- Forthcoming papers

Technology and Innovation

List of Articles

The digital transformation of non-life insurance services in France is a prime example of the technological disruption that is reshaping the financial services sector. Driven primarily by the adoption of artificial intelligence and the emergence of insurtech solutions, this transformation presents a complex interplay between operational gains and systemic challenges. While AI has the potential to significantly enhance productivity and reduce operational costs, its implementation raises important questions about strategic positioning, financial sustainability and ethical governance. To elucidate these dynamics, we employ the systemic framework proposed by Ivanov and Webster (2019), which links technological change to organisational restructuring and ecosystem reconfiguration. This framework allows us to examine the functional architecture of insurance enterprises, identifying which capabilities are candidates for externalisation versus internal retention, whilst also accounting for the firm’s relational dynamics with ecosystem participants, including competing insurers, artificial intelligence providers, insurtech enterprises and technology giants. Our analysis reveals that AI and insurtech solutions catalyse profound structural reconfiguration within the insurance ecosystem. This manifests as three principal transformations: migration from ex-post indemnification to ex-ante risk prevention; evolution of pricing mechanisms from segmentation-based to behaviourally informed; and transition of risk management from retrospective to prospective orientation. Through this institutional lens, we identify the barriers that constrain rapid adoption and outline a research agenda to advance the empirical understanding of how these technological and organisational changes are reshaping insurance enterprises and the broader sectoral architecture.

This article explores the influence of science fiction cinema on innovation processes in the field of artificial intelligence. Through the analysis of a corpus of approximately forty films from the 1960s to the present day, the study highlights the evolution of technophobic, technophilic, and ambivalent representations. These fictional narratives act as a “technifying imaginal world,” a concept derived from Henry Corbin’s mundus imaginalis, serving as an interface between the purely conceptual sphere and the realization of technical infrastructures. By imbuing technological mutations with profound meaning, this imaginary contributes to the social construction of expectations and stimulates the ethical reflection of designers. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s theory of Triple Mimesis, the article demonstrates that fiction does not merely imitate reality, but rather reconfigures the ethical and praxeological horizon of those involved in innovation. Furthermore, science fiction generates an "imaginal connection," a concept borrowed from Michel Maffesoli, which forges a social, emotional, and communal bond between engineers and scientists. Ultimately, science fiction establishes itself as the mythology of capitalism’s future, transforming both unsettling and wondrous projections into a powerful engine of technoscientific progress.

Innovation in the medical and surgical fields seeks to optimize the quality of care delivered to patients. This study provides an overview of the new technologies that support this innovation in the field of orthopedics and traumatology and illustrates their application in the specific case of Nice University Hospital. It is based on a review of the literature and an interview with a university hospital research director focused on improving the care of patients with osteoarticular trauma. The results of this state-of-the-art review present the advantages and limitations of various technologies: modeling, simulation and three-dimensional (3D) printing, extended visualization, robotic and navigation systems, and internet and smartphone applications. Their integration into healthcare facilities and the healthcare ecosystem is discussed in relation to the concept of digital twins and criteria for human, organizational, and societal feasibility. This study contributes to the thinking of surgeons and their teams in developing their digital devices.

The paper presents a comparative analysis between the EU and the UK digital and operational resilience requirements for financial services. Focusing on the insurance industry, considering its role in providing cover for operational risks, and cyber-related ones in particular, it captures developments in relation to risk management practices. Specifically, commenting on the prudential provisions underpinning risk management systems, frameworks, and assessments, in line with Solvency II. The link between operational risk activities is also discussed as an extension of this comparison. Effectively capturing how disaster recovery (DR), business continuity planning (BCP), third-party risk management (TPRM) and outsourcing are reflected in digital and operational resilience approaches. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the similarities and differences between the EU and the UK regulatory regime in relation to digital and operational resilience requirements for re-insurance undertakings. Practical recommendations to support adherence to both underlying requirements are presented, assisting re-insurers operating in those jurisdictions.

We propose in this article the presentation of the solutions of the Deep tech Xvaluator in France for the co-construction of new, highly collaborative tool and processes of democratic “open qualification” [PAU 09, 12, 20]. By considering the diversity of stakeholders and their specific contexts, opinion and impact data in highly collaboration open qualification processus and the capabilities enhanced by AI, Xvaluator innovation is able to integrate ex ante the evolving determinants of opinion on perceived impacts data on all subjects of common interest. This leads our research toward the discovery and conceptualization [PAU 23] in economics, social and cognitive science of a third typology of AI (in addition to symbolic and connectionist-connective types): the Qualitative AI (QuAI) [PAU 23]. This allows to integrate as consubstantial to the pertinence of the qualification and decision-making process the human critical thinking in all its diversity as condition to co-create and access pertinent reliable data as results. These new trusted spaces and process - QuAI tool Xvaluator - could thus lead to optimal choices, and better decision making with consensus. Highly collaborative process of creation of relevance and trust, particularly through the new dynamic capabilities empowered by the Xvaluator Qualificative AI are potential creators of disruptive innovations by embarking the digital users’ contributions during all AI usages towards new digital business models reducing the fake and biased data flux and thus reducing the ecological footprint of all AI usages. Several usage functionalities are identify d as critical contributions of Xvaluator to evolutions towards a functional economy [VAI 20] and the democratization of access to reliable impact data aimed at more efficient, more ethical, innovative, disruptive tools for resilience [SCH 22] facing the current multifaceted crises: economic, climate-related, and trust-related [PAU 09, 12, 18], [ADA 18].

Depending on business activities, women owners can showcase various identities from manual know-how preservation to innovation. Analyzing interactions of 26 entreprises being supported for their creation and digitalization by the Chamber of Craft and Trades Centre-Val de Loire, we propose to explore common imaginaries and preferences of craftwomen, startup owners and industrial entreprises highlighting women craft. What type of women entrepreneur are we when we don’t “check the bank boxes”, favoring richness of encounters or polyvalence and life comfort? Our response is based on evaluating transactional distances between women craft owners and businesses, startups or manufacturers, ran by or showcasing women. Mobilizing territorialization of cooperative transactions, we analyze the impacts for business support activities, the place of digital and the negociated construction of a common imaginary of women entrepreneurship.

This article offers an in-depth analysis of the interactions between economic intelligence (EI), artificial intelligence (AI), and territorial dynamics in the era of digital transformation. AI technologies—particularly generative AI—are profoundly reshaping the production, circulation, and valorization of strategic information, both within organizations and across territories. Building on academic work related to knowledge management and information governance, the study shows how territories can become experimental spaces for augmented collective intelligence, where AI contributes to strengthening competitiveness, innovation, and resilience. The article adopts an analytical and critical approach, examining the complementarity between algorithmic power and human judgment, as well as the conditions required for ethical and shared data governance.

Biological inputs constitute one of the main agricultural innovations in response to the crisis associated with the use of chemical products. Microorganisms applied to plant nutrition and pest control thus emerge as key technologies in the transition toward sustainable agriculture. However, their development depends not only on technical aspects but also on the regulatory system that institutionalizes them. This article presents findings from an exploratory study on the production of biological inputs in Argentina and their forms of institutionalization. It analyses the context in which these innovations have emerged, the actors involved, and the system of regulations and public policies that regulate, promote, or constrain their development. Methodologically, the study combines documentary analysis with secondary and quantitative industry data from official sources, along with in-depth interviews and participant observation. The results show that, although biological inputs constitute an established technology in the country, supported by an industrial structure that reveals the presence of local firms, their institutionalization is contradictory, marked by advances and setbacks that condition their consolidation.

Due to the negative impacts associated with intensive use of chemical pesticides, biopesticides are gradually gaining recognition as a sustainable and effective alternative for managing biotic stresses in agriculture. This article provides a global overview of pesticide usage alongside the rising trend of biopesticides, with a special emphasis on Africa. Recent data analysis reveals significant regional disparities: the Americas, Europe, and certain Asian regions lead in both pesticide consumption and the number of registered biopesticide products. Conversely, Africa exhibits relatively low chemical pesticide use, averaging just 0.7 kg/ha in 2023. Meanwhile, several African countries are showing promising advancements in the adoption of biocontrol methods. The article explores the key factors driving these trends and identifies levers to promote the development of biocontrol across the continent.

In Cuba, the aim is to guarantee pork production in large-scale intensive systems by seeking efficient and safe alternatives for consumers and the environment. Prebiotics and probiotics are among the most widely used and harmless options. This research aimed to contribute to the introduction of efficient microorganism (EM) technology in pig farming at the Carnes D’Tres SME through a process of technological innovation. EM produced both inside and outside the province of Ciego de Ávila were evaluated from technical, economic, and logistical perspectives, and the effectiveness of EM as a feed additive in the diet of fattening pigs was assessed. According to the technical, economic and logistical feasibility study, it is cheaper, more practical and safer to purchase RH-Vigía EM in its solid phase and manufacture the liquid and stabilised phases on the farm than to purchase any of the other EM in their stabilised liquid phase. Adding EM to pig feed also had a positive effect, particularly during the initial weeks of fattening. It reduced morbidity, increased the live weight of the group and lowered feed costs per unit of weight gained compared to animals whose diet did not include the bioproduct.

This article offers a critical analysis of how the concept of innovation is used in the French naval defense sector. Drawing on qualitative research conducted among engineers, sailors, and institutional decision-makers, it highlights the ambivalence of the term: at once an instrument of institutional legitimation and a performative category that orients action. Innovation here is embedded in power dynamics, revealing a divide between “top-down” innovations driven by the state and industry, and “bottom-up” innovations emerging from the field. Two visions are thus opposed: one that values technological rupture, complexity, and long-term projection, and another that prioritizes adaptability, simplicity, and practical mastery of equipment. This tension reshapes skills, roles, and professional hierarchies, while raising a central question: who actually holds the power to innovate within the Navy? Although open innovation promotes broad participation, the actual influence of frontline personnel on major strategic orientations remains limited. Far from being a neutral concept, innovation functions as an analyzer of political relations, structuring the dynamics between institutional elites and operational actors. The analysis reveals a growing sense of dispossession of operational know-how in favor of central stakeholders who possess the capacity to envision the future. Innovation thus becomes a lever for redistributing symbolic power in the making of organizational change.

In turbulent and uncertain environments, organizations increasingly rely on temporary structures to enhance their adaptability. This study investigates the role of task forces within the aerospace supply chain in developing the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Based on participant observation and interviews with supply chain actors, we identify how task forces, initially conceived as temporary crisis-response tools, evolve into adaptive mechanisms that foster responsiveness, collaboration, and strategic flexibility. Our findings highlight that while task forces can catalyze learning and coordination, their prolonged use may blur their temporary nature and shape emerging dynamic capabilities.

The latitude and longitude geographic coordinates provided by Google Earth are affected by errors that suggest uncertainties in distance and route measurements. This study proposes improvement formulas to make geolocation data more accurate. In an approach that presents formulas for evaluating and improving uncertainties in distances produced by Google Earth, our results demonstrate that the uncertainties and errors in distances contained in measurements from Google Earth are tangible depending on the evaluation of short, long, or medium distances. The probability of errors in the coordinates provided by Google Earth is plus or minus (+/-) 2 meters. The distribution of errors as a function of distance shows that an error of +/- 3 m has only a 0.4% chance of being exceeded. This methodology takes into account the structure of the Earth’s globe: meridians, parallels, poles, the equator, hemispheres, and the Earth’s bumpy structure. These corrections help improve accuracy in applications that use geolocation as a means of optimizing services. Correcting errors from geographic coordinates using formulas that reduce errors would have an impact on geolocation in industries such as goods transportation, precision agriculture, and healthcare. While recognizing that geolocation offers significant benefits by transforming many fields, it raises some important questions regarding individual privacy.

Plants in the environment face constant stresses either biotic or abiotic. These stresses can significantly reduce the productivity of important crops worldwide, with annual crop yield losses ranging from 25% to 50% of the total production. Biotic stress includes herbivores, pests and pathogens. Thus, plants developed a multilayer defence system to prevent the problem of biotic stress which includes the constitutive (SAR) and induced defence system (ISR). The excessive use of synthetic chemicals has detrimental effects on the environment and human health, which discourages pesticide application in the agriculture sector. As a result, researchers worldwide have shifted their focus towards alternative eco-friendly strategies to prevent plant diseases. A variety of biological control agents are available for use. Currently, researchers are exploring the use of beneficial microorganisms as an eco-friendly strategy to control crop diseases. A range of bacterial genera and fungi have demonstrated great potential as biocontrol agents for various plant diseases. Apart from these, to date, researchers in biotechnology exploring the plant Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) and Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR) the role and mode of action against phytopathogens and plant stress. In this paper an effort has been made to describe the new biostimulants and natural elicitors made by biotechnology and nano technology in the last years, as a new insight to the increase of SAR and ISR in plant defence system.

This article presents the definition of personalized and targeted prevention and care protocols based on science, non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs), proposed by an international multidisciplinary scientific society, the Non-Pharmacological Intervention Society. It defines the scope of these health practices based on a standardized ethical and scientific evaluation framework developed over two years with more than 1000 people. Since 2024, this framework has enabled the creation of a universal heritage of intangible prevention and care protocols in a digital library, the NPIS Registry.

Mindfulness as a non-pharmacological intervention complements conventional medicine in the field of integrative health, as it is both a treatment protocol and a prevention protocol. It allows us to look at the person as a whole and no longer just as a patient suffering only from their disease. Many healthcare facilities are now using it in supportive care, chronic illness and pain, and because of its impact on the efficiency of organizations and the importance placed on care. In recent years, mindfulness has also been integrated into training courses for leadership development in organizations. Its use in the healthcare sector is therefore an important topic, and this article describes the expected impact of these measures.

Malaysia has a wide variety of traditional medicines stemming from its rich ethnic heritage, which have gradually been joined by more or less globalized complementary medicines. The practice of these medicines, which largely consist of manual therapies, is important to investigate their function as substitutes for drug interventions. This article addresses this issue by showing that the therapeutic model proposed by the Malaysian Holistic and Herbal Organization is based on a subtle combination of non-drug practices from T&C medicine, taking into account the various aspects of the disease and the patient, and promoting demedicalization. Conversely, the integrative model developed by the government, which is too reductive in its form, can only partially compensate for the strong medicalization inherent in biomedicine.

The action of “taking care” is one of the oldest gestures made towards others. Beyond health and well-being, it is appropriate to broaden the scope of these practices to the various dimensions of care with the very idea of understanding, in its unities and diversities, a variation of situations passing from acts the most. Punctual to the broadest ethical, political and prospective issues. Thus the implementation of non-medication care strategies allows us to question and wonder how the knowledge and practices of “taking care” can be re-examined in a multicultural world. To do this, it is a question of studying the conditions for applying these strategies so that they become key skills for a more sustainable and united world.

Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series is a futuristic projection of new technologies whose primary objective is to improve our daily lives. The series examines artificial intelligence, digitalisation, gamification and robotisation of our daily lives, augmented reality and virtual reality. The mirror held up by Charlie Brooker is sometimes blackened, sometimes true to our reality. The series reflects the utopian intentions of the technologies implemented and shows to what extent human use reminds us of the dangers and highlights the dystopian side of all these new technologies when man appropriates or distorts them to serve his own interests. These works of anticipation, by hybridising the fictional and the real, reveal both the dystopian and the mirror aspects, allowing the viewer to engage in both a reflective and self-reflexive process.