by : Craig M. Froehle
Journal compilation, 2006, Decision Sciences Institute Volume 37 Number 1
February 2006
Journal compilation, 2006, Decision Sciences Institute Volume 37 Number 1
February 2006
ABSTRACT
Managing both the technologies and the personnel needed for providing high-quality, multichannel customer support creates a complex and persistent operational challenge.
Adding to this difficulty, it is still unclear how service personnel and these new communication technologies interact to influence the customer’s perceptions of the service being provided. Motivated by both practical importance and inconsistent findings in the academic literature, this exploratory research examines the interaction of media richness, represented by three different technology contexts (telephone, e-mail, and online chat), with six customer service representative (CSR) characteristics and their influences on customer satisfaction. Using a large-sample customer survey data set, the article develops a multigroup structural equation model to analyze these interactions.
Results suggest that CSR characteristics influence customer service satisfaction similarly across all three technology-mediated contexts. Of the characteristics studied, service representatives contribute to customer satisfaction more when they exhibit the characteristics of thoroughness, knowledgeableness, and preparedness, regardless of the richness of the medium used.
Surprisingly, while three other CSR characteristics studied (courtesy, professionalism, and attentiveness) are traditionally believed to be important in face-to-face encounters, they had no significant impact on customer satisfaction in the technology-mediated contexts studied.
Implications for both practitioners and researchers are drawn from the results and future research opportunities are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
e-mail : kana_ati@yahoo.com atau kanaidi@poltekpos.ac.idAdding to this difficulty, it is still unclear how service personnel and these new communication technologies interact to influence the customer’s perceptions of the service being provided. Motivated by both practical importance and inconsistent findings in the academic literature, this exploratory research examines the interaction of media richness, represented by three different technology contexts (telephone, e-mail, and online chat), with six customer service representative (CSR) characteristics and their influences on customer satisfaction. Using a large-sample customer survey data set, the article develops a multigroup structural equation model to analyze these interactions.
Results suggest that CSR characteristics influence customer service satisfaction similarly across all three technology-mediated contexts. Of the characteristics studied, service representatives contribute to customer satisfaction more when they exhibit the characteristics of thoroughness, knowledgeableness, and preparedness, regardless of the richness of the medium used.
Surprisingly, while three other CSR characteristics studied (courtesy, professionalism, and attentiveness) are traditionally believed to be important in face-to-face encounters, they had no significant impact on customer satisfaction in the technology-mediated contexts studied.
Implications for both practitioners and researchers are drawn from the results and future research opportunities are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Customer service operations are being subjected to rapid, technology-driven change. The ubiquity and sophistication of new information technologies, such as the Internet, have fundamentally changed, and continue to change, how organizations interact with their customers, yet it has become no less crucial to firm performance (El Sawy & Bowles, 1997; Parasuraman & Colby, 2001; Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Malhotra, 2002; Burke, 2002; Piccoli, Brohman, Watson, & Parasuraman, 2004). While telephone and fax have become common in the customer service role, new communication media, like e-mail and instant messaging, are being deployed at a frenetic pace and are in great demand (Burke, 2002). As of 2005, it has been projected that 45% of all contact companies have . . . . . .(baca_selengkapnya )
Artikel lengkap dikompilasi oleh/hubungi :
Kanaidi, SE., M.Si (Penulis, Peneliti, Pelaku Bisnis, Trainer dan Dosen Marketing Management)
Artikel lengkap dikompilasi oleh/hubungi :
Kanaidi, SE., M.Si (Penulis, Peneliti, Pelaku Bisnis, Trainer dan Dosen Marketing Management)
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