Shared Services: Exploring the New Frontier

The big squeeze on public spending and the need to get Italy’s small local councils fully on board the e-government agenda is forcing both the public and the private sector to think of new ways to source and deliver public services. The sharing of services is one solution that goes beyond the traditional insourcing/outsourcing model to cast the SSO in the primary role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provider. The paper illustrates a case study in which, after a few “false starts”, an Italian company made the positive transition from PPP to public SSO, building relations of trust and a flexible offer that met the councils’ need to retain their individuality. The general reflection that follows has the aim of further informing the debate on the redesign of organizational activities through service management, and supports the continuity of the basic organizational logics that inform the practices of the public SSO.