Competitive dynamics in network industries. "The case of the telecommunications sector in Algeria".

Summary Network industries such as telecommunications and energy have attracted the attention of researchers and practitioners for several decades. The liberalization of these industries, with their specific technical and economic characteristics, has caused a reconfiguration of the competitive landscape, which is now less stable and more uncertain. The question of strategic behaviors is thus posed with acuteness for the actors of the market who find themselves in a fluctuating environment. This thesis addresses this issue in order to understand the competitive interactions between actors in the network industries. The research question guiding this doctoral work can be summarized as follows: "How do competitive dynamics between actors evolve in an uncertain environment? ". Our research work provides elements of an answer to this question by studying the competitive dynamics that are established between actors in the telecommunications industry in Algeria, marked by institutional transitions of liberalization. We adopt a dynamic approach to analyze the actions and reactions between competitors, while taking into consideration the institutional changes they face. This approach shows, on the basis of empirical research results, how actors interact and try to shape their environment through their individual and/or collective strategies. These results make it possible to go beyond the deterministic and statistical vision of competitive interactions conveyed by classical approaches, thus inviting researchers and practitioners to grasp and consider the complexity and diversity of competitive strategies.