The CROIS-SENS project analyses, through case studies in two key sectors, how companies can prosper while being freed from the imperative, real or perceived, to grow.
The CROIS-SENS project analyses the growth imperatives face by businesses and explores ways of breaking free from them. Growth is often seen as a positive thing, but it can compromise the stability and resilience of businesses, while increasing their environmental impact. This project combines a literature review and a field survey of several French-speaking Belgian businesses to identify the constraints to growth and the potential levers for overcoming them, by comparing businesses that are emancipated from these imperatives with others that are not.
Context
The post-growth economy and the emancipated organization of growth are booming topics, recognized for their potential to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities. While strategies such as "green growth" are currently dominant, recent research shows that they are no guarantee of making the economy sustainable. A decoupling of environmental impacts from production and consumption levels that is absolute, rapid and commensurate with the stakes seems out of reach. So, approaches such as sobriety and the dismantling of polluting activities need to be considered. In this context, understanding how organizations can create value without being subject to the growth imperative is essential.
Needs addressed
The CROIS-SENS research responds to a crucial need for theorizing and empirical studies on businesses in post-growth situations. Despite the abundance of work on the post-growth economy, specific studies on businesses in this context remain embryonic, creating a pressing need to develop theories on the possibilities of post-growth at the organizational level. This research therefore aims to fill this scientific void. The theoretical advances resulting from this study will have significant practical repercussions.
Expected results
The CROIS-SENS project will produce both theoretical and empirical results. Theoretically, the project will build a theory of growth imperatives, distinct from traditional theories of growth. This theory will be historically situated, in order to understand how companies can apprehend their growth in a more enlightened way. Empirically, the results will be based on data collected via semi-structured interviews with key players in Belgian companies, and a review of the practices of companies that have, or have not, given up certain forms of growth. Expected results include identification of growth imperatives, strategies for managing them, and contribution to an analytical framework for more thoughtful growth.
Financing
FRHE of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FW-B)
