Customer value has been increasing in importance as a driver of business operations for decades. This thesis seeks to explore whether the approach has made its way also to the operations of a Finnish state majority-owned company entrusted with a special assignment.

Whereas companies are most often governed by competitive markets, special assignment companies are governed by the special assignment, defined by the shareholders, i.e. the Finnish state. Therefore, they can be argued to be governed by a hybrid logic comprised partly of competitive markets, networks and state authority. The case study explores how customer value and its role in CSC’s operations are perceived by the middle-level management of CSC, a state-majority owned special assignment company serving higher education and research institutions as well as various state agencies.

This thesis illustrates the complexity of the environment in which CSC operates. In addition, by exploring both a public administration and a business administration perspective towards value, the thesis adds to the understanding of the nature of customer value as well as its relationship to public value. The thesis also shows that within this context customer value and public value might at times be conflicting.