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The Centre for Unframed Thinking (CUT) is a pioneering initiative launched by Rennes School of Business and its partners to promote high-impact, interdisciplinary research at the highest international level. It contributes to the school’s strategic objective of developing open, distinctive and influential research, inspired by innovation and transformation practices, helping organisations and societies adapt to future transitions.
The CUT addresses global challenges through in-depth academic research and practical engagement, bringing together researchers and professionals from various sectors, public, private, national and international. Our work covers a wide range of interdisciplinary topics related to innovation, entrepreneurship, risk management, cybersecurity, sustainability, brand equity, and other areas where open and creative research can bridge the gap between theory and practice.
By promoting sectoral and cross-sectoral applications through educational and entrepreneurial initiatives, the CUT supports research that not only transforms organisations but also explores fundamental issues from an individual and societal perspective. It builds international networks, disseminates high-impact research and encourages innovative ideas that shape the future.
The CUT maintains a sustainable research environment through internal and external funding. All permanent faculty members are invited to contribute to and benefit from the CUT’s activities by participating in thematic research projects and events.
Professor Saqib Aziz, Associate Dean for Research, heads the Centre.
The Centre for Unframed Thinking (CUT) at Rennes School of Business is launching a call for projects open to all teaching and research staff for the 2025-2026 academic year. The aim of this call is to develop and promote high-impact interdisciplinary research in line with the school’s strategic priorities.
Teaching and research staff are invited to submit proposals highlighting the innovative nature of their research and its potential to transform practices.
Projects involving industrial partners are particularly encouraged, as are collaborations with other academic institutions or organisations, where relevant.
European researchers
The Centre of Unframed Thinking (CUT) Senior Fellows programme is an integral part of CUT, a pioneering initiative of Rennes School of Business and its partners dedicated to advancing impactful, interdisciplinary research at the highest international level. Bringing together internationally renowned scholars and practitioners, the programme seeks to bridge theory and practice through distinctive, unframed, and transformative research that shapes business practice, public debate, and societal transitions across finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, operations and risk management, brand heritage, sustainability, and related fields.
Moutaz Khouja
Moutaz Khouja holds a PhD in Operations Management from Kent State University, as well as a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Toledo. His research focuses on inventory management, supply chain management, and the operations–marketing interface. He has published over 100 articles in leading international journals, including Management Science, Decision Sciences, Production and Operations Management, European Journal of Operational Research, and Journal of Retailing.
Expertise: Supply chains • Inventory management • Operations–marketing interface
Pierre Volle
Pierre Volle is Professor of Marketing at Université Paris-Dauphine–PSL and Honorary President of the French Marketing Association. He holds a doctorate from ESSEC Business School and is a leading expert on customer and brand management and the history of marketing practices. He has authored or edited around ten books, including Sustainable (and More) Marketing (2022), and serves as President of LAMMA, the Marketing Archives and Museum of Brands, actively promoting the cultural heritage of brands and organizations.
Expertise: Brand heritage • Brand management • Sustainable marketing • Marketing history
Ylva Baeckström
Ylva Baeckström is Associate Professor at King’s College London, where she heads Sustainable Finance at the Centre for Sustainable Business. A former banker and fintech entrepreneur, she is an expert on financial advice, gender, and sustainability in financial services. She is the author of Gender and Finance (2022) and a TEDx speaker. Her research has informed UK government inquiries and is published in leading journals, including Journal of Corporate Finance and Journal of Business Ethics, and her work is widely featured in international media.
Expertise: Sustainable finance • Gender & finance • Financial advice • Ethics
Nihat Aktas
Nihat Aktas has held the Chair of Mergers and Acquisitions at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management since 2013 and serves as Academic Director of the European Summer Programs. He previously held appointments at SKEMA Business School, EM Lyon business school, and Université Catholique de Louvain, and was a visiting researcher at UCLA Anderson. His research in empirical corporate finance, particularly on M&A, is published in leading journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, JFQA, Review of Finance, and Journal of Banking & Finance, and is frequently cited in international media.
Expertise: Mergers & acquisitions • Corporate finance • Governance • ESG
Oualid Jouini
Oualid Jouini heads the Operations Management research group and coordinates the doctoral training program of the Graduate School of Engineering and Systems Sciences at CentraleSupélec, Université Paris-Saclay. He holds PhD and MS degrees from CentraleSupélec and an HDR from INSA Lyon, and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota. His work focuses on optimization of manufacturing and service systems, integrating economic performance with societal objectives such as sustainability and welfare. He has supervised more than 20 PhD students and received numerous research and teaching awards, including the IBM Faculty Award.
Expertise: Operations management • Optimization • Service systems • Sustainability & Systems Design
Dirk Deichmann
Dirk Deichmann is Endowed Professor of Creativity and Innovation at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, where he holds the Chair of Horticulture Innovation. His research examines the determinants and consequences of creative and innovative behaviour, with a particular focus on how organizations achieve sustained idea generation, development, and successful implementation.
Expertise: Creativity • Innovation • Idea generation • Organizational behaviour
More information about SONYA project and Cyberskills4All
CUT Events: Guest Speakers
EBEN 2026 – 27-29 May 2026
The European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) is a society that supports business ethics initiatives at European, national and regional levels.
It has 18 national networks established in several countries, as well as other groups active in more than 40 countries.
Learn more about the EBEN conference
