaux métabolismes collectifs : l’innovation de rupture s’intègre alors, avec ses repères et ses ressources, dans l’activité quotidienne de l’entreprise. Sur ces bases, une véritable gouvernance « conceptive », adaptée à l’innovation de rupture, est alors rendue possible. Ainsi, l’institutionnalisation de l’innovation de rupture mobilise des formes classiques d’institutionnalisation mais elle s’en éloigne aussi par son couplage nécessaire à la générativité cognitive forte qu’exige la rupture. In fine, ce modèle renvoie d’une certaine manière à l’émergence de l’entreprise moderne elle-même, quand elle a dû institutionnaliser la recherche scientifique.

How is death, time, and materiality interconnected? How to approach an understanding of the world of the dead? In this introduction, we seek to understand how the experience of material decay, of the death of those around us, makes us aware of the passing of time. Through the literary lens of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, we explore how the world of the dead and the world of the living can intersect; how time and materiality shifts and changes depending on who experiences it. These revelations, based on fiction, provide a mirror through which the reader can experience the varied chapters of the book, which each presents a different perspective on death, materiality, and time.

How is death, time, and materiality interconnected? How to approach an understanding of the world of the dead? In this introduction, we seek to understand how the experience of material decay, of the death of those around us, makes us aware of the passing of time. Through the literary lens of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, we explore how the world of the dead and the world of the living can intersect; how time and materiality shifts and changes depending on who experiences it. These revelations, based on fiction, provide a mirror through which the reader can experience the varied chapters of the book, which each presents a different perspective on death, materiality, and time.

It is widely established that industrial innovation has to take into account imaginaries which could cause enthusiasme or rejection effects. That is why, nowadays designers consider them in their design processes. The traditionnal approach considers as stable as exogenous imaginaries, which could be shaped ex-ante and conformed new products and services to be designed. Could it be possible to plan a new approach, that would overpass the stability hypothesis, avoiding a kind of fixation and narrow-mindedness for designers or users ?The thesis focuses on this second approach, which endogenizes imaginaries by considering their renewal properties. It tackles three matters: how the transformation of imaginaries could account for the innovative technical object ? What an engineering system to stimulate imaginaries and feed innovation processes ? Lastly, what managerial actions to collectively support a stimulation of imaginaries, in an industrial context ?Thanks to the recent progress in design theory and empirical experiences led in the automotive industry, we could expand a modelisation effort. This work finds out three main results. Firstly, the thesis characterises the imaginaries dynamic transformation from a concrete and original technical object, by new criterias: heterogeneousness, number, tensions and non-polarity of imaginaries. Secondly, the thesis suggests a theoretical modelisation of the imaginaries expansion throughout a design process made of a knowledge structure with three logics hanging on together, based on the Lacanian approach and redefined by the design way: “real”, “symbolic” and “imaginary”. The thesis shows how to analyse empirical dynamics and set out managerial hypothesis in order to expand imaginaries. Thirdly, the experimentations led on four collective organisations of imaginaries, chosen for their complementarity, confirm, enrich and precise the hypothesis suggested by the theoretical model. It shows that the generativity of imaginaries is directly connected with their diversity and dynamism. Their transformation comes less from the injection of exogenous imaginaries than from a design effort combining with real, symbolic, and available substrates. Thanks to that, it is possible now to create an evolution on imaginaries through a stimulation organisation and a specific management to obtain strong generativity innovation processes.; Il est largement établi que l’innovation industrielle doit tenir compte des imaginaires, qui peuvent provoquer des effets d’engouements ou de rejets. Aussi les concepteurs s’efforcent-ils aujourd’hui d’en tenir compte dans les processus de conception. Une première logique consiste à considérer qu’il existe un imaginaire stable, exogène, qui peut être modélisé ex-ante et qui vient conformer les produits et services à concevoir. Peut-on envisager une seconde logique qui ne ferait pas l’hypothèse de stabilité et éviterait ainsi d’imposer aux concepteurs, comme aux usagers, une forme de fixation et d’enfermement ? La thèse porte sur l’étude de cette seconde logique qui endogénéise les imaginaires pour prendre en compte leur faculté de renouvellement. Elle aborde trois questions : Comment rendre compte de la dynamique de transformation des imaginaires en relation avec l’objet technique innovant ? Quelle ingénierie de stimulation des imaginaires pour nourrir les processus d’innovation ? Et enfin, quels dispositifs de gestion et pilotage managérial pour supporter collectivement une stimulation des imaginaires dans un contexte industriel ?Le travail s’appuie à la fois sur un effort de modélisation et sur un ensemble d’études et d’expériences empiriques conduites dans le domaine de l’automobile. Il aboutit à trois principaux résultats. Premièrement, à partir d’un objet technique concret, le Twizy de Renault, la thèse propose des critères originaux pour caractériser la transformation des imaginaires, grâce à : l’hétérogénéité, le nombre, les tensions et la non-polarisation des imaginaires. Deuxièmement, la thèse propose un modèle théorique de l’expansion des imaginaires par un processus de conception, doté d’une structure de connaissances Lacanienne, redéfinies par l’approche de conception – celles du « réel », du « symbolique » et de « l’imaginaire ». Le modèle permet d’analyser des situations empiriques et de formuler des hypothèses d’actions managériales. Troisièmement, les expérimentations menées sur quatre dispositifs collaboratifs, enrichissent les hypothèses amenées par le modèle théorique. Les travaux montrent ainsi que la générativité des imaginaires proviennent moins de l’injection d’un imaginaire exogène que d’un effort de conception de l’individu mobilisant les substrats réels et symboliques. Il devient donc possible de faire évoluer les imaginaires par des dispositifs de stimulation et de pilotage spécifiques pour obtenir des processus d’innovation à forte générativité.

“Low cost” is nowadays a very mobilized concept in innovation and new product development both in the general press and in the scientific literature. In management sciences, theconcept is widely mobilized in strategy, marketing as well as new product development. However, there seems to be a lack of a design model for such an approach, making difficult for managers to implement the development of low cost offers. Our work shows that existent low cost products had followed different design rules that could be modelled. We propose a low cost design model that distinguishes two approaches: low cost adaptation and smart low cost design. In low cost adaptation approach, the product is designed through a “no-frills” approach to a regular product: the aim here is to reduce the performance of the existent product on secondary needs to reduce the reference cost. In the smart low cost design approach, a new solution is designed for an existing need with a cost goal. Thus, this specific design approach allows creating products with lower cost and higher value than regular products.Beyond the design rules of a product, we show the possibilities opened by smart low cost design to renew the dominant design through a longitudinal study done in the urban public transport sector. The case study underlined three main results: 1/ legitimization of a low cost adaptation needs a dual strategy that combines both approaches; 2/ the performance of low cost strategy relies on the strategy performance beyond products and its capacity to renew the public transport's dominant design; 3/ Low cost approach supports the dynamic capability for innovation when low cost is used as a tool to redefine the organizations' research and design space limits, as well as a tool to create new partnerships.Finally, the study of such industrial context, as a complex value network, underlined how low cost design help to overcome ecosystem barriers to innovation and propose new partnerships, leading firms to redesign and reconfigure their ecosystem and the value creation process.; Le « low cost » est aujourd'hui un concept très mobilisé en innovation et dans le développement de nouveaux produits, à la fois dans la presse en général et dans la littérature scientifique. En sciences de gestion, le concept est aussi bien employé en stratégie qu'en marketing et dans le développement de nouveaux produits. Néanmoins, les managers ont souvent des difficultés à concevoir des produits low cost, à cause du manque d'un modèle de conception pour le low cost. Nos travaux montrent que tous les produits low cost existants ne suivent pas les mêmes règles de conception, et nous proposons un modèle de conception pour le low cost dissociant deux stratégies : le low cost adapté et le low cost innovant. Dans la stratégie de low cost adapté, le produit est reconçu à partir d'un produit existant en enlevant les fonctions non-essentielles. Dans le cas du low cost innovant, une solution complète est conçue pour un besoin défini avec un objectif de coût. Le low cost innovant permet donc de proposer des produits à plus faible coût, mais avec une valeur pour le client plus élevée que les produits existants. Au-delà des règles de conception d'un produit, nous montrons à travers une étude longitudinale effectuée dans le secteur du transport public urbain, les possibilités ouvertes par le low cost innovant pour renouveler l'identité d'objets stabilisés. L'étude de cas souligne trois résultats principaux: 1 / la légitimation du low cost adapté par une stratégie qui combine les deux approches; 2 / la performance de l'approche low cost repose sur la performance de la stratégie d'innovation au-delà des produits et sur sa capacité à renouveler l'identité du transport public; 3 / le low cost renforce les capacités dynamiques d'innovation quand il est utilisé comme outil pour redéfinir les limites de la recherche et de l'espace de conception des organisations, ainsi que comme un outil pour créer de nouveaux partenariats. Enfin, l'étude d'un tel contexte industriel, comme un réseau de valeur complexe, a souligné combien la conception low cost aide à surmonter les obstacles à l'innovation des écosystèmes renouvelant l'identité des objets, proposant de nouveaux partenariats, conduisant les entreprises à redéfinir et reconfigurer leur écosystème ainsi que leur processus de création de valeur.

“Low cost” is nowadays a very mobilized concept in innovation and new product development both in the general press and in the scientific literature. In management sciences, the concept is widely mobilized in strategy, marketing as well as new product development. However, there seems to be a lack of a design model for such an approach, making difficult for managers to implement the development of low cost offers. Our work shows that existent low cost products had followed different design rules that could be modelled. We propose a low cost design model that distinguishes two approaches: low cost adaptation and smart low cost design. In low cost adaptation approach, the product is designed through a “no-frills” approach to a regular product: the aim here is to reduce the performance of the existent product on secondary needs to reduce the reference cost. In the smart low cost design approach, a new solution is designed for an existing need with a cost goal. Thus, this specific design approach allows creating products with lower cost and higher value than regular products.Beyond the design rules of a product, we show the possibilities opened by smart low cost design to renew the dominant design through a longitudinal study done in the urban public transport sector. The case study underlined three main results: 1/ legitimization of a low cost adaptation needs a dual strategy that combines both approaches; 2/ the performance of low cost strategy relies on the strategy performance beyond products and its capacity to renew the public transport’s dominant design; 3/ Low cost approach supports the dynamic capability for innovation when low cost is used as a tool to redefine the organizations’ research and design space limits, as well as a tool to create new partnerships.Finally, the study of such industrial context, as a complex value network, underlined how low cost design help to overcome ecosystem barriers to innovation and propose new partnerships, leading firms to redesign and reconfigure their ecosystem and the value creation process.; Le « low cost » est aujourd’hui un concept très mobilisé en innovation et dans le développement de nouveaux produits, à la fois dans la presse en général et dans la littérature scientifique.En sciences de gestion, le concept est aussi bien employé en stratégie, qu’en marketing et dans le développement de nouveaux produits. Néanmoins, les managers ont souvent des difficultés à concevoir des produits low cost, dû au manque d’un modèle de conception pour le low cost. Nos travaux montrent que tous les produits low cost existant ne suivent pas les mêmes règles de conception, et nous proposons un modèle de conception pour le low cost dissociant deux stratégies: le low cost adapté et le low cost innovant. Dans la stratégie de low cost adapté, le produit est reconçu à partir d’un produit existant en enlevant les fonctions non-essentielles. Dans le cas du low cost innovant, une solution complète est conçue pour un besoin défini avec un objectif de coût. Le low cost innovant permet donc de proposer des produits à plus faible coût, mais avec une valeur pour le client plus élevé que les produits existants. Au-delà des règles de conception d'un produit, nous montrons à travers une étude longitudinale effectuée dans le secteur du transport public urbain, les possibilités ouvertes par le low cost innovant pour renouveler l’identité d’objets stabilisés. L'étude de cas souligne trois résultats principaux: 1 / la légitimation du low cost adapté par une stratégie qui combine les deux approches; 2 / la performance de l'approche low cost repose sur la performance de la stratégie d’innovation au-delà des produits et sur sa capacité à renouveler l’identité du transport public; 3 / le low cost renforce les capacités dynamiques d'innovation quand il est utilisé comme outil pour redéfinir les limites de la recherche et de l'espace de conception des organisations, ainsi que comme un outil pour créer de nouveaux partenariats.Enfin, l'étude d'un tel contexte industriel, comme un réseau de valeur complexe, a souligné combien la conception low cost aide à surmonter les obstacles à l'innovation des écosystèmes renouvelant l’identité des objets, proposant de nouveaux partenariats, conduisant les entreprises à redéfinir et reconfigurer leur écosystème ainsi que leur processus de création de valeur.