The Shared Service Centre (SSC) - A New Business Concept

The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  657 THE SHARED SERVICE CENTRE (SSC) – A NEW BUSINESS CONCEPT Tímea Lázá Uni e si y o Deb ecen Facul y o Economics and Business, Deb ecen, Hunga y laza . [email protected] Abs ac : In his pape I am going o w i e abou sha ed se ice cen es. I is a big challenge o all ypes o companies anywhe e in he wo ld o “su i e” in ou globalized and accele a ed wo ld. Thei p ima y objec i e is o s ay compe i i e, keep o e en enla ge hei ma ke sha e while keeping hei cos s a minimum le el. Nowadays hey can only be compe i i e i hey “ ein en ” hemsel es: use new o ms o business, o m alliances o cu cos s and enla ge hei cus ome base. In ou wo ld e e y hing changes so as ha o companies i is eally essen ial o be lexible and adap o new challenges. I has also become ypical ha hese co po a ions c oss bo de s and ope a e on a mul ina ional le el. In o de o do ha success ully hey need lexible wo k o ce: people who ha e in e cul u al compe ences and can help hei co po a ions achie e hei aim o p o i maximizing. In he la e 1990s a new o ganiza ional change app oach appea ed he sha ed se ice concep . Since ha i has become popula in many pa s o he wo ld as i has a numbe o ad an ages: cos educ ion, deploying new echnology and a cus ome - o ien ed way o conduc ing business. Many esea che s ag ee ha he pe o mance o companies can imp o e using he sha ed se ice o ma because hey can concen a e on hei co e business wi hin he company. A sha ed se ice cen e can pe o m a ious unc ions in he company: inance, human esou ces (HR), legal, and in o ma ion echnology (IT), communica ions and public ela ions. This business model also has some d awbacks: he e can be high ansi ion cos s when es ablishing a sha ed se ice cen e and some imes i is di icul o de e mine he accoun abili ies and he p io i ies wi hin he sha ed se ice cen es. Sha ed se ice cen es need well- educa ed and well- mo i a ed global wo k o ce and i is a eal challenge o ind hese people and keep hem in he long un. I is ue ha echnological ad ances a e e y impo an bu so a e he people. Keywo ds: sha ed se ice cen e; o ganiza ional change; s a egic alliances; ou sou cing; in e cul u al compe ences. JEL classi ica ion: L22; M12; M14. 1. The De ini ion o he “sha ed se ice” model The model was launched in he USA a he beginning o he 80’s when he NASA c ea ed simila cen alised o ganiza ions. La e p i a e i ms ook o e he model expec ing ha unc ions will be cheape bu his was no always necessa ily he case. They ealized ha : “…wi hin he company he p o i -making is no he i s goal o sha ed se ice cen es on he con a y wi h ou sou cing p o ide s and in some mul ina ional companies he le el o se e al in e nal se ices a e wo ld-class and ha e he olume enough as well.” (Ma ciniák, 2013: 218) In he case o a sha ed se ice cen e he pe o mance managemen is a key issue. Pe o mance measu emen has o p o e ha cos -sa ing and e iciency a e achie ed and hey need con inuous jus i ica ion o he exis ence. “I is e y ha d o The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  658 be objec i e a measu ing when a se ice cen e pe o ms well, bu he aim is clea , do se ices quicke , be e and mo e e ec i e. I is a ha de ques ion how o plan, measu e, epo and communica e hem.” (Ma ciniák, 2013: 219) “Mo e han 75% o Fo une 500 companies ha e es ablished models o sha ed se ices wi h he aim o gaining supe io pe o mance by cos sa ings and se ice enhancemen s.” (Rich e and B ühl, 2017: 1) In 1999 L. I. Fo s w o e in an a icle abou he sha ed- in e nal se ices app oach. In his a icle he w o e: “The basis o sha ed in e nal se ices (SIS) is ha common business p ac ices can be success ully applied by a s a uni - which is en i ely ocused on deli e ing needed se ices a he highes alue and a he lowes cos o in e nal cus ome s. This c ea es accoun abili y wi hin he company, which is mo e e ec i e han ha ing mul iple poin s o esponsibili y and a ied managemen p ac ices.” (Fo s , 1999: 58) Schulman e al. (1999: 9) came up wi h ano he de ini ion o sha ed se ices as: “bundling o suppo ing p ocesses and non-s a egic ac i i ies” in o an independen o ganisa ion which hen uns hese ac i i ies as i s co e business. In 2001 Goold, Pe i e and Young w o e an a icle abou he co po a e cen e ans o ma ion. They w o e abou sha ed se ices ha : “Sha ed se ices a e ac i i ies ca ied ou cen ally on behal o he di isions o business uni s o a company. The se ices may be s anda d, p ocess-d i en ansac ional ac i i ies, such as pay oll o paymen s p ocessing, o hey may be mo e complex, p o essionally- d i en expe se ices, such as applica ions so wa e de elopmen o business in elligence. The di isions o businesses, which would ha e o ca y ou o buy in he se ices hemsel es i hey we e no p o ided by he cen e, no mally ha e some con ol o e he wo k done.” (Goold, Pe i e and Young, 2001: 88) Abou he managemen hey w o e ha independen uni s p o ide he sha ed se ices, independen ly om o he unc ional o depa men al ac i i ies, and o en un by a gene al manage . “The s ong de ini ion implies some hing e y di e en om a adi ional co po a e cen e se ice unc ion, wi h a much mo e dedica ed, cus ome - esponsi e and pe o mance-d i en app oach.” (Goold, Pe i e and Young, 2001: 88) Be ge on (2002: 1) w o e in his book ha : “In he cu en global economic en i onmen , which is cha ac e ized by downsizing, me ge s, acquisi ions, and unce ain y, manage s a e g asping o ways o simul aneously imp o e he bo om line while inc easing compe i i eness.” He also w o e ha he mos ou s anding al e na i e model is he sha ed se ices model, which is a “hyb idiza ion” o he adi ional business models. Acco ding o his de ini ion: “Sha ed se ice is a collabo a i e s a egy in which a subse o exis ing business unc ions a e concen a ed in o a new, semi- au onomous business uni ha has a managemen s uc u e designed o p omo e e iciency, alue gene a ion, cos sa ings, and imp o ed se ice o he in e nal cus ome s o he pa en co po a ion, like a business compe ing in he open ma ke .” (Be ge on, 2002: 3) The main aim o his model is o op imize esou ces: people, ime and capi al wi hin he o ganiza ion. A new business uni is c ea ed by he pa en co po a ion o p o ide a ious ypes o se ices, which can include back o ice wo k and o he business ac i i ies. This is ad an ageous o he pa en o ganiza ion because o i s loca ion and expe ise. This new business uni is semi- au onomous, which means ha i is linked o he pa en o ganiza ion. Howe e , he execu i es o hese uni s ha e a ce ain deg ee o independence in decision making, o example in hi ing. As o he The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  659 ma ke s uc u e o he sha ed se ice business uni s we can say ha hey compe e in he open ma ke simila ly o mos o he companies. Go edson e al. (2005: 132) w o e in hei a icle ha as globaliza ion changes he basis o compe i ion, sou cing is becoming a s a egic oppo uni y, c i ical unc ions like enginee ing, manu ac u ing, and ma ke ing a e mo ed ou side. The sha ed se ice model always ope a es wi hin a Sha ed Se ice Cen e (SSC). M. Janssen in 2005 w o e abou he main unc ion o SSC: “By unbundling and cen alizing ac i i ies, he basic p emise o a SSC seems o be ha se ices p o ided by one local depa men can be p o ided o o he s wi h ela i ely ew e o s. Wi h cen aliza ion and decen aliza ion espec i ely we deno e he (de)cen aliza ion o he b oad spec um o in o ma ion sys ems esou ces including human esou ces, compu ing ha dwa e, applica ions, s o age and ne wo k se ices, web hos ing, applica ion hos ing and in o ma ion esou ces.” (Janssen, 2005: 247) Janssen and Joha (2006: 104) w o e in hei a icle ha : “The popula i y o SSCs seems o o igina e om a combina ion o ad an ages, including e iciency gains and an inc ease in se ice le els wi hou gi ing up he con ol o he o ganiza ional and echnical a angemen s and expe ise.” Ulb ich (2006) ga e he ollowing de ini ion o SSCs: “sha ed se ices ga he a selec ion o common and well-de ined se ices o p o ide hese se ices o an o ganiza ion’s uni s, ac ing independen ly. This is somewha simila o ou sou cing, whe e he p o ide o such se ices is con ac ed. Usually, an independen hi d pa y wi hou di ec connec ion o he ou sou cing o ganiza ion akes o e suppo p ocesses. The sha ed se ice al e na i e, howe e , is buil on he idea o aking ad an age o he exis ing knowledge o an o ganiza ion and i s cul u e. The e o e, se ices a e loca ed wi hin he co po a ion, o en in independen business uni .” (Ulb ich, 2006: 197) He also w o e in his a icle ha he concep o igina ed in he USA and sp ead o he o he pa s o he wo ld in some yea s. In 2007 an a icle appea ed abou he go e nance o sha ed se ice o ganiza ions in he public se ice w i en by G. G an , S. McKnigh , A. U u hi apa hy and A. B own. The go e nance s uc u e desc ibes he le els o commi ees, hei oles, accoun abili ies and esponsibili ies. The e a e di e en s uc u es o manage sha ed se ices o ganiza ions. In hei esea ch hey examined models om Canada, Aus alia, he UK, US. In gene al, he go e nance s uc u es we e simila bu hey ound di e ences in he numbe o laye s. They ound wo ecommended s uc u es: a go e ning boa d and a sha ed se ices implemen a ion o ice (G an e al. 2007: 525). On he ope a ional le els, hey w o e abou h ee s uc u es: a Sha ed Se ices Implemen a ion Boa d, a Sha ed Se ices O ganiza ion Go e ning Boa d, and a Sha ed Se ices O ganiza ion Go e ning Boa d. They also s udied he li e a u e abou he go e nance elemen s and conside a ions and hey ound some common poin s in i : he head should be an expe ienced pe son who managed a simila o ganiza ion be o e and he objec i e o his o ganiza ion is o p o ide hei clien s wi h be e se ice (G an e al. 2007: 526). “The main di e ence be ween he p i a e sec o and public sec o implemen a ions o sha ed se ices o ganiza ions is he inclusion o ex e nal o hi d pa y p o ided se ices o achie e cos e iciency.” (G an e al. 2007: 528) When es ablishing he SSC, i is sugges ed o se up he o ice in a new physical loca ion. O he impo an a eas o conside a ion a e language o se ice igh s. As o he o ganiza ional cul u e he au ho s sugges ha : “As he o ganiza ional cul u e The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  660 changes du ing he ma u ing p ocess o he SSO, leade ship s yles o he a ying boa ds may be e isi ed as he ype o leade necessa y o champion change may di e om ha o he s eady s a e o ganiza ion. As such, me hods such as codi ying o a ing boa d membe s o ixed enu e leng hs may be ools ha help in his ega d.” (G an e al. 2007: 531) In he ini ial phase o he es ablishmen hey need o ans e skilled people om he exis ing o ganiza ions. The ansi ion o a ully ope a ing sha ed se ice o ganiza ion can be leng hy. The ime phases ha desc ibe ac i i ies du ing ansi ion o a sha ed se ice o ganiza ion a e lis ed below (G an e al. 2007: 532-533): 6–18 mon hs: SSO c ea ed, S ong emphasis is se on communica ion o clien s. 18–36 mon hs: Reloca ion and sys em changes. Roles and esponsibili ies a e de ined. 36–72 mon hs: In eg a ed isk managemen , au oma ion, SSO is sel - unded. Acco ding o Osh i, Ko la sky and Willcocks (2011: 27) he sha ed se ice cen e is: “An ope a ional app oach o cen alizing adminis a i e and business p ocesses ha we e once ca ied ou in sepa a e di isions o loca ions- o example inance, p ocu emen , human esou ces, and IT.” In 2011 McI o , McC acken and McHugh w o e an a icle abou he ou sou ced sha ed se ices a angemen s in he public sec o . They said ha sha ed se ices cen es can educe cos s h ough p ocess s anda disa ion, and economies o scale. A sha ed se ices cen e can o p o ide be e se ice le els o use s in he o ganisa ion. In hei esea ch hey used a case s udy app oach. On he basis o hei indings hey d aw some impo an lessons o manage s c ea ing ou sou ced sha ed se ices a angemen s (McI o , McC acken and McHugh, 2011: 457-459): employ a s uc u ed p ojec managemen app oach, engage wi h endo s o de elop po en ial sou cing op ions, le e age ex e nal expe ise du ing con ac ing, build ela ionships wi h key in e nal s akeholde s, plan and implemen a p ocess imp o emen s a egy, employ ela ional and o mal con ac ing as complemen s, plan and implemen a change managemen s a egy. “The esea ch indings ha e he highligh ed he impo ance o s ong go e nance o d i e s anda disa ion and pe o mance imp o emen , and ela ionship building bo h in e nally wi h he s a a ec ed by he changes and ex e nally wi h endo s. I is impo an o build ela ionships wi h s a a bo h senio and lowe le els ha a e impac ed by he changes.” (McI o , McC acken and McHugh, 2011: 459) Ro hwell e al. (2011) conduc ed esea ch in o de o examine he sha ed se ice cen es om a p o essional employabili y’s poin o iew. They de ined he SSC (Figu e 1) as ollows: “ he sha ed se ice cen e model (SSC), in which p o essional suppo unc ions such as inance, HR, pu chasing, IT and legal se ices, p e iously loca ed wi hin business uni s o head o ice a e agg ega ed in o a new cen al uni , epo ing ou side o he di isional line hie a chy. This encou ages he SSC o ope a e in quasi-ma ke manne ha is posi ioned as a hyb id go e nance model be ween line managemen con ol and he open ma ke . The p ima y d i e is o educe cos s h ough scale bene i s and wha is called wage/loca ion a bi age. O he mo i a ions migh include se ice imp o emen , access o be e expe ise, economies o scale, and le e aging compe i i e ad an age h ough in o ma ion and communica ions echnology.” (Ro hwell e al. 2011: 241) The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  661 Figu e 1: Mo ing o a sha ed se ice model Sou ce: Ro hwell e al. 2011: 241 In hei s udy hey used he e m “Ma ini wo ke s” o desc ibe he lexible mode o employmen ha a SSC can mean (Figu e 2). They used his ph ase a e he Ma ini ad e ising slogan o he 1970's: ‘any ime, any place, anywhe e’. One o he conclusions o hei esea ch was ha : “ he SSC model can p o ide o economies o scale and scope, oge he wi h a bi age oppo uni ies in espec o labou and in as uc u e cos s, ha is whe e e he physical loca ion o wo k is no c i ical. In p ac ice, his o en means he subs i u ion o ela i ely expensi e wo ke s in de eloped coun ies by lowe waged wo ke s in de eloping coun ies. (…) his geog aphical lexibili y also ees o ganiza ions om he cons ain s o ime zones.” (Ro hwell e al. 2011: 243) Wo ke s employed by a SSC can ha e bo h posi i e and nega i e implica ions. Fo some wo ke s he g ea e choice and eedom is pe cei ed a ou ably, while o he s may pe cei e hem as a g ea e sense o compe i ion o employmen . Fo indi idual p o essionals in de eloped coun ies he sense o secu i y o employmen has become ill- ounded wi h he appea ance o SSCs: “The o -sho ing o a signi ican olume o p o essional wo k could u he educe ca ee oppo uni ies in de eloped coun ies and mean wo ke s aking lowe pay, wo king longe hou s o compe e, o e en ha ing no job a all. P o essional wo ke s may now ha e o compe e indi idually and collec i ely ac oss ime and space o emain employed.” (Ro hwell e al. 2011: 250) The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  662 Some wo ke s may ha e o con inuously enego ia e hei employmen ela ionship om a ze o base, and he abili y o keep he job may become mo e p essing, and he wo ke s in SSCs p esen a se ious h ea o he p o essionals in i s -wo ld coun ies. In hei a icle he au ho s sugges ha : “ he e is a signi ican need o a mo e sophis ica ed concep ion o sus ainable p o essional employmen and p o essional ca ee s o encompass lexible, global 21s cen u y de elopmen s.” (Ro hwell e al. 2011: 251) Figu e 2: The Ma ini wo ke s, dimensions o employmen lexibili y Sou ce: Ro hwell e al. 2011: 243 Leas wise, Bene and Salamon (2016) unde line he impo ance o in es ing in in e nal CSR (Co po a e Social Responsibili y) ac i i ies a e en ion he alen ed, success ul employees. I. P. He be and W. B. Seal in 2012 in an a icle no ed some implica ions abou sha ed se ice o ganiza ions o managemen accoun ing (Figu e 3). “By concen a ing se ice ac i i ies in a specialis business uni loca ed a a ca e ully chosen si e, possibly o sho e, i has been claimed ha he SSO can subs an ially educe he cos o suppo se ice p o ision.” (He be and Seal, 2012: 83) The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  663 Figu e 3: The SSO as a hyb id o ganisa ional o m Sou ce: He be and Seal, 2012: 94 In 2014 Knol, Janssen and Sol in hei esea ch p o ided a sys ema ic o e iew o challenges ha o ganisa ions can encoun e when de eloping sha ed se ices a angemen s. Thei pape p o ides an explana ion o he ou heo e ical pe spec i es including co esponding SSC de elopmen challenges de i ed om he li e a u e e iew and he case s udies. They iden i ied he ollowing SSC challenges om li e a u e: a powe s uggle in acqui ing and main aining esou ces maximise e iciency by minimising ansac ion/p oduc ion cos s, long- e m su i al, and knowledge in eg a ion. They also ga e an o e iew o he ou pe spec i es in o ganisa ional heo y (Knol e al. 2014: 94):  Resou ce dependence: Maximise powe by acqui ing and main aining esou ces;  E iciency: Maximise e iciency in in e nal and ex e nal ansac ions;  Popula ion: Long- e m su i al in o ganisa ional en i onmen ;  Knowledge: Knowledge in eg a ion o he p oduc ion o goods/se ices. “Based on RDT ( esou ce dependency heo y) a s uggle o esou ces and esis ance om indi idual o ganisa ion uni s can be expec ed due o a loss o powe when es ablishing SSCs. Wi h he es ablishmen o a SSC indi idual o ganisa ion uni s ope a ing wi hin he domain a e o ced o sha e esou ces. Consequen ly hey canno acqui e and main ain esou ces indi idually, he eby diminishing hei abili y o maximise hei powe and minimise he powe o o he s. The SSC es ablishmen dis o s he powe maximisa ion e o s o he indi idual o ganisa ion uni s which can be a signi ican cause o esis ance.” (Knol e al. 2014: 95) The au ho s sugges ha e iciency pe spec i e is de i ed om economics and acco dingly he e a e many heo ies and cos ing app oaches ela ed o his pe spec i e. Fi s hey men ion he ansac ion cos heo y o Williamson (1981), which sugges s ha o ganisa ions aim o minimise hei ansac ion cos s as well as The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  664 p oduc ion cos s, which o ms he basis o sou cing decisions. Secondly hey men ion he agency heo y o Eisenha d (1989). They w o e ha agency heo y ocuses on con ac ual a angemen s be ween agen s ( he SSC) and p incipals (indi idual o ganisa ion uni s in he SSC domain). “Based on he e iciency pe spec i e a numbe o SSC de elopmen challenges ela ed o maximising e iciency by minimising ansac ion and p oduc ion cos s can be expec ed.” (Knol e al. 2014: 95) They explained he popula ion pe spec i e as one ha is oo ed in biology and iews o ganisa ions as popula ions aiming o long- e m su i al. The knowledge pe spec i e ela es o knowledge managemen and sha ing o bes and wo s p ac ices in o ganisa ions: “The main ocus o he knowledge-pe spec i e is on he p oduc ion o goods and se ices in o ganisa ions h ough coo dina ion o in eg a ed knowledge. Hence, o ganisa ional success in he knowledge pe spec i e is de ined as op imal coo dina ion o knowledge in eg a ion o he p oduc ion o goods and se ices.” (Knol e al. 2014: 97) 2. The Bene i s o a Sha ed Se ice Model By c ea ing a sha ed se ice cen e companies would like o imp o e e iciency, compe i i eness and cus ome sa is ac ion. A sha ed se ice cen e can elimina e edundan ac i i ies by consolida ing hem in o a sha ed ope a ion. Be ge on (2002: 6-7) w o e ha he model has nume ous bene i s, which a e: educed cos s (meaning cos - e ec i e p oduc s and se ices), imp o ed se ice (meaning be e se ices o in e nal cus ome s), ewe dis ac ions om co e compe ency ac i i ies (meaning ha he pa en company can ocus on i s co e compe encies as he back o ice ac i i ies a e mo ed om i ), a po en ial o c ea ing an ex e nally ocused p o i cen e, inc eased e iciencies: om he pe spec i e o he sha ed business uni , dec eased pe sonnel equi emen s (meaning ha ewe employees a e needed), imp o ed economies o scale (meaning ha he concen a ion o business ac i i ies allows o inc eased economies o scale). Ulb ich (2006: 197-198) collec ed he common goals o sha ed se ices on he basis o he ele an li e a u e: cos educ ion by economies o scale, an accumula ion o in ellec ual and capi al asse s, s anda diza ion p ocess and easie access o cu ing- edge echnologies. In 2010 Maa man, Bonda ouk and Looise conduc ed a esea ch on he capabili ies and alue c ea ion o HRM sha ed se ice models. ”Selec ed HRM ac i i ies a e concen a ed, o bundled, in o a new semi-au onomous business uni ha pe o ms HRM ac i i ies o he business by p o iding se ices ha a e sha ed by a ious o ganisa ional en i ies and ma ched o di e en end use g oups. Common examples o such sha ed se ices a e he use o a call cen e o suppo employees, line manage s and decen alised HRM s a , and a cen e o he p ocessing o HRM- ela ed ansac ions in an in o ma ion sys em.” (Maa man e al. 2010: 327) In hei a icle Maa man e al. 2010: 329) he au ho s dis inguished ou ca ego ies o mo i es o es ablishing an HR SSM: s a egic and o ganisa ional mo i es, echnical mo i es, poli ical mo i es, and economic mo i es. They ga e he de ini ion o HR Sha ed Se ice Model as: “a collec ion o HRM Sha ed Se ices whose cha ac e is ics a e de e mined by he cus ome s, and p o ided wi hin an in a-o ganisa ional HRM a angemen o a speci ic se o end- The Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea. Economic Sciences, Tom XXVI 2017, Issue 1  665 use s by a (semi-) au onomous business uni on he basis o ag eed condi ions.” (Maa man e al. 2010: 337) Ma ciniák (2013: 217) w o e an a icle abou measu ing se ice sa is ac ion in Sha ed Se ice O ganiza ions: “Each o ganiza ion needs a good pe o mance measu emen sys em bu in a sha ed se ice o ganiza ion i is i al issue. This o ganiza ion has o ul il he demand o in e nal cus ome s and some imes ex e nal cus ome s and con ince he execu i es abou he success o exis ence. I i is no success ul and could no compe e in quali y and p ice wi h he ou sou cing se ice p o ide s hen execu i es will look o a be e solu ion.” Companies wan o a ionalize hei ope a ional cos s by mo ing some o hei se ices o e he coun y’s bo de hus c ea ing a sha ed se ice o ganiza ion. O iginally he main aim o such o ganiza ions was cos -cu ing bu now he e a e many o he d i e s (Ma ciniák, 2013: 218): imp o ed se ices and educed cos s; s anda dized se ices and p ocesses; diminished adminis a ion cos s; suppo ing co po a e s a egy; g ouping simila asks and demolishing edundan p ocesses; a ou ing p og ess; acili a ing in oduc ion o new echnologies; imp o ing wo king capi al. The need o p o ide s o de ine equi emen s wi h hei cus ome s c ea ed he Se ice Le el Ag eemen (SLA). This is a w i en ag eemen o bo h ou sou cing and sha ed se ice model and ins umen o coo dina ion and ope a ional con ol be ween he pa ies. I should co e di e en a eas (Ma ciniák, 2013: 220): he clien ’s expec a ion, he supplie ’s supply o deli e y, he quali y s anda d, he clien ’s obliga ions, wha happens in case o ailu es, a desc ip ion o he se ices o be p o ided, skills ha he supplie mus possess, p icing and cha ges o se ices p o ided, me hod, se ice s anda ds, including deadlines, imescales. He w o e ha he had ound ou keys o success ully main aining ue cus ome sa is ac ion o e he cou se o a long- e m Sha ed Se ices con ac (Ma ciniák, 2013: 221):  a Se ice Le el Ag eemen (SLA) is no jus a legal ag eemen o p o ide se ice ha is signed and o go en;  dedica ion o Ma ke ing & Awa eness;  be he e o he Cus ome /Take Owne ship;  commi o he Con inuous Imp o emen Cycle. “The aim o ans e ing suppo ed unc ions o sha ed se ice cen es is he pa en company could ope a e e ec i ely and e icien ly. Bu company could check ul ilmen o his aim only i con inuously moni o s he pe o mance o conce ned p ocesses. E ec i e pe o mance measu emen is based on clien sa is ac ion ha is one o he success ac o s in sha ed se ice cen es.” (Ma ciniák, 2013: 223) In hei esea ch in 2014 Risse and Loi z examined whe he mo ing ax compliance p ocesses om head o ice o a sha ed se ice cen e can elie e he bu den o a ax depa men . In hei a icle hey w o e ha : “The asks and p ocesses pe o med in an SSC can only be a use ul measu e, i he ollowing a e aken as gi en in such an o ganisa ion, o example economies o scale, inc eased se ice s anda disa ion o highly epe i i e p ocesses as a se ice. The alue added o a p ocess is based on cos sa ings, which ha e o be conside ed in he gene al condi ions, such as he a oidance o ax penal ies and in e es on a ea s, he lowes possible ax a e and he g ea es e iciency o he p ocesses. The analysis o o ganisa ional o m mus highligh he cha ac e is ics and include necessa y success ac o s o he indi idual