Global Shared Service Trends in the Central and Eastern European Markets

Objective: To disclose what kind of trends are present in the global business service markets and which appear in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) business market. Research Design & Methods: The research is based on both a literature review and empirical studies. The first part of the empirical research consisted of a series of interviews with qualitative data, the second part was a questionnaire study with mostly quantitative data. The interview research results are based on 12 interviews. The interviewees were business consultants, HR agency leaders, representatives of governmental agencies, professional non-profit organizations, and an academic researcher. questionnaire study is based on the respondents of 51 shared service centers in Hungary. Findings: The development of the shared service sector plays an increasingly important role in the growth of the national economies in CEE region. In the CEE region the salary level, geographical proximity, cultural homogeneity and the development of infrastructure attract investor companies. Shared service centers (SSCs) provide a range of business services - most notably in the areas of finance, accounting, procurement, logistics, information technology and human resources mostly regionally and sometimes globally. Implications & Recommendations: The identified trends are limited to the shared service organizations (SSO) operating in the private sector in the CEE business service market. Contribution & Value Added: The research determines the most important business service trends that emerged in shared service organizations in the CEE region.