Nathan Sorin, SKEMA Business School (France)

Nathan is a PhD candidate affiliated with the SKEMA Center for AI at SKEMA Business School. He previously visited Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics within the Digital+Sustainable Innovation Lab. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the implications of firms’ AI-related strategies for business sustainability.

Here is Nathan’s story.

What are the top three highlights, professional skills, or other experiences you have had during your time as a PhD student?

One memorable experience was my visiting period at Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics. Being hosted by the Digital+Sustainable Innovation Lab broadened my horizons in various ways. For example, in terms of methodology, I witnessed many qualitative projects developed in collaboration with companies, whereas my own school is more focused on quantitative approaches. The lab also develops entrepreneurial projects, innovative pedagogical tools and various initiatives aiming to bring research insights outside the lab. This was inspiring to witness. Moreover, I think this immersion in Portugal increased my ability to work in an international environment.

Another highlight has been designing and teaching my own course on “AI & Society” at SKEMA. It was fun to try to identify creative ways of transmitting knowledge and skills I gained during my PhD through exercises such as scenario planning or storyboarding. In this course, I tried to push my students to critically reflect on burning issues related to AI adoption at the levels of individuals, organizations and larger social-ecological systems. Preparing the course helped me sharpen my understanding of key concepts such as the generativity of technology, human-centric AI, algorithmic management, sustainability of AI/AI for sustainability or climate tipping points. Then, teaching the course provided me with practical insights as my students were all working part-time on AI projects, with companies. Teaching is also great to practice effective communication.

Then, I think what stands out the most for me are the relationships I built along the journey. Firstly, I think a PhD is one of the rare entry-level jobs where you can immediately benefit from the mentorship of world-level experts. I found mentors in my supervisor Margherita Pagani, collaborator René Bohnsack, and many scholars I met during my PhD and research master. They all helped me upskill research wise, be it on methodology, theory or communication. Second, I also made very good friends among fellow PhD students.

What inspired you to pursue a PhD?

This decision progressively matured during my studies at EM Lyon. The school’s pedagogical philosophy is very much focused on action. Therefore, a large part of my studies was dedicated to my own projects (e.g., working with an environmental NGO on their crowdfunding and communication) or internships (e.g., consulting in the medical cannabis industry). During this time, I felt that my analytical skills (e.g., data analysis) were poor. On top of that, paradoxically, I felt I was lacking theoretical knowledge and started reading academic articles to make better decisions or recommendations. This realization led me to enroll in a double degree exclusively focused on academic research with University Lyon III. There, I developed a taste for academic research and met my future PhD supervisor, who at the time directed the research center on AI in value creation. At that point I had a stimulating topic (AI for business), and someone I knew to supervise me. I followed her to SKEMA, a school with many AI-related initiatives, by applying to the PhD program there.

How would you summarize your research project(s) in a short title?

The Implications of Firms’ AI-Related Strategies for Business Sustainability.

In brief, what is the empirical method/context you are adopting in your thesis?

My thesis involves compiling extensive firm-level datasets, focusing on public firms’ or new ventures’ AI-related strategies and sustainability-related impacts. I use econometric techniques or large-N qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to conduct the analysis. I tend to combine this approach with interviews to generate or confirm insights.

Can you describe a “eureka moment” you might have had during your PhD?

I struggled to determine my exact research identity during the first few months of my PhD. My goal was to find an idea that (i) interests me, (ii) focuses on one or more grand challenge(s), and (iii) is feasible. In 2021, I recognized an opportunity for management scholars (and why not myself) to contribute valuable research by examining how firms’ AI-related strategies influence their sustainability performances. This realization felt like a “eureka moment”.

But I would describe the creative process as micro “eureka moments” unfolding over the whole PhD. Indeed, you need a practical problem but also find how to measure key constructs and convince other scholars you are contributing to theory. All these steps require “eureka moments”.

What three tips would you offer to new PhD students in your field?

1. If you can, find someone with cutting-edge expertise to give you feedback on your methodology before you implement your research design. You want to mitigate the risk of writing a complete paper and have a reviewer point out a fatal flaw in your experimental design or econometric specification, for example.
2. Choose a theory or phenomenon at the heart of your thesis and then follow all the scholars working in that area on social media. Contributing is about joining a scholarly conversation, so you need to understand how people interested in your topic think and what they are currently interested in.
3. When submitting to a journal, check first if there are published editorials (and read them very carefully), or meet the editor at events you can attend or watch on replay. 

In one or two sentences, what does the GRONEN community mean to you? Or the community of sustainability management scholars more broadly if you are new to GRONEN.

I discovered the GRONEN community quite serendipitously last year, when the SKEMA Center for Sustainability Studies organized the GRONEN conference. For me, GRONEN represents like-minded individuals. I am always very happy to catch up with the PhD students I met there. I also find noteworthy that even senior scholars from the community come up to say hi at other conferences.

What’s next for you?

I have a book chapter coming out in August in Artificial Intelligence for Ecology, Health, and Education, which you can check out. Otherwise, I am entering the last year of my PhD, so “exciting” prospects ahead include applying for jobs and finalizing my thesis.

Contact

You can contact Nathan via email at nathan.sorin@skema.edu or connect on LinkedIn.