Fabien Pecot of TBS in Barcelona wins Case Centre Award

The professor from the Barcelona business school has won the ‘Oscar’ of case studies with an essay on the celebration of the 100th anniversary of a pastry shop in Provence, France. TBS in Barcelona is the only institution in Spain to take part in this competition.

TBS Barcelona Associate Professor Fabien Pecot has been awarded the Case Centre Award, the so-called ‘Oscar of case studies’, by the Case Centre, the independent case study house dedicated to advancing the method, for the essay entitled “The Roy René Confectionary Is 100 years old: Celebrating Brand Heritage to Sustain a New Strategy”.

Fabien Pecot and co-author Virgine de Barnier of the IAE Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management have been honored in the category of ‘Outstanding New Writers’, a title given to authors or schools that win the award for the first time. Pecot wrote the essay while teaching at the York Management School.

The case study of the essay revolves around the preparations for the centenary celebrations of the company ‘The Roy René’, a brand of chocolates and almond sweets deeply rooted in Provence, France.

Founded in 1920, ‘The Roy René’ has always enjoyed great popularity, both in the region and throughout France, with the name of the Province being deeply rooted. In 2014, it was acquired by Olivier Baussan, creator of the ‘L’Occitane en Provence’ perfumeries. Baussan transformed the bonbonniere into a ‘heritage’ company and managed to give it a major financial boost.

Pecot and de Barnier have shown in their article how the centenary celebration of ‘The Roy René’ was “an opportunity to celebrate all the successes, gain visibility, reach out to key stakeholders and promote the brand”, as stated in the abstract of the study.

The jury welcomed the fact that it has a female protagonist – the brand’s managing director, Laure Pierrisnard – and that the way the case is presented makes it easy for an instructor to showcase: “Although aimed at undergraduate and master’s students, this case study has potential in executive seminars for the study of brands, brand heritage, and brand positioning,” they say.

Fabien Pecot says: “I am honored to receive this recognition from the Case Centre. It is an important milestone in a long process that started with a collaboration with the CEO of ‘Le Roy René’, Laure Pierrisnard”.

Likewise, Virginie de Barnier adds, “It is a great honor because it is a very big international academic recognition. I am happy and proud to contribute to the academic world with a case study that allows students to connect theory and practice.”

Pecot and Barnier were able to write the essay thanks to a Case Centre grant.

TBS in Barcelona, the only Spanish center in the Case Centre’s Awards 2021

TBS in Barcelona also becomes, with this award, the only Spanish institution to have received a Case Centre award, which also includes widely recognized academic centers such as the Harvard Business School, the MIT Sloan School of Management, the London Business School, NUS, or the Rotterdam School of Management.

About Fabien Pecot

Fabien Pecot has been a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at TBS in Barcelona since September 2020. He specializes in understanding how companies use their history and the past in their marketing strategies. He publishes several scientific articles on this topic and has developed a course on it to teach it to students.

He holds a degree in History and a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Aix-Marseille. He worked at the University of York (UK) before joining TBS.

If you also want to join TBS, find out more about our Bachelor in Management, Master in Management, and MSc programs.