Managing global collective action: the case of space debris

Presentation of the interviewee: Camille Toussaint is a graduate of ESCP Business School and an alumna of the Gestion et Dynamique des Organisations research master's program. Since 2019, she has been a doctoral student at i3-Centre de Recherche en Gestion (École polytechnique) under the supervision of Hervé Dumez. She is also a lecturer in the Management Innovation Entrepreneurship department at École polytechnique.

What project are you currently working on?

I'm currently working on a PhD thesis on the management of collective action in global environmental problems, and more specifically on the management of space debris. These objects or fragments of inactive objects are multiplying in Earth's orbits, presenting risks and costs for active satellites, scientific missions and populations on the ground. This sustainable development issue, also known as the “tragedy of the commons”, was the focus of my Master's thesis. This case is interesting because it illustrates an extreme situation of global collective action. Indeed, it is characterized by its planetary scale, the heterogeneity of its actors (States, space agencies, industrialists, startups, international organizations) and its temporal dimension (the need to clean up congested orbits, avert imminent catastrophe and modify long-term behavior). The idea is to understand the coordination mechanisms put in place by the players to deal with the problem.

How do you see this project evolving?

It would be interesting to compare the case of space debris with other situations of global collective action, such as the management of plastic pollution in the oceans. Here too, inter-organizational action initiated by heterogeneous players with divergent interests is required. 
 

Link to a publication, an interactive support, a personal site: Toussaint Camille and Dumez Hervé (2020) “ Gérer un méta-problème : le cas des débris spatiaux ”. Gérer et comprendre, n°141, pp. 3-12.https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03059669/document 

Interview by Marie Claude Cléon