He conducts and publishes research in the areas of social psychology, consumer behaviour, survey and forecast methods, lexical analysis, cognition and design.
His book Penser Manger[15] published by PUF received the prix Trémolières decerned by Institut Benjamin Delessert.
When he joined EDF R&D in 1993, he conducted organizational studies, developed video observation techniques, especially the "subcam", a wearable miniature video-camera included in glasses, providing a detailed first-person recording of the subject's activity[22][23] and design approaches.
[24] He is deeply concerned by the cognitive effects of digitalization : cognitive overload syndrom,[25] privacy issues[26] and transferring human experience[27] He has been involved in two main projects concerning sustainability issues : Barenergy,[28] a European project which try to understand the "Barriers for energy changes" and another on Energy use and the built environment which lead to the publication of a collective book, System Innovation for Sustainability 4.
Lahlou's work defines "installations" as the familiar, socially constructed, apparatuses which elicit, enable, scaffold and control - and make predictable - most of our 'normal' behaviour.
Installation Theory is designed to inform intervention on social systems for behavioural change and business model betterment.”[31] Books and special issues by Saadi Lahlou