Shared Services Centers as Business Strategy and the Relevance of Intercultural Communication: Definitions and Research Directions from a Systematic Literature Review

The internationalization of business has resulted in the extensive use of Global Shared Services Centers (SSCs) as a strategic organizational structure of multinationals. Centralizing support, SSC aims to increase productivity, reduce costs, and standardize processes in a range of international markets. However, the role of SSCs goes beyond efficiency and effectiveness; it largely relies on their ability to handle intercultural communication given the diversity of their globalized workforce. The main purpose of this study is to analyze how SSCs function as a business model and the ways intercultural communication could be embedded as a core component of their success. To address these objectives, the research adopts a qualitative methodology, based on a systematic literature review (SLR) conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework. A search on the Scopus database for keywords related to SSC identified 329 peer-reviewed publications on the topic. After an initial screening of titles and abstracts, 21 papers and book chapters were included in the final analysis to synthesize existing knowledge, following four main aspects: the definition of SSC, the business strategies and intercultural aspects investigated, and future research considerations. The literature review findings indicate that SSCs offer important advantages, such as reducing costs, streamlining processes, and creating more integrated operations, but their true effectiveness ultimately depends on people. Although intercultural communication is an important aspect of these centers, the current academic content lacks specialized analysis of the topic, with few studies focusing more on the challenges of multicultural teams than on their benefits to companies. Finally, researchers must address the gap in studies that show the long-term success of SSCs depends not only on how well they are structured but also on how organizations recognize and value cultural diversity in daily practice. Hence, future research should apply empirical methods to explore how intercultural communication is managed in practice in SSC environments.