Finance

RESEARCH TOPICS

The Finance Group's research is organized around two main themes: 1) Sustainable finance and innovation, and 2) Market dynamics and market participant behavior.

This evolution more directly reflects the interactions present in the team’s work. Indeed, behaviors are studied more specifically from a market perspective, and the group has also developed a unique focus in the field of innovation, particularly through its connection to governance. In particular, it reflects a key area of application that has been identified and promoted in the region. Within this field of innovation, several projects are underway that explore the link between innovation and governance. Another project, in the field of entrepreneurial finance, is studying changes in the seed capital market.

In addition to innovation, the areas of application are specifically focused on agriculture and the environment. As part of a partnership with the Institut de Convergences Agriculture Numérique^[1]#Digitag, a doctoral thesis is currently underway on farmers’ behavior regarding the use of climate hedges in financial markets. Another project, conducted with theCenter for Wine Economics atUC Davis in California, examines the impact of climate change on the valuation of wine inventories. Several publications in “environmental finance” are currently being expanded (notably on energy and natural resource markets).

The research project emphasizes interactions and interdisciplinarity in research, which is a key characteristic of the group. Similarly, broad categorizations such as “market finance” or “corporate finance” no longer provide a relevant framework for classifying our research. The two main research areas also overlap to some extent, for example on environmental issues where the behavior of market participants is confronted with questions of sustainable finance. Overall, these tensions between sustainability and responsibility, on the one hand, and market logic, on the other, lie at the heart of both research areas. In the first, behavior is the primary focus of study to capture these tensions; in the second, it is governance. The research lies at the intersection of several disciplines: entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, strategy, and economics.

In addition, the group is also deeply committed to knowledge dissemination and transfer. One of the key aspects of this is its focus on digital technology. Several research projects have been and are being conducted on the links between finance and digital technology (crowdfunding, Bitcoin, blockchain—see the group’s publications), and the findings are being incorporated into the curriculum. Collaboration among the master’s programs is expanding in the field of innovation, in partnership with faculty members from the marketing group. The Disrupt Campus ANR-PIA-CGI project (2018–2020) is one example of this, as is the Management & Technologies Chair, in partnership with Labex Entreprendre.

The Finance Group is thus developing its research project in a way that addresses both educational needs and the needs of economic stakeholders, particularly within the region. The core research areas are articulated through priority fields of application that are fully aligned with the guiding principles of MUSE’s scientific project (Feed, Care, Protect), the core research areas of Labex Entreprendre (Axis A1-P1: Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation; Axis A2-P3: Governance, Market Strategies, and Sustainable Performance) and the cross-cutting themes of the MRM laboratory (Agri-Food, Innovation & Sustainable Development).

[1]#DigitAg, the Convergences Institute for Digital Agriculture, was selected in January 2017. It is one of 10 French Convergences institutes, funded as part of the Investments for the Future program. As the only Convergences Institute dedicated to agriculture, it is also the sole Convergences Institute in the Occitanie region and the first within the I-Site MUSE Montpellier University of Excellence.

GROUP LEADERS

Eric STEPHANY
Group Director
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Justine VALETTE
Assistant Director
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