Title: A French revolution: technology management in the aerospace industry. The case of Toulouse

Authors: Christian Longhi

Addresses: Lem-Idefi, CNRS, 250, Rue A. Einstein, Sophia-Antipolis 06560 Cedex Valbonne, France

Abstract: The recent evolutions implemented in the French aerospace industry have been labelled as a French Revolution in the paper. They illustrate the shift from a national–regional logic towards a global–local one as nexus of economic and technological development. The case of Toulouse, in the south west of France, which can be considered today as the European capital of the civil aerospace industry, will allow to grasp the different dimensions involved in this process: technology management, organisation, territories. In Toulouse, the transition from a regional system of production to a local system of innovation exemplifies the dynamics raised by the globalisation of the contemporaneous economies.

Keywords: globalisation; aeronautics; space; high tech cluster; local innovation; Toulouse; Airbus; aerospace industry; civil aviation; technology management; regional production; France; high-tech industries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2005.005996

International Journal of Technology Management, 2005 Vol.29 No.3/4, pp.194 - 215

Published online: 19 Jan 2005 *

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