New organisational forms of services and their role in the economic development of Poznań: The case of common services centres

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the activity of Shared Service Centers located in Poznan and their role in the economic development of the city. This article is based on surveys conducted in 2011, in ten centers in Poznań, which concerned, among other things: themes of location, type of services provided, scope of impact. Creating a shared services centers on the one hand brings savings to the corporation (which is the main purpose of their creation), but also is a benefit for the country and the region in which they are located. Their impact on the economic development of the region or city in which they are located can be analyzed in the following aspects: (1) creating new jobs, (2) increase the level of human capital, (3) increase the level of innovation. During the global economic crisis and the continuous growth of unemployment especially among young people, a very important issue is to increase employment opportunities for well-educated young educated people. Most of the employment of service centers is at a high level, so their demand for workers is not without significance in the local labor market. Another aspect, also related to the labor market is the impact of service centers on the formation of human capital at the local level. The increase in demand for specialists in the field (eg. IT or finance, as is the case in Poznan) becomes a stimulus to the development of this sphere of education. So, beyond the influence on employment, further contributing to raising the level of education, increase competence among persons of labor force. Service centers are also an important element of the transfer of new technologies, helping to raise the level of innovation in the region.