International relocation of service provision is a popular business practice of multinational corporations. We often do not realise how many business activities are performed in specialised offshored service centres. Activities from many countries are centralised in these entities related to accounting, customer service, new product development, IT services, and others. Offshored service centres are located in select economies that provide favourable conditions for the provision of these services. Such specialisation brings numerous benefits to companies because it enables them to improve service performance, enhance management, or reduce service provision costs. Offshoring also provides important benefits for host economies via employment, exports, and more. Is new knowledge created during the performance of these services that is useful for the companies? Is this knowledge transferred to other entities, including the headquarters of the multinational corporations? Will the development of business process automation and artificial intelligence have an impact on these phenomena? These are the kinds of questions that this project addresses.

Project currently under way at the University of Salerno under the scientific supervision of Professor Francesco Polese, a world-renowned expert in the field of services. The project is financed by NAWA as part of the Bekker.