Attractiveness Platforms: A New Framework for Territorial HRM and Place-Based Social Innovation

Territorial Attractiveness Platforms (PATs) are Territorial Human Resource Management mechanisms that coordinate the promotion of local employment opportunities alongside the quality of life within the territory, offering comprehensive support (employment, housing, healthcare, education, culture) to individuals seeking to relocate to the region. Our research focuses on two initial case studies in the Occitanie region: in Comminges and in Gers. It highlights several shared characteristics of these emerging mechanisms. Operated by translators (Akrich, Callon, & Latour, 2006) and third-party facilitators or terceïsators (Xhauflair & Pichault, 2012, 2010), and structured around forms of ecosystemic governance (Condemines et al., 2015), PATs contribute to the emergence of territorial employer brands (Loufrani-Fédida & Saint-Germes, 2020; Evon & Hulin, 2020). By fostering collective learning around employerability (Faure, Urasadettan & Cucchi, 2025), while simultaneously valorizing territorial amenities (Bourdeau-Lepage, 2021, 2015), PATs can be understood as mechanisms of territorial social innovation.