CEPEL

Tiffany MATIAS

Career History

  • Since 2024: Research Engineer for the Key Initiative on Public Policies for Transition (KIPPT)
  • 2023–2024: Temporary Teaching and Research Assistant, University of Montpellier
  • 2018–2023: PhD Political Science, University of Montpellier
  • 2017–2018: Digital Transformation Project Manager, SNCF Mobilités.
  • 2015–2017: Master’s in Research and Consulting, University of Montpellier (summa cum laude).
  • 2014–2015: Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, University of Montpellier (with honors).
  • 2012–2013: Bachelor’s degree in Digital Communication, Communications Specialist (work-study program).
  • 2011–2013: BTS in Communication; Communications Specialist (work-study program).

Research Topics

The New Spirit of the SNCF: Digital Transformation as a Way to Move Beyond the Railway Company’s Neo-Managerial Turn

Summary:

This dissertation examines the significance of digital transformation within the SNCF and its connection to previous neo-managerial reform initiatives. It is structured in three parts, aiming to understand the project centered on the concept of digital transformation, to conduct a sociological analysis of the actors driving it, and to identify the strategies and mechanisms these actors use to impose their agenda within the organization. Regarding the project, the findings highlight that behind the concept of digital transformation, the “modernization” project consists of spreading a new mindset, which takes the giants of the digital economy as its model. Consequently, the project goes beyond the SNCF’s neo-managerial shift, fostering a trend toward neo-commodification and neo-rationalization, and is part of the broader trend of post-New Public Management. Regarding the actors involved, the findings reveal that this project is driven by employees who feel disconnected from the organization’s history and future and who support the SNCF’s new financial performance objectives. They thus contribute even more to positioning digitalization as a driver of reform. However, these actors are caught up in labor and organizational struggles, which limits their capacity for action. To compensate for this, they seek to enlist all employees of the organization in their project, making extensive use of mechanisms designed to spread this new mindset throughout the organization.

Organizational Sociology – New Public Management – SNCF