Member – CRESPO-FEBVAY Anne-Valérie
A.-V. CRESPO-FEBVAY is an associate researcher at Montpellier Research in Management, Organizations Group
She was previously a doctoral student in the Human Resources group and served as the administrative coordinator for the cross-disciplinary research area on management and responsible practices from 2017 to 2022.
She has also been active in the AGRH’s Territories, CSR, and Innovation Group since 2016
Within the HR and Organizational Groups at MRM, herresearch explores a “grounded and embodied” micro-CSR (Ph.D. defense in November 2023; 1st prize in the ADERSE-ORSE thesis competition in 2024). Her work focuses primarily on how middle managers drive organizational transformation. It explores the new frontiers of organizations and work and proposes “horizontal network alignment” to complement intra-organizational Corporate Social Responsibility strategies. Its research focuses on companies in particular, organizations in the broader sense, as well as inter-organizational collectives, and outlines how managers/citizens can take the “initiative to assume a more societal role.”
The epistemological stance employed stems from sociology and requires a certain level of expertise as a practitioner: participant observation (Soulé, 2007). This academic approach aims to “move beyond the apparent contradictions of the participant observation stance to fully and honestly embrace the intersubjectivities of fieldwork,” p.131 (Soulé, 2007). In addition to providing rare access to the field through legitimacy, trust, and a valuable understanding of codes and terminology, this approach allows practitioners to be involved in the production of knowledge and proves to be a strength in the managerial sharing of scientific knowledge.
Science communication is a key focus of research. It seems to me that this is particularly inherent to Section 06, to interweave research with society and foster bridges with managers in the socio-economic sectors to co-create academic knowledge that is “actionable” in management to drive societal progress.
Another key objective is to provide students with knowledge that is both scientific and managerial. Over the past decade, the content of our courses and their pedagogical approach have evolved to now seamlessly combine practical examples, academic perspective, and innovative teaching methods. The driving force behind the sessions is rooted in numerous practical examples and precise scientific knowledge, used to build—and often co-create with students—a dynamic and adaptable teaching approach that they find engaging. Learning is built around real-world situations in business, government, or nonprofit settings to understand their underlying concepts through the application of critical thinking—the foundation for skill development among learners, whether in executive education, work-study programs, or continuing education.
Related research activities
Committee members Academic: AGRH, research seminar on “Humanism, Management, and the Environment,” April 10, 2025, ISTEC Paris
Member of the Scientific Review Board for the CIRSE management journal (International CSR Congress 2024 and 2025, “The journal bridging the gap between academia and the professional world on the topic of CSR”), www.congresinternationaldelarse.com, since 2024
Research Program Director: Program No. 9, “Responsible Engagement, Businesses, and Regions”; MIND Chair, “Building Dynamic, Inclusive, and Engaged Organizations”; M. Jaeck and M. Meyer, Montpellier Business School, since 2022
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Lab Chair , headed by K. Messeghem, Montpellier Management, since 2024
Field assignments
President of the National Observatory of Partnerships since December 2025; Board Member of the LeRAMEAU Applied Research Laboratory since October 14, 2025
Co-Leader of the national Public Interest Group (GIP) “Businesses Commit (to Social Innovation)” since January 2024. Launched by the President of the Republic in 2018, co-founded by businesses and the Ministry of Labor and Employment/France Travail in 2022, with 100,600 companies involved nationwide across 101 departmental clubs, approximately 2,000 companies in Occitanie, and 80 in the Hérault department
Treasurer of the Agir Contre l’Exclusion Occitanie Foundation (7 non-profit organizations under the 1901 law, active in 8 of the region’s 13 departments, with 72 employees); active since 2008, particularly in the Hérault and Gard departments; in Occitanie, 382 member companies and 1,471 companies involved in initiatives
Administrator at MLJ3M—Mission Locale des Jeunes de la Métropole de Montpellier Méditerranée (serving as a mentor for the integration of young people from urban renewal neighborhoods since 2008). Representative of the partner council, comprising 34 companies. 10,500 young people supported annually
| Crespo-Febvay, A.-V. Marais, M. January 2026 | “Seeking Meaning at Work Outside One’s Own Company? The Paradoxes of Managers’ Participation in Inter-Company Groups,” pp. 298–318 | Meaning at Work in the Face of Paradoxes: Between Individual Aspirations and Organizational Realities, Loubès A., Commeiras N., Fabre C., Loose F., Rascol-Boutard S., EMS | Review Committee |
| Crespo-Febvay A.-V., Jaeck M., Meyer M. * * 2025 | “Trust at the Heart of Manager-Organization Relationships as a Lever for Responsible Innovation: An Illustration Based on Four Regional Networks of Organizations,” pp. 31–59 | Innovations, Journal of Economics and Innovation Management, No. 77 | FNEGE 2 (2025 Ranking) |
| Crespo-Febvay, A.-V., and M. Marais , 2022 | “Inter-company CSR dialogue groups as spaces for meaning-making,” pp. 237–260 | Meaning at Work: Management and Societal Issues, Commeiras N., Fabre C., Loose F., Loubès A., Rascol-Boutard S. EMS | FNEGE-certified, 2023 |
| Crespo-Febvay, A.-V., Loubès, A. , 2019 | “Inter-company CSR Dialogue as a Lever for Responsible Innovation?”, pp. 75–102 | Innovations, Journal of Economics and Innovation Management, No. 59 | FNEGE 3 (2022 ranking) |