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

Sensing distress – towards a blended method for detecting and responding to problematic customer experience events

Excellent Customer Experience (CE) is a strategic priority for many large service organisations in a competitive marketplace. CE should be seamless, and in most cases it is, with customers ordering, paying for and receiving services that align with their expectations. However, in rare cases, an exceptional process event leads to service delivery delay or failure, and both the customer and organ-isation end up in complex recovery situations as a result. Unless this recovery is handled effectively inefficiency, avoidable costs and brand damage can result. So how can organisations sense when these problems are occurring and how can they respond to avoid these negative consequences? Our paper proposes a blended methodology where process mining and qualitative user research com-bine to give a holistic picture of customer experience issues, derived from a par-ticular customer case study. We propose a theoretical model for detecting and responding to customer issues, and discuss the challenges and opportunities of such a model when applied in practice in large service organisations

Gender, choice and constraint in call centre employment

This paper examines the genderised experience of employment in call centres. While existing studies have acknowledged structural and agential constraints on women in the workplace, this paper goes further by illustrating the gendered nature of career choice and progression in a context which, in certain respects, appears to have benefitted women's desires for advancement. Drawing on quantitative and in-depth qualitative data from four Scottish call centres, the study provides evidence of gender inequality shaped by structural and ideological workplace and household constraints

Outsourcing Contact Centres to a Developing Country: A SWOT Analysis

Contact centres have become an important growth industry in many developing and emerging countries, and there are good opportunities for countries with sound IT infrastructure to attract outsourced business from Northern Hemisphere organisations through offshoring. Executives from major companies in the Western Cape, South Africa that offer outsourcing services to European and American countries were interviewed. Using hermeneutic content analysis a SWOT analysis of important issues for setting up and operating contact centres in South Africa was performed. These issues are summarised, together with some relevant quotes from contact centre management. It was found that the strengths far outweighed the weaknesses, and opportunities exceeded threats. It is suggested that organisations in similar developing countries note the wide range of issues that emerged, and bear these in mind, with possible local adaptations, when themselves considering offering outsourced services

Simmelian ties, organizational justice, and knowledge sharing in virtual workgroups

Much IS research brings a priori theoretical constructs to its domain of study, and this can generate distorted outcomes. To avoid this danger, IS research should be \u27lifeworld-oriented\u27. Characteristics of the lifeworld are drawn from philosophy and applied to examples of IS research. Surprisingly, both positivist and critical research can be both theorizing and lifeworld-oriented, though in different ways. A proposal is then made for \u27lifeworld-oriented IS research\u27, which, by taking into account the lifeworlds of both researcher and researched, can make IS research richer and more relevant

Dialectical Inquiry in Information Systems Research: A Synthesis of Principles

Although dialectical inquiry has been sporadically and selectively applied in the Information Systems (IS) discipline, and premier IS journals increasingly welcome dialectical inquiries, we lack methodological guidance on its application and evaluation, hindering its adoption as an important and valid IS research method. In response, we present a critical analysis of general dialectics literature and 63 extant IS dialectical inquiry publications in 18 journals spanning three decades, revealing that there is a growing and sizeable community of IS researchers using dialectical inquiry explicitly or implicitly to examine how sociotechnical phenomena change. Based on this analysis, we synthesize six principles for dialectical inquiry that are firmly rooted in dialectical philosophy, evidenced in IS publications, clearly distinct from each other, and together comprehensive. As such, our contribution can help IS researchers, reviewers, and editors to extend and solidify their methodological repertoire

Statistical Analysis of the Extent of the Use of Information Technology Systems for Logistics Management in an Enterprise

The paper objective is to determine the extent of the use of information technology logistics management systems in enterprises across individual voivodships. Apart from the theoretical basis of information technology systems in use, the results of research carried out with statistical analysis methods have been presented. Also, branches and voivodships with the largest extent of the use of information technology systems for logistics processes have been determined.Исследована степень использования информационной технологии в системах управления логистикой на предприятиях отдельных воеводств. В отличие от стандартных подходов в информационных технологиях представлены результаты исследований, проводимых методами статистического анализа. Определены области и воеводства, где в наибольшей степени используются системы информационных технологий для логистических процессов.Досліджено ступінь використання інформаційної технології в системах управління логістикою на підприємствах окремих воєводств. На відміну від стандартних підходів у інформаційних технологіях наведено результати досліджень, виконаних методами статистичного аналізу. Визначено області та воєводства, де найбільше задіяно системи інформаційних технологій у процесах логістики

Studying Green Information Systems as Practice

In the last few decades, IS and IT have changed human behavior profoundly and therefore can be seen as having the potential to support the shift to a sustainable society. As a result, the role and contribution of IS in eco-sustainability has become the concern of many IS researchers. We posit that the Greenness of IS can be seen in the practice of inscribing, appropriating, and enacting Green intentions and goals, together referred to as Green values in IS. Thus we argue that Green IS can be studied from the practice perspective drawing from the Theory of Practice (Bourdieu, 1977). A practice perspective provides powerful and relevant constructs such as habitus, capital, field, strategy, symbolic power and doxa to understand both the causes and outcomes of Green IS. Armed with these constructs (which can be employed in trio (habitus, capital and field) or in piecemeal), IS researchers can pursue rich and diverse Green IS research agenda. The paper discusses several research directions that IS researchers could take in using the constructs offered by the Theory of Practice