Impact of IT infrastructure on customer service performance: The role of micro-IT capabilities and online customer engagement

Abstract This research argues that information technology (IT) capabilities can be classified in macro-and micro-IT capabilities. We propose that IT infrastructure capability (a macro-IT capability) enables the development of social media and e-business technology capabilities (two micro-IT capabilities) to online engage customers and improve the firm's customer service performance. We test the proposed model by using the variance-based structural equation modelling technique employing an innovative secondary dataset on a sample of 100 small U.S. firms. Results suggest that IT infrastructure capability positively affects customer service performance through two micro-IT capabilities (social media and ebusiness technology) and social and conventional online customer engagement. Keywords: Macro-and Micro-IT Capabilities, Online Customer Engagement, Customer Service Performance. March 24, 2015 Preliminary draft 2 Introduction Information technology (IT) is changing the way firms operate internally as well as improving the firm's relationship with its suppliers and customers This study is positioned on the relationship between macro-and micro-IT capabilities and customer service performance. Prior research on IT and customer service performance has studied the effects of IT infrastructure flexibility and shared knowledge on customer service performance We examine the impact of IT infrastructure capability on customer service performance by introducing into the same equation two new variables: Micro-IT capabilities and the online engagement of customers. Our central thesis is that IT infrastructure capability can create customer value by developing social media and e-business technology capabilities to online engage customers. Social media capability enables social online customer engagement and e-business technology capability facilitates conventional social customer engagement to improve customer service performance. The proposed model is tested using the variance-based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 100 small U.S. firms

Impact of IT Infrastructure on Customer Service Performance: The Role of Micro-IT Capabilities and Online Customer Engagement

This research argues that information technology (IT) capabilities can be classified in macro- and micro-IT capabilities. We propose a conceptual model in which IT infrastructure capability (a macro- IT capability) enables the development of social media and e-business technology capabilities (two micro-IT capabilities) to online engage customers and improve the firm’s customer service performance. We test the proposed model by using the variance-based structural equation modelling technique and the method of estimation of partial least squares employing an innovative secondary dataset on a sample of 100 small firms included in the 2013 Forbes America’s Best Small Companies ranking. The empirical analysis suggests that IT infrastructure capability positively affects customer service performance through two micro-IT capabilities (social media and e-business technology) and social and conventional online customer engagement