Abstract: This paper analyses a successful cultural change experience within a large organization, Telefonica Group, a firm with a staff of over 148 000 people and whose volume of customers worldwide overcomes one hundred million, which allows it to maintain a clear leadership position in the Spanish-speaking telecommunications sector. Telefonica has passed from an informatic culture to an informational culture and is currently consolidating an E-culture that will enable it to become a true E-company. With the aim of keeping its leadership position, Telefonica designed Programa Lider.es (Leader Program.es), the main objective of which was the evolution of its business model towards E-business, a transformation that would make it possible to take advantage of the possibilities offered by new technologies and the Internet and create value by participating in businesses related to the digital era. The implementation of this program was not easy. This paper analyses the pillars that underpinned the whole process, the organizational support structure that was created with this purpose and the different stages the process went through. Finally, a summary of the positive points detected, the mistakes made and the lessons learnt is provided at the end of the paper.
Keywords: Organizational change, E-culture, telecommunications firms, case study
