The sudden emergence of the client at France Télécom : the aftermath of ideological and technological change

The client has burst into France Télécom and has replaced the subscriber. This cultural revolution is a direct consequence of the liberalisation of the company and its entry into an era dominated by competition. It is also the result of changes on a technical level. It is characterised on the one hand by a technical revolution and on the other by the importation of management techniques from the private sector. Based on two studies about the day-to-day workings of the company in the maintenance department and in the sales offices, Franck Cochoy and Alexandre Mallard emphasise the role of technical change in the ideological transformation at France Télécom. This transformation did not take place smoothly and is at the heart of the debate concerning the future of the company and whether France Télécom wants to restrict itself to the role of being merely a supplier of technologies…