KETs and competencies - dynamics of transformation and change management in organisations of electronic components and boards and medical equipment sectors. – KETORC

The team of 10 researchers (from 6 different institutions) studied 8 organizations that design and/or manufacture key technologies for the industry of the future in the health (4 cases) and microelectronics (4 cases) sectors. These case studies share common characteristics. They were all carried out by a team of 2 to 3 researchers, in a partnership relationship with the organization studied and under the «patronage« of a steering committee composed of several actors of the organization. All these surveys were based on a variety of data collection: a very large number of semi-directive interviews (between 1h and 3h30) - 166 interviews in all - conducted with a wide variety of stakeholders (in terms of status, professions and experience), based on generic interview grids constructed by the team of 10 researchers; observations and focus groups; and the collection of numerous public and internal documents from the organisations studied. Feedback from the analyses was systematically provided to the steering committees and to the interviewees.
Throughout the project, research seminars (8) were organised during which the field surveys were presented and discussed several times by the full team of 10 researchers. This allowed everyone to better appropriate the characteristics and challenges of the organizations studied by the other project members, to facilitate the creation of a collective capacity to put these cases in perspective and to conduct transversal analyses around the key issues of the project. A coding grid was established across the case studies to allow for comparative analysis.

Three major results have emerged from the KETOrC project. First, a first set of results specifies the dynamics of competences according to the management systems and technology. This study is currently being extended by France-Japan comparisons carried out as part of a project funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2019-2021). Then, a second series of results deals with an emerging theme from our field surveys: the creativity as a core competence, which is due to the current transformation of high tech organizations. This lead the team to analyse the construction and evolution of creative practices in interaction with work organization. This work will be extended in particular to the Institution pour la créativité d'Aix-Marseille Université (InCIAM) in which the AMU team is a stakeholder. Finally, a third set of results deals more specifically with methodological mechanisms for skills analysis and support methods are proposed.

The KETOrC project is an ANR JCJC project coordinated by Cathy KROHMER (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LEST). The research team consists of 10 researchers: Justine ARNOUD (Université Paris-Est, IRG), Marie-Laure BUISSON (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LEST), Frédérique CHÉDOTEL (GRANEM, Université d'Angers), Lise GASTALDI (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LEST), Bénédicte GEFFROY (IMT Atlantique, LEMNA), Johanna HABIB (Aix Marseille Univ, CRETLOG), François JAUJARD (École des Mines Saint Etienne, COACTIS), Cathy KROHMER (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LEST), Romain LONCEINT (IMT Atlantique, LEMNA) and Isabelle VANDANGEON-DERUMEZ (Université Paris-Est, IRG). The project started in March 2016 and lasted 36 months. It benefited from an ANR grant of 169,000 euros.

hree major results have emerged from the KETOrC project