Youssef Beik Saade [ Doctorant ]

This research was conducted within UMR SADAPT, under the supervision of  Armelle Mazé (SADAPT)

Date de soutenance : 21 mai 2026 de 14h à 17h dans l’amphi B0.01 à AgroParisTech, Campus Agro Paris-Saclay, 22 place de l’Agronomie, 91120 Palaiseau

For those who wish, it will also be possible to attend the defense remotely. The link will be shared at a later date with those who have registered via the form below.

The presentation of my work will be in English, and the discussion with the jury will take place in both English and French. The defense will be followed by a reception.

 The jury will consist of:

Julien Pénin - Reviewer & Examiner, Professor, University of Strasbourg
Stéphane Lemarié - Reviewer & Examiner, Research Director (HDR), INRAE (Université Grenoble Alpes)
Anne Plunket - Examiner, Professor, Université Paris-Saclay
Jennifer Clapp - Examiner, Professor, University of Waterloo (Canada)
Maïder Saint Jean - Examiner, Associate Professor (HDR), University of Bordeaux
Elisa Operti - Examiner, Professor, ESSEC Business School

We will also have the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Jennifer Lewis, Executive Director of IBMA Global (International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association).

 To attend the defense, either in person or remotely, please register via the following link in order to receive an access badge or a Zoom link: https://forms.gle/c9a24xMuYSUCSoxp7

 The abstract of the thesis is as follows:

Regulatory pressure associated with the progressive restriction of synthetic pesticides is transforming innovation dynamics in the agricultural sector. In the seed industry, particularly in seed treatment activities, this shift goes beyond substituting chemical inputs with biological alternatives. It redefines innovation as a coordination challenge, given the fragmented capabilities required to develop and deploy biological seed treatments across multiple actors, knowledge domains, and stages. Biological seed treatments, including biocontrol agents and biostimulants, differ from conventional chemical solutions. Their performance is less predictable and context dependent, requiring the integration of expertise in microbiology, formulation, industrial processing, regulatory validation, and field application. As no single organization controls these capabilities, innovation depends on aligning contributions within networks of firms, research institutions, intermediaries, and regulators. The thesis examines how regulatory restructuring reshapes innovation in such contexts. It adopts a multi-scalar, multi-level perspective that combines firm-level analysis, ecosystem dynamics, and global industry transformations in the French seed sector. Using qualitative interviews, network analysis, and complementary methods, it examines how actors adapt and coordinate in the face of uncertainty.

Findings show that regulatory pressure reinforces fragmentation and reliance on collaboration while reconfiguring innovation ecosystems. Coordination emerges through knowledge brokerage, innovation orchestration, and intermediation, yet bottlenecks persist, especially in downstream translation into scalable solutions. Innovation outcomes depend on the ability to align distributed capabilities across actors, stages, and scales.