Article published in English

Article : From General Electric to Bull: a case of managerial knowledge transfer (1956-1970)

Pierre MOUNIER-KUHN

Chargé de recherche - Centre Roland Mousnier - CNRS-Université Paris IV

Abstract

General Electric, the very model of an integrated, multidivisional conglomerate with an advanced management system, ventured into the computer business in the late 1950s. In 1964, it took over the French company Bull, a leading European manufacturer of information-processing machines. Bull had a dynamic educational policy, with an internal school to train its technical and commercial manpower as well as its clients. Its integration into the American multinational resulted in a wave of changes, as General Electric not only introduced novel information technologies, but also spread its highly formalized managerial procedures throughout its European subsidiaries. In turn, Bull contributed by transferring these techniques and bodies of knowledge to other organizations.