My study focused on the globalized service business of multinational workplaces
that are often referred to as contact centers or call centers. These are global centers that
transcend company and customer cultures. Contact centers have expanded rapidly during
the first decade of the 21 st century, according to the Global Call Center Report by
Holman, Batt, and Holtgrewe (2007). During the economic shift from manufacturingbased
economies to service economies, the call center may have replaced the manufacturing plant as a focal point of the modern workplace. Contact centers originated
from industries such as telecommunications, financial services, insurance, medical
services, and technical support (Holman, Batt, & Holtgrewe, p. 7).