Sciences Po CSO/CNRS CNRS

Sophie DUBUISSON-QUELLIER


Research axis
New Forms of Economic Governance

Sophie DUBUISSON-QUELLIER
s.dubuisson@cso.cnrs.fr





Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier was a lecturer at the Ecole des Mines in Nantes from 1996 to 2001, then transferred to the INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) from 2001 to 2003, and finally was appointed as a CNRS researcher in December 2003. She has been working for the last fifteen years on the sociology of markets, analyzing the nature and role of devices and actors in market intermediation. Using this method of analysis, she evaluates the way design and marketing frame both a product’s features and consumer preferences.

Since 2003, Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier has been studying the way social movements affect the development of consumers’ political and market skills. Consumption has become a recruitment space for activist groups who are trying to redefine market rules through awareness of issues such as the environment, ethics, or fair trade. Between 2003 and 2008, Dubuisson-Quellier served as scientific director for two research projects on this topic. One was financed by the ACI (“Action Concertée Incitative”) Sociétés et Cultures dans le développement durable (Societies and Cultures in the context of Sustainable Development), and the other by the ANR’s Agriculture and Sustainable Development program. These two projects were carried out in partnership with the INRA, Liège University, and Oxford University. Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier’s research on these projects was presented as part of her habilitation the 10th of December 2008 at the Université de Paris IV, under the direction of Philippe Steiner.

In the coming years, Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier will broaden her research by analyzing governance of consumer behavior. By studying specific cases of sustainable consumption promotion and of the fight against obesity, she will attempt to expose the mechanisms used by public, private, and non-profit players to influence individual consumer behavior in order to mitigate their collective impact. This work will be financed by the Govern, Administrate program of the ANR (French National Research Agency) and will be carried out in partnership with researchers of the CSO Health Research Axis, the CERTOP, and the ALISS laboratory of the INRA.





Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier teaches Sociology of Markets as part of the Master’s in Sociologie de l’action organisée (Sociology of organized action) at Sciences Po.





Professional Activities
Appointed member of section N°6 of the Commission nationale des enseignants-chercheurs relevant du Ministère Chargé de l’Agriculture (CNECA – National Committee of Research Professors Reporting to the Ministry Responsible for Agriculture), which evaluates research professors of higher education establishments who depend on this ministry.
Appointed member of the Commission scientifique spécialisée (CSS) sciences économiques, sociales et de gestion (Specialized Scientific Committee (CSS) Economic, Social, and Management Sciences) of the INRA, which evaluates researchers of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).

Editorial Activities
Member of the editorial board of the Revue Française de Sociologie.







Doctorate in socio-economics from the Ecole des Mines in Paris, Sociology of Innovation Center. Under the direction of Michel Callon (1996).

DEA in Industrial Economics, Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble (1992).

Bachelor’s Degree from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Grenoble (1991).




"From consumerism to the empowerment of consumers: the case of consumer-oriented movements in France", Sustainability, 2010.

"La consommation comme pratique sociale", PUF, December, 2009.

Cible ou ressource. Les ambiguïtés de la mobilisation des consommateurs dans la contestation contre l'ordre marchand
"Cible ou ressource. Les ambiguïtés de la mobilisation des consommateurs dans la contestation contre l'ordre marchand", Sociologie et Sociétés. Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, October 2009.


Le souci de l'environnement devient peu à peu la norme, Sciences et Avenir, October 2009.

"Comment choisissent les consommateurs", Sciences Humaines, September 2009.

La consommation engagée
La consommation engagée, Collection Contester - Les presses de SciencesPo, 2009.


"Pour un nouveau modèle de consommation", L'Economie politique, collection Alternatives Economiques, December 2008, Numéro Spécial.

"Consumer involvement in fair trade and local food systems : delegation and empowerment regimes", GeoJournal, July 2008.

From Consumerism to the empowerment of consumers. The Case of Ethic Food Movements in France, October 2007.

"Protester contre le marché : du geste individuel à l'action collective. Le cas du mouvement anti-publicitaire", Revue Française de Science Politique, April 2007.

"Organisation de producteurs : stratégies commerciales et valorisation de la qualité", Economie rurale, March 2007.

Les arbitrages des consommateurs en supermarché, January 2007.

Relations au marché et nouvelles formes d'associations entre producteurs et consommateurs, January 2007.

Les nouvelles formes d'engagements politiques des consommateurs, January 2007.

"The Shop as Market Space : The Commercial Qualities of Retail Architecture", Routledge, 2007.

"Un altro modo di fare la spesa", Edizioni Franco Angeli, December, 2006.

Local Food Systems and New Forms of Consumers Involvement in Sustainable Development in France, June 2006.

Pluralités des formes d'engagement des consommateurs sur les marchés : le cas des produits issus du commerce équitable, February 2006.

"Re-territorialisation des enjeux de production et élargissement des espaces d'échanges. Le cas d'une activité mytilicole", INRA Editions, 2005.

Le prix des fruits et légumes frais. Qu'en pensent les consommateurs ? Quelle place au moment de l'achat ?, 2005.

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