A conceptual model for global multi-channel customer management

Previous Global CRM research has recommended that scholars reassess all of CRM systems in global environment (Ward 2005; Ramaseshan et al., 2006). Channel management is one CRM systems component much influenced by the behaviour of customers in relation to the implementation and use of channel management CRM component. The consumers’ behaviours, preferences, perceptions and expectations are crucial for the implementation and use of channel management. Customers’ contact with the organization’s multi-channels can occur at several touch points through out customer lifecycle. Customers’ behaviours may be differentiated according to the individual or micro level, but it might also differ at an ecological or macro level of analysis. A conceptual model has been developed to analyze customers’ behaviours at a macro level and customers channel choices, through out the customer lifecycle

Multi-channel customer management: A case study in Egypt

Channel management is one CRM systems component much influenced by the behaviour of customers in relation to the implementation and use of channel management CRM component. The consumers’ behaviours, preferences, perceptions and expectations are crucial for the implementation and use of channel management. Customers’ contact with the organization’s multi-channels can occur at several touch points through out customer lifecycle. Customers’ behaviours may be differentiated according to the individual or micro level, but it might also differ at an ecological or macro level of analysis (Ramaseshan et al., 2006). In this paper the author has conducted a case study in Egypt to analyze customers’ behaviours at a macro level and customers channel choices, through out the customer lifecycle. The author has used a Structurational Analysis model (Ali and Brooks, 2008) to identify the cultural factors (Ali, et al. 2008) that influence the multi-channel customer management in Egypt

Cultural aspects of multi-channel customer management: a case study in Egypt

Channel management is one CRM systems component much influenced by the behaviour of customers in relation to the implementation and use of channel management CRM component. The consumers’ behaviours, preferences, perceptions and expectations are crucial for the implementation and use of channel management. Customers’ contact with the organization’s multi-channels can occur at several touch points through out customer lifecycle. Customers’ behaviours may be differentiated according to the individual or micro level, but it might also differ at an ecological or macro level of analysis (Ramaseshan et al., 2006). In this paper the author has conducted a case study in Egypt to analyze customers’ behaviours at a macro level and customers channel choices, through out the customer lifecycle. The author has used a Structurational Analysis model (Ali and Brooks, 2008) to identify the cultural factors (Ali, et al. 2008) that influence the multi-channel customer management in Egypt

A situated cultural approach for cross-cultural studies in IS

Cultural anthropology seeks to understand the similarities and differences among groups of people in the contemporary world. Although there are many different models of national culture, most IS research has tended to rely almost solely on Hofstede’s cultural model (Keil et al., 2000; Straub, 1994; Tan et al., 1995; Watson et al., 1994; Myers and Tan, 2002; Kirkman et al. 2006).). This paper, provides a comprehensive framework of situated culture approach to study culture within IS discipline. This is achieved via an articulation of Structuration Theory and the provision of an approach to study cross-cultural phenomena within IS discipline. The paper proposes two main components of the Structuration Theory based analysis model which is proposed as a way to study culture within IS discipline. First, the paper presents ideas behind the practice lens for studying the use of technology, as proposed by Orlikowski (2000). Secondly, the paper presents a Structurational analysis approach as detailed by Walsham (2002). The paper argues that using a practice lens contributes to identifying the mediated shared structures between actors through understanding the actions of the actors within the phenomena. Then, using a Structurational analysis approach contributes to identifying the cultural dimensions that are embedded in the identified mediated shared structures

Cultural Bias in Information Systems Research and Practice: Are You Coming from the Same Place I Am?

Cultural values, attitudes and behaviors prominently influence how a given group of people view, understand, process, communicate, and manage data, information, and knowledge. Cultural differences can be understood as cultural bias, a bias so deeply ingrained that it is unconscious, unless explicitly examined. Culture has been defined as a kind of collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group from another (Hofstede 1984). In essence, the content of culture consists of a set of underlying norms and values of behavior, shared by a group of people tied together by powerful affiliations or bonds. It has been argued that the considerable social differences that exist among cultures affect, among other things, tacit epistemologies (theories of knowledge, including what counts as knowledge and degrees of certainty about knowledge) and the nature of cognitive processes—the ways by which people know the world (Nisbett et al. 2001). For example, traditional Chinese cognition has been termed holistic, while ancient Greek culture has been termed analytic (Nisbett et al. 2001). Holistic thought involves an orientation to the context or field as a whole and a preference for explaining and predicting events based on the existing relationships. Analytic thought is defined as detaching the object from its context, focusing on the object’s attributes, assigning it to categories, and using rules to explain and predict the object’s behavior. These cognitive patterns have tended to persist into modern times. However, it has been claimed that the previous, standard, anthropologically derived concepts of culture are out of touch with the connectivities and networks of the modern global economy (Barnham and Heiner 1998). Recent and compelling IS research highlights the active role of people interacting with the emergent, contested and ongoing nature of culture, and people’s reactions to dynamic, situated contexts (Meyers and Tan 2002; Walsham 2002; Weisinger and Trauth 2002). As a result, there have been calls for a paradigmatic shift in the way culture is viewed

Situated cultural approach versu predefined cultural archetypes models

Within the last 20 years, the practical relevance of researching cultural issues, and especially comparing phenomena across cultures, was questioned (Ferraro, 1990). However, the importance of cultural issues is becoming increasingly evident in many applied disciplines; these include the management of information technology (IT) (Davison and Martinsons, 2003). A normative literature review has been carried out in this paper to provide IS researchers with the milestones of studying culture in IS discipline. Although there are many different models of national culture, most IS research has tended to rely almost solely on Hofstede’s cultural model (Keil et al., 2000; Straub, 1994; Tan et al., 1995; Watson et al., 1994; Myers and Tan, 2002; Kirkman et al. 2006).). In this paper, the author provides a criticism of predefined cultural archetypes models and highlight the problems of using such approach in studying culture within IS discipline. The author demonstrates a comprehensive framework of situated culture approach to study culture within IS discipline, as alternative approach to avoid the criticism of predefined cultural archetypes models. This is achieved via an articulation of Structuration Theory. The author argues that using a practice lens for studying the use of technology by Orlikowski (2000), contributes to identifying the mediated shared structures between actors through understanding the actions of the actors within IS phenomena. Then, using a Structurational analysis approach by Walsham (2002) contributes to identifying the cultural dimensions that are embedded in the identified mediated shared structures

The Introduction of ERP systems by Foreign Firms in China: Impact of Cultural Differences

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are central to the Information Systems (IS) strategy of most international companies. With globalization, general managers put pressure on IS departments to implement such applications at a global level, in order to control and manage all the company processes at the different branches. Rolling out a global template in each of the different countries is risky as it does not take the local environment into account. Each country has its own specificities - organizational, cultural, political and economic - and these can have a real and important influence on the success of any new IS. This research aims to identify, through in-depth case studies, the cultural factors that influence the success of global ERP projects in China

Managing Cultural Diversity in the Multinational Corporate Workplace: Solution or Symptom?

The aim of this paper is to show the critical relevance of post-structuralist political theory to cross-cultural management studies. By emphasizing the key role that questions of identity, difference, and struggle play in the multinational corporate context, we argue for a shift in our understandings away from essentialist conceptions of culture to an explicitly critical and political understanding of the way culture and cultural difference is invoked. Of crucial importance in understanding the nature of the shift of perspective we advocate is the affirmation of a negative ontology for which the radical contingency of social relations is axiomatic

From expatriates’ information needs to information management in the expatriation cycle

Globalization has intensified the flow of companies’ top executives across borders. New information needs arise and are added to several other challenges faced by these executives when they move to a foreign country. Cultural differences of the host countries, and lack of local language skills preventing expatriates making sense of the social context and physical environment surrounding them, are among those challenges. This paper reports findings of a study aimed at identifying and understanding the role of information in top executives’ mobility process, during expatriation cycle. The study was carried out between 2003 and 2004, and covered half of the existing expatriates working for a Portuguese economic group of the financial sector, in three different country operations. The case study was the methodological approach chosen. To understand the information needs of expatriates, three embedded cases were considered, illustrating the economic group as a whole. The embedded cases corresponded to business operations in three different countries that had begun operating at different times (1997, 2000, and 2003). The choice of the countries accounted for: variety and diversity of the business operations abroad, their political importance and different stages of expatriates in the expatriation cycle. Several data collection methods were used, including indepth interviews with expatriates in their working environments, observations in the field, analysis of internal publications, as well as analysis of the newspapers and other online specialized journals covering most of the references made to the economic group, under study. The study identified two critical moments concerning expatriates information needs. These corresponded to the informational space transitions faced when they moved from the home country to the host country and then back again. The first critical moment occurs when arriving at host country. The transition to a new cultural environment and the acculturation process that takes place, and also deficient local language skills, accounted for the main problems they faced. Without the appropriate mental grids, the environment becomes a meaningless information space. The lack of preparation of expatriates and absence of supporting information for the expatriates’ assignment, accounted for this problem. The second critical moment occurred when they faced the return to their home country business operations. The information gap they faced concerning home operations during the assignment, accounted for the main problems faced by returning expatriates. This information gap concerned changes in the organization while they where abroad. It was mainly due to lack of formal channels maintaining awareness of home country operations across expatriates. Further founding’s accounted for loss of organizational memory of expatriates’ contributions and knowledge while abroad. Based on collected data a typology of expatriates’ information needs was produced. A model incorporating expatriates’ information in the organizational information system, throughout the duration of the assignment, was designed. This model builds up the Antal model that considers the expatriates’ gains for the organizations, and the need for strategic information for the life of organizations, in order to facilitate the move from expatriate mobility to information mobility in the organizational context, helping to preserve the organizational memory needed to understand the underlying environment in which organizations extend their operations

ERP INTRODUCTION IN CHINA: ANALYSING CULTURAL PROBLEMS USING STRUCTURATION THEORY

In this paper we present potential insights provided by Giddens\u27 structuration theory to study the effects of cultural differences experienced by western companies establishing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software in their Chinese subsidiaries. We use the data from a case study of a French firm\u27s ERP project in its Chinese subsidiary to demonstrate the appropriateness of structuration theory to study such social systems. We find that five of Giddens\u27 ten guidelines for the overall orientation of social research are indeed very helpful in understanding the problems that occurred in this particular situation