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ERIC Number: ED468224
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002
Pages: 128
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-1-85184-315-9
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Jobs on the Move: European Case Studies in Relocating eWork. IES Report.
Flecker, J.; Kirschenhofer, S.
A study analyzed and synthesized results of 62 company case studies in 18 European countries. Focus was "eWork," information-processing work carried out at a distance with extensive use of computer systems and telecommunication links. Each case study was based on several qualitative interviews with company respondents. Case studies covered both internal and outsourced eWork arrangements. Customer service and information technology (IT) were two functions in which eWork was particularly prevalent. Regarding customer service, personnel shortages or a high turnover in call center operators were a major regional push factor and motivation for relocation of customer operations; metropolitan areas had a larger pool of potential operators; rural areas lacked alternative employment opportunities; and technological facilitators that furthered delocalization of eWork were a high degree of digitization of information and electronic access to it and access to information systems and knowledge bases in which all operations and customer calls can be documented. Regarding IT, core motives for relocation were labor-market-induced or -oriented, knowledge-oriented, reduced personnel costs, and centralization to exploit economies of scale. Most relocations created or intensified cooperation over distance that triggered organizational and technological change, leading to higher levels of formalization and digitization of information and communication. An overview of EMERGENCE Relocation cases is appended. (YLB)
Grantham Book Services, Ltd., Isaac Newton Way, Alma Park Industrial Estate, Grantham NG31 9SD, United Kingdom (35 British pounds; pdf download, 10 British pounds). Web site: http://www.employment-studies.co.uk.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: European Commission, Brussels (Belgium).
Authoring Institution: Sussex Univ., Brighton (England). Inst. for Employment Studies.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A