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they are information needs or coordination
needs.
Uses and locations depend from the
differentiation of business environments in the
international context. But at the local level, we
observe a different dependency based on a 3 step
technical process “codification-informationcoordination”.
Organization
The organizational dimension of ICT uses was
approached from two directions: one with
respect to information systems (IS) and the other
with respect to their imaginary dynamics.
The IS projects were studied from two
complementary angles, in two distinct research
projects. The research first of all showed that the
social capital of the various actors had an
important impact on the details of how IS
projects are carried out. A second study involved
studying small and mid-sized businesses,
particularly with respect to the Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software packages.
Small businesses have certain unique
characteristics because of their size that
influence the architecture of their IS, compared
to large corporations. A comparative analysis
was made (between large corporations and small
and mid-sized businesses) of the organizational
risks and the expertise of the actors involved.
ICT structures the organization around a technoeconomical
model, but also brings out its
imaginary dimension. It has become an
important place for emotions to be shared:
positive, as in general (lato sensu) projects, or
negative, as with computer addiction. This was
the subject of a special issue of the journal
Gestion 2000, dedicated to ICT and Psyche ([1] de
Swarte). The main idea is that ICT has become an
important avenue for structuring the imaginary
within the organization. According to a welltested
trilogy of The Real-The Symbolic-The
Imaginary, ICT, in addition to its communicative
properties, has a symbolic dimension consisting
of giving meaning to its uses. This theme was
further developed in an article addressing the
virtual-real pairing within the framework of a
multimedia space for young people aged 15-25
([2] de Swarte, in Gestion 2000), as much in its
measurable and observable dimension as in its
interpretation at the symbolic level.
The junction between telecom uses and
organizational theory, naturally complex, allows
the UT project to study smaller companies or
groups, thanks to the ICT "scanner".
Evaluation
We further developed our methodology for the
evaluation of non-use, while at the same time
studying the implication of businesses in the
development of "freeware", independent of the
large computer technology corporations.
Previous work on "fishing and use" of ICT was
published ([8] Boutet, chapter in Benedetto,
Meyer, Chevallet). 2008 was a year of
strengthening our methodology on the question
of non-use, which was the subject of several
conference presentations. Nothing within this
domain is dichotomous, and the most
stimulating research topics can be found in the
heart of the user's habitus: the non-user
constructs his or her practices just as much as
the user constructs, deconstructs, and
reconstructs his or hers. So the observation and
determiners of this habitus count much more
than can be measured, which could imply a
"return" to more qualitative methods in the
future. This method was also applied to the
medico-social sector in the usage of ICT by
handicapped or elderly people. In addition to
adaptations of technical interfaces and adaptive
services, the main sticking point for use remains
the costs of these systems. So the main question
becomes the following: Who is going to be
responsible for financing these new systems, and
under what economic model
([7] Jullien et al., chapitre in L'argent, Université
de Lille) explored the hypothesis that businesses
get involved in freeware development
communities because of their marketing position
and the characteristics of their market. We tried
to propose a typology of business models that
would explain the differences in level of
involvement in freeware development. We carried
out an investigation of businesses in Frenchspeaking
countries (France, Belgium and