Naming the Guillotine with Drs. Paolo Aversa & Paul Gouvard
Why is France's head-chopping machine named after someone who didn't invent or use it? Find out!
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Today’s special episode is an interview with Drs. Paolo Aversa and Paul Gouvard.
Paolo Aversa received his PhD from the University of Bologna. He is currently a Professor of Strategy at King’s Business School, King’s College London and Adjunct Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on innovation and the evolution of industries and ecosystems. Paolo is globally considered the leading academic expert in the motorsport and Formula 1 industry. He was awarded a Knighthood (Order of the Star of Italy) for his research and impact.
Paul Gouvard holds a PhD from HEC Paris and has been a visiting scholar at Berkeley and an assistant professor at Università Della Svizzera Italiana. His research investigates how audiences make sense of organizations, the actors associated with them and evaluate them. Gouvard's research has been published in leading academic journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, the Academy of Management Review, and the Academy of Management Journal.
Today we are discussing an article these two doctors coauthored alongside Maria Marakova. Titled, “The Social Attribution of Innovation: Uncovering the Heads Behind the Guillotine,” this article was published in the Academy of Management Journal, widely regarded as the leading academic journal in management studies. Today we are asking why the guillotine came to be named after Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a man who did not invent the head-chopping machine, nor used it, nor even promoted it directly. Using this as a springboard we are also asking why some names become famous or infamous through their attachment to things they did not do.
script forthcoming
Professor Paul Gouvard holds a PhD from HEC Paris and has been a visiting scholar at Berkeley Haas and an assistant professor at Università Della Svizzera Italiana. His research investigates how audiences make sense of organizations and the actors associated with them, and evaluate them. Building on this overarching focus, he studies the many forms that (a)typicality can take and the heterogeneous evaluations it elicits among audience members, such as investors and financial analysts. He also examines the broader processes through which audiences construct the meanings and value attached to organizations and individuals. He is also an expert on the use of natural language processing (such as word embeddings and topic modelling) in management research. Professor Gouvard's research has been published in leading academic journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, the Academy of Management Review, and the Academy of Management Journal.
Paolo Aversa, OSI is Professor of Strategy at King’s Business School, King’s College London and Adjunct Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on innovation and the evolution of industries and ecosystems. He defines himself as "a qualitative storyteller with quantitative appetites.” Paolo is globally considered the leading academic expert in the motorsport and Formula 1 industry. He received his PhD from the University of Bologna. He was awarded a Knighthood (Order of the Star of Italy) for his research and impact.