Organizational Culture at Offshore Service Centres of Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

In the past few decades, service offshoring industry has been developing globally, and in the past few years its dynamic growth has been observed in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Intensive process migrations have been influenced by the primary goal of minimizing operational expenses, at the same time improving service efficiency and gaining access to wide talent pools. The chapter summarizes current state and key development trends of the offshore service delivery sector in the CEE region. Moreover, it aims at contributing to the understanding of corporate culture at the CEE service delivery organizations, which has been the dominant factor influencing their effectiveness and quality of delivery. The exploratory, pilot study conducted at the sample of three organizations from three countries in the region was supposed to examine the organizational culture at CEE nearshore delivery centres, by applying analysis based on seven factors, broken into 26 cultural artefacts. With minor exceptions, the results highlight positive perception of key organizational culture's elements across employees (e.g. communication, goal setting, team work, reward orientation, innovativeness standards). The only negatively assessed element is the performance standards, including their clear definition, coaching for personal improvement of employees and emphasizing good performance of the organizations. The quantitative study is limited to only three sample companies from three countries, therefore extending the research scope is recommended, as well as exploring the link of national culture elements to the employees' perception of organizational relations and culture.

Citation

Kedziora, D. (2020), "Organizational Culture at Offshore Service Centres of Central and Eastern Europe", Warter, I. and Warter, L. (Ed.) Understanding National Culture and Ethics in Organizations, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 163-180. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83867-022-120201014