The cheap back office becomes a transformation driver: managing ambidexterity in shared services

Purpose – Shared Service Organizations (SSOs) have traditionally focused on executing repetitive, routine tasks efficiently as service providers for their internal customers. However, as robotic process automation (RPA) adoption increases, SSOs are shifting towards more complex, innovative, and transformational tasks as automation replaces traditional activities. This paper examines how SSOs navigate this service transformation by simultaneously managing routine and non-routine tasks. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a qualitative research design, drawing on 38 interviews conducted in seven SSOs in the Czech Republic, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines. Extending the concept of service transformation through an ambidexterity perspective, we analyze how SSOs balance exploitative and exploratory tasks as they transform their business models. Findings – The study identifies two distinct modes of organizing explorative and exploitative tasks, each with specific implications for talent management. Task-relatedness to legacy work conditions is identified as a key antecedent of ambidexterity. The increasing complexity of work in SSOs leads to professionalization, making SSOs more similar to professional service firms (PSFs). Originality/value – This paper contributes to research on SSOs by providing a novel perspective on their service transformation through automation and innovation. It highlights how SSOs manage the coexistence of routine and non-routine tasks in different ways, offering insights into talent management in shared services. Therefore, it extends research into service transformation by providing a more granular concept of how such transformation can be implemented.