397 research outputs found
Exploring the Zone of Tolerance for Internal Customers in IT-Enabled Call Centers
Today, call center employeesâ service encounters with external customers are extensively supported with modern information technology (IT). However, prior research on service quality and zone of tolerance (ZOT) focuses primarily on external customers with little attention paid to how internal customers (e.g., service employees) respond to services provided by internal functions, particularly IT function that supports employeesâ IT use. Drawing on theory of administrative behavior and IT success literature, we conducted a study at a call center of a telecommunications firm and found that the impact of internal IT service quality (ITSQ) on employeesâ service quality (ESQ) to external customers, as well as on their satisfaction with and use of the deployed technology, exhibits a positive diminishing pattern as ITSQ increases from below to within and to above the ZOT. We also found that ITSQâs impact on ESQ employees\u27 satisfaction with technology changes more dramatically around adequate service level than desired service level. Finally, we show that call center employeesâ satisfaction with technology partially mediates ITSQâs impact on ESQ. Besides adding to the service and IT literature, our findings suggest that managers should understand internal customersâ different levels of expectations toward internal IT service and the differential performance impacts of those levels
The sweet spot in sustainability: a framework for corporate assessment in sugar manufacturing
The assessment of corporate sustainability has become an increasingly important topic, both within academia and in industry. For manufacturing companies to conform to their commitments to sustainable development, a standard and reliable measurement framework is required. There is, however, a lack of sector-specific and empirical research in many areas, including the sugar industry. This paper presents an empirically developed framework for the assessment of corporate sustainability within the Thai sugar industry. Multiple case studies were conducted, and a survey using questionnaires was also employed to enhance the power of generalisation. The developed framework is an accurate and reliable measurement instrument of corporate sustainability, and guidelines to assess qualitative criteria are put forward. The proposed framework can be used for a companyâs self-assessment and for guiding practitioners in performance improvement and policy decision-maki
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Revisiting Consumer Ethnocentrism: Review, Reconceptualization, and Empirical Testing
Prior research has suggested that many consumers prefer domestic to foreign products, even when the quality is lower and the price is higher. Such bias is attributed to consumer ethnocentrism. This study critically examines the current conceptualizations of consumer ethnocentrism and proposes an extension of its conceptual boundaries and measurement. It determines that consumer ethnocentrism is a multidimensional construct that encompasses five dimensions: prosociality, cognition, insecurity, reflexiveness, and habituation. Empirical evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States demonstrates that the extended measurement instrument better predicts consumers' preferences for local brands at the expense of foreign brands
When Is a Preannounced New Product Likely to Be Delayed?
Consider that a firm announces a deadline for a new product introduction. Conditional on such a preannouncement, how must an external observer evaluate whether the product will be delayed beyond that deadline? Using data collected from managers in the computer hardware, software, and telecommunications industries, the authors present an analysis that demonstrates that delays in new product introductions beyond preannounced deadlines can be jointly explained by factors related to (1) the firm's motivations to delay the product, (2) the presence of constraints that prevent delay (or the availability of opportunities to delay the product), and (3) the firm's abilities pertaining to product development
La credibilidad de los medios de ComunicaciĂłn de masas: una aproximaciĂłn desde el Modelo de Marca CreĂble
How compulsive use of social media affects performance : insights from the UK by purpose of use
Tests of Graphic Visuals and Cigarette Package Warning Combinations: Implications for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
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