Shared service centers and territories: examples of diferente sectors in Brazil and Portugal

The objective of this text is to analyze territorial development factors, promoted by the agglomeration of shared service centers, which contribute to the regional and urban economy through the spillover effect, observing interrelated corporate components of governance, strategy and location, as well as externalities on the non-participants, in particular at the economic, social and environmental levels. Studies were carried out in different sectors in the Northeast and Center-South geo-economic regions of Brazil, highlighting the beverage, pharmacy, transport and financial services segments; and in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, in Portugal, and their metropolitan areas, namely in the technology, telecommunications and transport segments. To this end, a literature review was carried out, connecting elements of human capital, innovation and knowledge with the phenomenon of sharing services and the areas of research support; and accessed executive documents, which deal with planning and implementation of service centers. The methodology favored the content analysis of semi-structured interviews with one hundred and twenty professionals from the companies and governments of the regions, which provided a better understanding of the phenomenon, its activities and repercussions. The relevance of territorial configurations was perceived as a strategic component and economic development, promoted by the agglomeration of people, processes and technology in shared service centers, enhanced by the agglomeration of these equipments, which operate in different ecosystems, but obtain competitive advantage and increases in value chains through the network economy. The research contributed to broadening the understanding of the relationship between territory and companies' strategies, with emphasis on development factors.