Territorial Dispersion of Contact Centers to Non-Metropolitan Urban Centers

• Grant number: 24/10379-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Regional Geography
• Principal Investigator: Marina Castro de Almeida
• Grantee: Adriana Lopes Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to analyze the territorial dispersion of telemarketing operations to non-metropolitan urban centers. The expansion of operations in the Brazilian market, virtually nonexistent before privatizations, was significant between 1999 and 2019. In Brazil, the growth in the number of operators reveals two distinct movements. The first, from 2003 to 2015, saw a concentration in metropolitan regions, and the second, from 2016 to 2022, saw an increase in operations in intermediate cities, which began to show a higher percentage growth rate than metropolitan regions. Despite the dispersion of production units, also known as operation sites, most of their headquarters are maintained in metropolises, especially in São Paulo, revealing the simultaneous action of centripetal and centrifugal forces. One of the hypotheses to be investigated in the research is that the most important criterion for choosing municipalities for operations is the reduction of labor costs. Therefore, the methodology employed will be the analysis of companies' territorial strategies through the study of triennial reports available on their websites and economic bulletins. For the analysis of municipalities that concentrate sector operations, the sources used will be the Annual Social Information Report (RAIS), the General Register of Employed and Unemployed (CAGED), and the IBGE - Central Register of Companies. The studies will be supported by the administration of questionnaires and online interviews via videoconferences or phone calls. Media monitoring tools will also be used to track mentions and news about the studied companies. Ultimately, the aim is to support a broader analysis of how the incorporation of undervalued areas and vulnerable workers deepens Brazil's uneven geographical development by increasing regional inequalities.