Research

Valuing something means measuring and comparing it according to a scale. Different forms of value scales are present at the same time to assess the value of something: e.g. ethical value, aesthetic value, legal value, and among other possible scales, economic value. Worth is a covering concept, encompassing all the different scales through which the value of an object, goods or services, can be assessed (Stark 2009).

We study the ways through which goods and services become valuable to a buyer. We explore how market participants evaluate the value of goods through their own judgement. Frank developed his research expertise through a thesis entitled “Valuation, metrologies and judgement: a study of market practices”. This piece of research has focused on the tools and instruments, profile of managers, and other market devices used in the FMCG industry to shape markets. His particular field of investigation dealt with the implementation of category management in a large retail organization. 

His current research is geared toward the understanding of valuation processes involved when a consensus has to be found between economic value, and other type of values, such as moral, justice or dignity.

This type of issues are particularly visible in the health industry where a sense of science and caring for patient is balanced with economic values. It is also visible in the luxury industry where the quest for authenticity and craftsmanship are frequently opposed to market values.

Fit for the Future

Assessing Market Capabilities

In the fast moving world of technology, two strategic questions are raised permanently: how to get a picture of what the future may look like, how to ensure the capabilities in place within the organization are Fit for the Future. As the future is not the linear projection of today, the anticipation of a picture of tomorrow can only be built with a collection of weak signals perceived by a multiplicity of players with very different profiles. The identification of fit for the future capabilities including profiles of managers, ways of working, processes and tools and organizational design can then be assessed.

 

Linking science & markets

Building credibility

We investigate the notion of credibility, how it is established and consolidated across multiple arenas, as well as how it relates to markets. Scientists establish cycles of credibility amongst their peers and funding agencies, converting different types of resources (e.g. data, publications, money) as they build, accumulate and capitalise on credibility. Credibility is also established in the world of corporate science. Private firms invest in science as a way to create new products and establish the credibility of claims made by their products.

 

Market Innovation Processes

Shaping all market constituents

While innovation processes in principle are recognized to have both a technological and a market dimension, and despite Schumpeter’s explicit recognition of market innovation as a particular category of innovation, innovation research has largely focused on technological aspects. The relationship between innovation and markets has been poorly investigated. Recently, the market shaping literature has put a specific focus on the on-going constitution of markets and underscores that there is scope for strategic action to alter markets, directing attention to new objects and means of innovation to be studied.

 

Disease and markets

Tracing the social value of diseases

The sociology of health and illness looks at the study of social distribution, and the justification of patterns in health and illness. The sociology of markets, on a different front, looks at how markets emerge with a sociological lens. We investigate how diseases and research about them gain in social consideration. By investigating diseases such as malaria, we want to understand the ways health related economic markets are formed.