Regions and firms in eWork Relocation Dynamics: Pittsburgh&apos;s call centre industry

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Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Volume 1, Issue 2

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Regions and firms in eWork Relocation Dynamics: Pittsburgh's call centre industry

research-article

Author(s): Chris Benner

Publication date (Print): Summer 2007

Journal: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

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Abstract

This paper attempts to contribute to our theoretical understanding of the relationship between regions and the location dynamics of telemediated employment through an analysis of the regional dynamics shaping the call centre industry in Pittsburgh, which has grown significantly despite the increased possibilities for offshoring. Focussing on fundamental dimensions of the call centre labour process, it suggests that there are particular features of the Pittsburgh region that are not only important components of firms’ decisions to locate call centre work there but also influence their processes for doing so. These features are rooted in the industrial history, socio-demographic dynamics and cultural factors in the region that increase the level of ‘stickiness’, or propensity of enterprises to stay in the area.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): workorgalaboglob

Title: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 1745641X

ISSN (Electronic): 17456428

Publication date (Print): Summer 2007

Volume: 1

Issue: 2

Pages: 98-115

Article

Publisher ID: workorgalaboglob.1.2.0098

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.1.2.0098

SO-VID: f0bfbfbe-7187-43fd-b6ce-8251d42a7b5c

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

ScienceOpen disciplines: Sociology,Labor law,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics

References

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Arthur, M., D, Hall & B. Lawrence (1989) The Handbook of Career Theory Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press
Atkinson, R. (2004) Understanding the Offshoring Challenge , Washington, DC: Progressive Policy Institute
Attewel, P. (1987) ‘The Deskilling Controversy’, Work and Occupations 14:323–346.
Bardhan, A. & C. Kroll (2003) The New Wave of Outsourcing , p. 12. Berkeley: Fisher Centre for Real Estate & Urban Economics, University of California, Berkeley
Benner, C. (2002) Work in the New Economy: Flexible Labor Markets in Silicon Valley . Oxford: Blackwell Press
Blair, J. (2002) ‘Echostar Communications Picks Up where US Steel Left Off’, Tribune-Review , Pittsburgh
Blinder, A. (2006) ‘Offshoring: The Next Industrial Revolution?’ Foreign Affairs 85:113–128.
Braverman, H. (1975) Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century . New York: Monthly Review Press
Bridges, W. (1994) JobShift: How to Prosper in a Workplace Without Jobs , Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Brookings Institution (2003) Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania , Washington DC: The Brookings Institution
Callaghan, G. & P. Thompson (2001) ‘Edwards Revisited: Technical Control and Call Centres’, Economic and Industrial Democracy 22:13–37
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society , Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers
Datamonitor (2003) United States Call Centres: Industry Profile , New York: Datamonitor
Detrick, S. (1999) ‘The post industrial revitalization of Pittsburgh: myths and evidence’, Community Development Journal 34:4–12
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GAO (2004) International Trade: Current Government Data Provide Limited Insight into Offshoring of Services , Washington, DC: General Accounting Office
Gereffi, G., J. Humphrey & T. Sturgeon (2005) ‘The governance of global value chains’, Review of International Political Economy , 12:78–104
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Green, N. (2002) ‘On the Move: Technology, Mobility, and the Mediation of Social Time and Space’, The Information Society , 18:281–292
Grougiou, V. & A. Wilson (2003) ‘Financial service call centres: problems encountered in the grey market’, Journal of FInancial Services Marketing 7:360–368
Hansen, S., C. Ban & L, Huggins (2003) ‘Explaining the “Brain Drain” from Older Industrial Regions: The Pittsburgh Region’, Economic Development Quarterly , 17:132–147
Hecker, D. E. (2005) ‘High-technology employment: A NAICS-based update’, Monthly Labor Review 128:57–72
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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Arthur, M. & D. Rousseau (1996) The Boundaryless Career: A New Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era , New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press

[2] Arthur, M., D, Hall & B. Lawrence (1989) The Handbook of Career Theory Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press

[3] Atkinson, R. (2004) Understanding the Offshoring Challenge , Washington, DC: Progressive Policy Institute

[4] Attewel, P. (1987) ‘The Deskilling Controversy’, Work and Occupations 14:323–346.

[5] Bardhan, A. & C. Kroll (2003) The New Wave of Outsourcing , p. 12. Berkeley: Fisher Centre for Real Estate & Urban Economics, University of California, Berkeley

[6] Benner, C. (2002) Work in the New Economy: Flexible Labor Markets in Silicon Valley . Oxford: Blackwell Press

[7] Blair, J. (2002) ‘Echostar Communications Picks Up where US Steel Left Off’, Tribune-Review , Pittsburgh

[8] Blinder, A. (2006) ‘Offshoring: The Next Industrial Revolution?’ Foreign Affairs 85:113–128.

[9] Braverman, H. (1975) Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century . New York: Monthly Review Press

[10] Bridges, W. (1994) JobShift: How to Prosper in a Workplace Without Jobs , Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley

[11] Brookings Institution (2003) Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania , Washington DC: The Brookings Institution

[12] Callaghan, G. & P. Thompson (2001) ‘Edwards Revisited: Technical Control and Call Centres’, Economic and Industrial Democracy 22:13–37

[13] Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society , Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers

[14] Datamonitor (2003) United States Call Centres: Industry Profile , New York: Datamonitor

[15] Detrick, S. (1999) ‘The post industrial revitalization of Pittsburgh: myths and evidence’, Community Development Journal 34:4–12

[16] English-Lueck, J. (2002) Cultures@Silicon Valley , Palo Alto: Stanford University Press

[17] Farber, H. (1996) ‘Are Lifetime Jobs Disappearing? Job Duration in the United States: 1973–1993.’ in J. Haltiwanger, M. Manser & R. Topel (eds) Labor Statistics Measurement Issues , edited by Chicago: University of Chicago Press

[18] GAO (2004) International Trade: Current Government Data Provide Limited Insight into Offshoring of Services , Washington, DC: General Accounting Office

[19] Gereffi, G., J. Humphrey & T. Sturgeon (2005) ‘The governance of global value chains’, Review of International Political Economy , 12:78–104

[20] Graham, S. (2000) ‘Constructructing Premium Networked Spaces: Reflections on Infrastructure Networks and Contemporary Urban Development’, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research , 24:183–2000

[21] Graham, S., & S. Marvin (2001) Splintering Urbanism: Networked Infrastructures, Technological Mobilities and the Urban Condition , London: Routledge

[22] Green, N. (2002) ‘On the Move: Technology, Mobility, and the Mediation of Social Time and Space’, The Information Society , 18:281–292

[23] Grougiou, V. & A. Wilson (2003) ‘Financial service call centres: problems encountered in the grey market’, Journal of FInancial Services Marketing 7:360–368

[24] Hansen, S., C. Ban & L, Huggins (2003) ‘Explaining the “Brain Drain” from Older Industrial Regions: The Pittsburgh Region’, Economic Development Quarterly , 17:132–147

[25] Hecker, D. E. (2005) ‘High-technology employment: A NAICS-based update’, Monthly Labor Review 128:57–72

[26] Huws (2003) When Work Takes Flight: Research Results from the EMERGENCE Project , IES Report 397, Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies

[27] Lash, S. & J. Urry (1994) Economies of Signs and Space , London: Sage

[28] Laudon, K. & K. Marr (2003) ‘Information Technology and Occupational Structure’ Proceedings of the Association for Information Systems, Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved May 30, 2007 from https://archive.nyu.edu/handle/2451/14212

[29] LeFebvre, H. (1991) The Production of Space , Oxford: Blackwell

[30] Lindeman, T. (2002) ‘Kaufmann Workers Offered Jobs: Credit Card Company Intends to Hire 500.’ p. A-1 in Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh

[31] Lindeman, T. (2003) ‘Card manager to add 200 Downtown Jobs’, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh

[32] Lorant, S. (1999) Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City , Pittsburgh: Esselmont Books

[33] Maskell, P., H. Eskelinen, I. Hannibalsson, A. Malmberg & E. Vatne (1998) Competitiveness, Localised Learning and Regional Development: Specialisation and Prosperity in Small Open Economies , New York, London: Routledge

[34] Massey, D. B. (1995) Spatial Divisions of Labor: Social Structures and The Geography of Production , New York: Routledge

[35] McCarthy, J. (2004) 'Near-Term Growth of Offshore Accelerating , Cambridge, MA: Forrester Research

[36] McKinsey Global Institute (2005) The Emerging Global Labor Market , Washington DC: McKinsey Global Institute

[37] Muller, E. K. (2001) ‘Industrial suburbs and the growth of metropolitan Pittsburgh, 1870–1920.’ Journal of Historical Geography 27:58–73

[38] NASSCOM (2006) Indian ITES-BPO Industry: NASSCOM Analysis , New Delhi: National Association of Software and Service Companies

[39] National Research Council (2001) Building a Workforce for the Information Economy , Washington, DC: National Academy Press

[40] Nonaka, I. & H. Takeuchi. (1995) The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation , New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press

[41] Osterman, P., T. A. Kochan, R. M. Locke & M. J. Piore (2001) Working in America: A Blueprint for the New Labor Market , Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

[42] Peiperl, M. A., M. B. Arthur, R. Goffee & T. Morris (2000) Career Frontiers: New Conceptions of Working Lives , Oxford: Oxford University Press

[43] Richardson, R. & A. Gillespie (2003) ‘The Call of the Wild: Call Centres and Economic Development in Rural Areas’, Growth and Change 34:87–108

[44] Shapiro, C. & H. R. Varian (1998) Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy , Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press

[45] Smith, V. (2001) Crossing the Great Divide: Worker Risk and Opportunity in the New Economy , Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press

[46] Stone, K. V. W. (2004) From Widgits to Digits: Employment Regulation for the Changing Workplace , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

[47] Storper, M. (1997) The Regional World: Territorial Development in a Global Economy , New York: Guilford Press

[48] Sturgeon, T. (1999) ‘Turn-key Production Networks: Industry Organization, Economic Development, and the Globalization of Electronics Contaract Manufacturing.’ in Geography Department . Berkeley: University of California.

[49] Sturgeon, T. (2002) ‘Modular Production Networks: A New American Model of Industrial Organization’, Industrial and Corporate Change 11:451–496

[50] Zuboff, S. (1988) In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power , New York: Basic Books