Human Resources

The scientific research conducted by the Human Resources research group focuses on the transformations affecting work, employment relationships, and organizations across a variety of settings and situations. The meaning of work is an emerging and unifying theme that led to the publication of a first collective work , *Meaning at Work: Management and Societal Challenges” in 2022. This focus enriches the three core research areas: 1/ Occupational Health, 2/ Regions and Responsible HRM, 3/ New Forms of Organizations, Employment, and Work.

The Human Resources research group has been active at the Montpellier campus for over 20 years and is currently led by Anne LOUBES and Claude FABRE. This research aims to make a theoretical contribution to the field of human resources management while addressing managerial and societal needs. Most often, these projects originate from internal research groups, but also from collaborations with other MRM thematic groups and research laboratories at other universities. It should be noted that a researcher may be involved in several research areas and that some research projects lie at the intersection of multiple areas.

The research group’s current scientific policy aligns with the two cross-cutting research areas of the MRM Research Laboratory (Health and Management, and Responsible Practices) and the scientific priorities of MUSE (Montpellier University of Excellence): Care and Protection.

Through its foundations, focus, and priorities, the Human Resources Research Group aims to conduct research that addresses the needs of all stakeholders within organizations, particularly HR professionals, those working in the areas of quality of life at work and psychosocial risks, CSR, executives and managers, employees at all levels, and employee representatives.

With this in mind, we maintain a constant focus on the social, societal, and regional dynamics and changes taking place within and around organizations. We are also strengthening our ties with professional networks and civil society actors.

research topics

Research Topic 1: Occupational Health

While this first research area builds on the work conducted by the team’s researchers in the early 2000s on role conflict and workplace stressors, the theoretical frameworks and research topics have been updated. Particular attention is given to the prevention of psychosocial risks—and more specifically, workplace stress—and, more recently, to quality of life at work and workplace well-being.

In light of deteriorating working conditions—and more specifically, the increasing emotional demands, fast-paced work schedules, and reduced autonomy at work (see the 2016 DARES surveys on working conditions and psychosocial risks) in both private and public organizations— researchers working on this topic will continue, over the coming years, to conduct research on occupational health, focusing on identifying levers for action that lead to well-being at work and quality of life at work, as well as their effects on work performance and organizational performance, particularly in the public sector and in new forms of work organization.

Research Topic 2: Territory and Human Resource Management (HRM)

The "Territories and HRM" research cluster brings together researchers who, for the past decade or so, have been studying the emergence of an HRM model that extends to the territorial level and is informed by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This new dimension of HRM requires a reexamination of the interpretive frameworks, rationales for action, and traditional governance models specific to HRM.

As an emerging field of research in business studies, researchers working on this topic will continue to deepen their understanding of the dynamics at play between prescribed and constructed territories, as well as between public and private sectors, by incorporating new stakeholders to foster responsible, socially conscious, and collaborative innovations.

In this emerging field of research and within the context of evolving management situations, the role of the HR Director is thus being reevaluated. The region is becoming a new arena for HRM, with new actors forming a collective entity and distinct governance frameworks emerging. We aim to contribute to the development of actionable knowledge regarding these new mechanisms (e.g., regional workforce planning). We also aim to enhance understanding of forms of inter-organizational dialogue within the framework of Territorialized Organizational Networks (RTOs) and dedicated governance mechanisms to fully grasp the resulting effects (CSR, responsible innovation, employment-skills dynamics, etc.). More broadly, in addition to a new positioning of HRM, prospects for a new form of territorial regulation are being explored.

Research Topic 3: Changes in organizational structures, employment arrangements, and work patterns

Research in this area focuses on the evolution of organizations and organizational structures, which are influenced, for example and in particular, by the rise of digital technology. An analysis of these constantly evolving organizations is underpinned by a strong interest among researchers in understanding the nature of jobs and how they are changing. To this end, one of the keys to understanding is the evolution of the skills of the various actors working in public, private, and hybrid organizations. Innovation, creativity, identity, and other factors play a pivotal role in skill development—all themes that attract the attention of researchers involved in this area. Consequently, we are also interested in managerial practices suited to these evolving organizations and consistent with emerging forms of employment and work arrangements, as well as the tools developed to foster involvement and commitment.

Group leaders

Anne LOUBES
Group Director
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Claude FABRE
Assistant Director
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Permanent Members

Associate Members

Kenza Belmoeiti
Isabelle Bories Azeau
Maryline Bourdil-Resch
Véronique Csányi-Virág
Laurence Dreyfuss
Dominique Lecérf
Florence NOGUERA
PLANE Jean-Michel
RIVIERE Audrey

Doctoral students

BADIATA Narcisse2018 (thesis advisors: S. Rascol-Boutard and L. Dreyfuss)
BOUDAOUINE Houyam2022 (thesis advisors: A. Loubès and F. Loose)
EL YACOUBI, Aurélia, 2022 (thesis advisor: S. Rascol-Boutard)
Annabelle Helwani2021 (thesis advisors: A. Loubès and M. Marais)
KOFFI Flore 2024 (thesis advisors: N. Commeiras and P. Loup)
LABELLE Ophélie2022 (Thesis advisors: S. Rascol-Boutard and L. Dreyfuss)
THEODORE Charlène2022 (Thesis advisor: N. Commeiras)
Julien VIGUIER 2023 (thesis advisors: A. Loubès and I. Bories-Azeau)
RAHEM Izem 2025 (Thesis advisor: N. Commeiras)
VINCENT RIBBES 2025 (thesis advisors: A. Loubès and I. Bories-Azeau)

Published by EMS in 2022: The anthology *Meaning at Work: Management and Societal Challenges*, edited by Nathalie Commeiras, Claude Fabre, Florence Loose, Anne Loubès, and Sylvie Rascol-Boutard.

Highlights

Professor Nathalie Commeiras was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor (
)

2024 ADERSE/ORSE Thesis Prize: Anne Valérie Crespo (2023), “The Dialogue of Shared Responsibility as a Lever for Managers’ CSR Engagement: An Illustration Through Inter-Company Groups,” supervised by Anne Loubès.

AGRH-Didier Retour Thesis Award 2024: Stéphanie Bouchet (2023), “The Contribution of Coworking Spaces to Peer Learning and Well-Being at Work: An Analysis Through the Lens of Resource Conservation Theory,” supervised by Anne Loubès and Nathalie Commeiras.

AGRH “Best Papers” Award 2023, article published in the journal @GRH:Florence Nande, Marie-Laure Weber, Stéphanie Bouchet, Pierre Loup, “The Purpose of Organizations as a Driver of Meaning at Work: A Proposal for an Adapted Ikigai Model”

AGRH “Best Papers” Award 2022, article published in the journal @GRH: Florence Nande, Marie Laure Weber, Stéphanie Bouchet, and Pierre Loup, “Learning from the Health Crisis: Are There Conditions That Promote the Well-being of Remote Workers?”

AGRH–FNEGE 2021 Thesis Award + AIRMAP 2021 Thesis Award: Véronique Achmet, (2020), “Strategies for Managing Nurse Absenteeism: The Influence of Leader-Subordinate Relationships, Presenteeism, and Health Consequences. A study in the French public hospital sector,” supervised by Nathalie Commeiras.

2021 AGRH-Didier Retour Thesis Award: Dominique Lecerf, (2020) “Breaking Free from a Strong Group Identity to Succeed in a Career Transition: The Case of Military Personnel’s Career Transition,” supervised by Anne Loubès.

^{2nd Prize} in the 2019 SPHINX Thesis Competition: Florence Nande, “Multiple Identities of an Employee, Well-Being at Work, and Individual Job Performance,” defended on November 29, 2018, under the supervision of Nathalie Commeiras.

AIM 2019 Best Presentation Award: Pierre Loup and Johanna Habib: “When the adoption of an app perceived as trivial triggers a profound transformation of the healthcare system: the Doctolib case.”

Theses Defended or in Progress

Theses Defended (since 2019)

2023:Anne-Valérie Crespo, “Dialogue on Shared Responsibility as a Driver of Managers’ CSR Commitment: An Illustration Using Inter-Company Groups,” defended on November 29, 2023, at the IAE in Montpellier under the supervision of Anne Loubès.
2023: Kenza Belmoeiti, “The Intergenerational Transmission of Individual Skills: What Are the Conditions for Success? A Study of the Digital Sector in France,” defended on March 23, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. at the IAE in Montpellier, under the supervision of Nathalie Commeiras and Sylvie Rascol-Boutard.
2023: Stéphanie Bouchet, “The Contribution of Coworking Spaces to Peer Learning and Well-Being at Work: An Analysis Based on Resource Conservation Theory,” defended on January 4, 2023, under the supervision of Anne Loubès and Nathalie Commeiras.
2022: Véronique Csanyi-Virag, “Entrepreneurship Renewed Through an Inclusive Approach in the Context of Disability,” defended on November 26, 2022, at the University of Montpellier, under the supervision of Marion Polge.
2020: Véronique Achmet, “Strategies for Managing Nurse Absenteeism: The Influence of Leader-Subordinate Relationships, Presenteeism, and Health Consequences. A Study in the French Public Hospital Sector,” defended on October 23, 2020, under the supervision of Nathalie Commeiras.
2020: Dominique Lecerf, “Breaking Free from a Strong Group Identity to Succeed in a Career Transition: The Case of Military Personnel’s Career Transition,” defended on October 30, 2020, under the supervision of Anne Loubès.
2020: Céline Duplàa, “Information and Communication Technology Skills in a Hypermodern Context: The Case of Front-Line Managers at a Regional Bank,” defended on November 3, 2020, under the supervision of Sylvie Rascol-Boutard and Christine Pagnon-Maudet.

Theses in Progress

BADIATA Narcisse, “Managing Psychosocial Risks for Well-Being at Work,” supervised by Sylvie Rascol-Boutard and Laurence Dreyfuss (co-supervisor; enrolled in the doctoral program in 2018)
BOUDAOUINE Houyam, “The Construction of Meaning at Work in ‘Dirty Jobs’: The Case of Waste Management Workers,” supervised by Anne Loubès and Florence Loose (co-supervisor; first registered for the doctoral program in 2022)
EL YACOUBI, Aurélia, “Voluntary Career Transition: The Impact of Support on Individuals Seeking a Career Change,” supervised by Sylvie Rascol-Boutard (Ph.D. program enrollment in 2022)
HELWANI Annabelle, “How to Develop and Implement a Responsible Corporate Purpose That Creates Meaning and Shared Value for Stakeholders,” supervised by Anne Loubès and Magalie Marais (Ph.D. program enrollment: 2021)
Ophélie LABELLE, “Networks of Stakeholders and Their Contribution to Hospital Performance,” supervised by Sylvie Rascol-Boutard and Laurence Dreyfus (Ph.D. program enrollment in 2022)
THEODORE Charlène, “QVTC and Meaning: Effects on Organizational Commitment, Individual Performance, and Intent to Stay with the Company in a Neo-Taylorist Environment,” supervised by Nathalie Commeiras (Ph.D. enrollment in 2022)
Julien VIGUIER, “Employer Groups: A Tool for Local Human Resource Management in the Service of Local Social Dialogue?”, supervised by Anne Loubès and Isabelle Bories-Azeau (CIFRE thesis scheduled for July 2023)
KOFFI Flore, “The Impact of Digital Transformation in Hospitals on the Well-being of Healthcare Workers,” supervised by Nathalie Commeiras and Pierre Loup (co-supervisor; expected to begin doctoral studies in 2024)
RAHEM Izem, “Organizational Socialization, Work Engagement, and Occupational Health: A Study of Apprentices,” supervised by Nathalie Commeiras (Ph.D. enrollment in 2025)
Vincent RIBBES, “Strategic Alignment of HR Practices and the Integration of Explicit and Implicit CSR in SMEs,” supervised by Anne Loubès and Isabelle Borie-Azeau (Ph.D. program enrollment in 2025)