Shared Services Centres: A Case Study on a Dispersed Services Oriented Organization

The provision of shared IT services is a process-focused intra-organisational arrangement that serves clients within the larger parent organization, achieving economies of scale through the creation of specialized knowledge centres. Although there is considerable research on shared services with regard to its conceptual underpinnings, implementation strategies and rationales, research is limited on the actual operation and challenges of the model. Given the importance of a services mindset to modern economies, an in-depth investigation of an IT services organisation is timely and will provide useful insights. This paper reports on a particular instance of a shared services centre using the concept of “service competency” developed in the paper. The paper also draws out the commonalities and differences between the provision of shared services and common outsourcing models. The findings demonstrate the complexities of attempting to provide a service orientation where organisational and operational issues obstruct and conflict with these efforts.