Defense of Juliette Keohane

Valuing Productive Heritage: Industrial Heritage as a lever for productive and territorial transformation. The case of the textile sector in France

Supervised by Benjamin Cabanes 

Thesis defense is scheduled for May 7, 2026 at 9:30 am, at the Mines Paris PSL, 60 boulevard saint Michel, 75006 PARIS.

Abstract: 

This dissertation analyzes the strategic transformation of French industrial heritage, which is no longer mobilized solely as an object of memorial preservation but increasingly as a lever for territorial reindustrialization. In response to the deindustrialization of historical productive systems over the past sixty years, it examines how emerging actors (namely “Made in France” brands and industry associations) manage to reconfigure distributed productive resources in order to build sustainable production models.

Drawing on theoretical frameworks from territorial governance, Innovation Through Tradition, and productive systems, the research relies on a qualitative multi-case methodology conducted within the textile industry. The study focuses on cases related to wool, footwear, denim/jeans, and garment manufacturing. This analysis is further enriched by a CIFRE immersion carried out between 2021 and 2024.

The findings show that the transformations observed take place less at the level of individual firms than at the sectoral and territorial levels, which remain relatively underexplored in management studies. Three main contributions emerge. First, the dissertation highlights the strategic role of territorial intermediaries in coordinating local resources. Second, it demonstrates that narrative plays a central role in value capture and value sharing, going beyond a strictly marketing function. Third, it sheds light on the orchestration role played by emerging brands, particularly in defining new standards of quality and sustainability customer/supplier relationships.

From a theoretical perspective, the dissertation proposes a typology of territorially embedded pragmatic governance and argues for the existence of hybrid organizational forms that transcend the classic opposition between supply chains (vertical logic) and ecosystems (horizontal logic). From a managerial standpoint, it emphasizes the importance of new strategic capabilities—such as collaboration, pedagogy, and the mastery of digital and communication tools—alongside technical and industrial skills.

Finally, from a public policy perspective, the research calls for moving beyond frameworks centered on heritage preservation alone, geographical proximity, or support for individual entrepreneurship, in favor of collective and territorial initiatives. It thus advocates for a renewed understanding of public–private partnerships, conceived as collaborative arrangements that bring together collectives of actors, territorial organizations, and consumer communities engaged around shared values and long-term development objectives.

 Key words : Industrial heritage, Territorial intermediation, Innovation Through Tradition, Ecosystems, Sustainable value chains

Mots-clés : Patrimoine industriel, Intermédiation territoriale, Innovation à travers la tradition, Écosystèmes, Filières durables