An Integrative Literature Review And Empirical Validation Of Motives For Introducing Shared Services In Government Organizations

The aim of this research is to gain understanding of the meaning of shared services and possible motives for introducing shared services in government organizations. We review and clarify definitions of shared services and derive a definition applicable for the government context. Based on analysis of the research literature using content-analyses procedures, we present an empirically grounded research framework of motives for introducing shared services. This framework was validated in 16 interviews with shared services experts from New Zealand and Dutch government organizations. Our literature analyses suggest that cost reductions are a major motive for introducing shared services. However, experts are skeptical about government organizations being able to achieve cost reductions from shared services initiatives. This is of concern as achieving back office cost reduction (of which shared service models are an important component) is a major public policy goal in many OECD countries. As organizations realize the difficulties in reducing costs, other motives for using shared services increase in significance. Alternative motives such as improvement of service delivery and consistency, exchange of internal capabilities and better access to external resources.