Are All Call Centres The Same?

Abstract

Worldwide employment in call centres has grown rapidly, while the study of these organisations has been subject to three different theoretical treatments. This paper provides an assessment of Foucaldian, labour process, and neo-Weber ian approaches to call centre employment through a comparative case study analysis. A detailed examination of four Australian call centres suggests a convergence of conditions not only around common technologies but also with respect to shared cultural artifacts. Where differentiation is found it is related to the history or lack thereof (that is, brownfield versus greenfield site location) of the operation as opposed to employer choice of instrumental or high commitment employment systems.