Strategic Synergy Creation in Shared Services Centres: An Attention-Based View Framework for Shared Contact Centres in South Africa

Abstract

This study develops and empirically validates a Synergy Framework for Shared Contact Centres (SCCs), examining their role in enhancing organisational performance and citizen-facing service delivery outcomes within the public sector. Adopting a mixed-methods design, the research integrates qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews and case studies with quantitative evidence from a structured survey of 116 respondents across diverse organisations in the Eastern Cape Province. The qualitative findings revealed that SCCs function as strategic mechanisms for synergy creation through attentional alignment, resource mobilisation, and relational integration. Themes of collaboration, cultural alignment, process standardisation, and technology enablement highlighted the dual importance of managerial attention and relational networks in sustaining organisational value. Quantitative analyses, including descriptive statistics, Net Promoter Score (NPS) correlations, and regression modelling, provided empirical support for these insights, demonstrating that governance effectiveness, resource utilisation, collaborative coordination, and strategic alignment significantly predict organisational performance and customer satisfaction. The proposed Synergy Framework synthesises Attention-Based Theory (ABT) and Relational-Based Theory (RBT), addressing key gaps in existing scholarship: fragmentation across levels of analysis, lack of contextual sensitivity in public sector environments, and insufficient operationalisation of synergy constructs. By situating synergy within SCCs, the framework advances theory by integrating micro, meso, and macro perspectives, while offering practical guidance for managers and policymakers seeking to design responsive, collaborative, and sustainable service delivery systems. Future research should extend the framework through cross-contextual validation, longitudinal studies, and exploration of digital transformation and stakeholder value co-creation mechanisms. Overall, the study positions synergy as a multidimensional strategic capability that enhances organisational effectiveness and public value in complex service ecosystems.