Factors influencing the shaping of shared services business models: Balancing customization and standardization

Shared services are often viewed as a single type of business model but in reality, shared services can be organized in different ways. The goal of this research is to understand the factors influencing the shaping of shared services business models.

Inductive case oriented research is conducted by investigating three different types of shared services arrangements using Al-Debei and Avison's unified framework for business models.

A total of 12 different factors were identified that influence the shape of shared services business models including the path dependency, legal/regulatory driver, customer orientation, target segment, strategic importance, ICT/business orientation, IT governance structure, change strategy, degree of outsourcing, integration potential, economic rationale and the business value.

The level of customization and standardization can influence the potential benefits that can be gained from bundling services and it is important to understand the factors that influence this dimension.

The appropriate configuration of these factors can be helpful to design shared services arrangements with a balanced degree of standardization and customization. The choices regarding the configuration of these factors could result in a more or less effective functioning business model and could influence the governance processes and mechanisms that need to be put in place.

There is no prior research that addresses the shared services business model from a holistic perspective and this research provides a first conceptual model for shared services business models.