Understanding the Post‐Industrial Assembly Line: A Critical Appraisal of the Call Centre

As a relatively new form of service sector employment, call centres have been an important issue in the sociology of work for two decades. This article offers a critical review and appraisal of call centre literature, drawing upon an existing typology classifying call centre research in four categories: characteristics and organisational features; choices and strategies of management; the effect of work on employees; and the response of employees to working conditions. The article also explores recent developments that utilise call centres as a tool to investigate emerging social theories and other sociological concepts.