Ebook: Globalisation of Services Production Economic and Social Upgrading in Support-Service Industry Catering to International ICT-ITES Firms in Mumbai

The international outsourcing and offshoring of IT enabled services is deemed to be the
second wave in globalisation of business activities, which has benefitted several developing
nations in South (east) Asia. The arrival of international ICT-ITES firms in South Asian
countries is considered to have induced several direct and indirect business and employment
opportunities. The key indirect beneficiaries are in the support-service segments catering
to the security, housekeeping and cab service needs of the ICT-ITES firms. While the
existing literature provides an elaborate account of the actors directly involved in the
services production (IT firms, knowledge workers, etc.), it falls short of offering a similar
account for the indirectly-linked support-service industry. Limited information is available
on who are the key persons and business organisations (indirectly) benefitting from the
opportunities in the support-service industry. Further, at organisational level, it is still
not clear which are the prerequisites to qualify for the service contracts of ICT-ITES
firms and how local entrepreneurs perceive the business opportunities of serving ICTITES
clients. At worker’s level, there exists a knowledge gap on the quality of indirect
jobs created locally and whether and how the ICT-ITES firms have brought about
transformations (in terms of social upgrading) in the local labour market of the supportservice
workers.