The mediating effects of first call resolution on call centers’ performance

This article aims to examine and validate the prepositions of the mediating impacts of first call resolution (FCR) on caller satisfaction within the contact center industry.A survey of 168 call center managers was analyzed through structural equation modeling, constituting an overall 43.3 per cent response rate for this study.The results show that FCR positively mediates the relationship between knowledge management, technology-based CRM and caller satisfaction within the inbound customer contact centers.We have empirically assessed call centers/contact centers’ success through caller satisfaction (an observed variable through their 2009 customer survey in Malaysia).Consequently, this study cannot generalize its findings in all other countries.Our strong argument is that within the operational variables, FCR is statistically significant and positively mediates knowledge management applications. But very important to note is that the customer contact centers are first touch points to a company's goods or services, and that many other factors such as product quality, company policy, target markets, decision-making processes and so on are also determinants of caller satisfaction, but fall outside the operational control of contact center activities.This research has empirically established that a company's capability in effectively acquiring a valid understanding of its current and potential customers’ information through CRM technologies will positively impact its acquisitions, customization, management and retention of customers.It also avails both the academic and contact center management the benefits that are inherent in measuring the impact of knowledge management and technology-based CRM on inbound FCR and caller satisfaction.This study finally recommends alternative areas for future research

Comparative Analysis of American and Spanish Cruise Passenger's Behavioral Intentions

[EN] Earlier studies of cross-national differences in consumer behavior in different consumption sectors have verified that cultural differences have a strong influence on consumers. Despite the importance of cross-national analysis, no studies in the literature examine the moderating effects of nationality on the construction of behavioral intentions and their antecedents among cruise line passengers. This study investigates the moderating effects of nationality on the relationships between perceived value, satisfaction, trust and behavioral intentions among Spanish and (U.S.) American passengers of cruise lines that use Barcelona as home port and port-of-call. A theoretical model was tested with a total of 968 surveys. Structural equation models (SEMs) were used, by means of a multigroup analysis. Results of this study indicated that Spaniards showed stronger relationships between trust and behavioral intentions, and between emotional value and satisfaction. Americans presented stronger relations.[PT] Estudos em distintos setores de consumo verificaram que as diferenças culturais têm uma forte influência sobre os consumidores. Apesar da importância da análise transnacional, não há estudos na literatura que examinem os efeitos da nacionalidade na construção das intenções de comportamento e seus antecedentes entre os passageiros de cruzeiros. Esta pesquisa investiga os efeitos moderadores da nacionalidade nas relações entre valor percebido, satisfação, confiança e intenções de comportamento entre passageiros espanhóis e norte-americanos. Realizaram-se 968 enquetes para provar o modelo teórico, que foi analisado com modelos de equações estruturais, mediante uma análise multigrupo. Os resultados indicam que os espanhóis mostraram relações mais fortes entre confiança e intenções de comportamento, e entre valor emocional e satisfação. Ao contrário dos norte-americanos, que apresentaram relações mais fortes entre qualidade de serviço e satisfação, e entre qualidade de serviço e intenções de comportamento.[ES] Algunos estudios anteriores de diferencias observadas entre países respecto de las conductas de los consumidores de diferentes sectores de consumo verificaron que las diferencias culturales ejercen una poderosa influencia sobre los consumidores. A pesar de la importancia de los análisis transnacionales, no hay en la literatura estudios que analicen los efectos moderadores de la nacionalidad sobre la construcción de intenciones de conducta y sus antecedentes entre pasajeros de cruceros. Este estudio investiga los efectos moderadores de la nacionalidad sobre las relaciones entre el valor percibido, la satisfacción, la confianza y las intenciones de conducta entre los pasajeros españoles y norteamericanos (EE. UU.) de cruceros, que utilizan a Barcelona como puerto de origen y puerto de escala. Se probó un modelo teórico con un total de 968 encuestas. Se emplearon modelos de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM por su sigla en inglés), a través de un análisis multigrupo. Los resultados de este estudio indicaron que los españoles mostraron relaciones más sólidas entre la confianza y las intenciones de comportamiento y entre el valor emocional y la satisfacción. Los americanos evidenciaron relaciones más sólidas entre la calidad del servicio y la satisfacción y entre la calidad del servicio y las intenciones de conducta.Forgas-Coll, S.; Palau-Saumell, R.; Sanchez-Garcia, J.; Garrigós Simón, FJ. (2016). Comparative Analysis of American and Spanish Cruise Passenger's Behavioral Intentions. RAE-Revista de Administração de Empresas. 56(1):87-100. doi:10.1590/S0034-759020160108S8710056

Digital Trust für KI-basierte Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstellen

Menschen sind seit Jahrzehnten davon fasziniert, Maschinen mit menschlichem Bewusstsein zu erschaffen. Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) trifft genau diesen Nerv und stößt aber gerade deshalb auf Misstrauen. Die zunehmende Entwicklung innovativer Produkte, die auf KI basieren, führen zu einer Erleichterung im Alltag der Menschen sowie zu einer Revolution der Arbeitswelt. Zum anderen erzeugen Medienberichte über Datenmissbrauch, Abhöraktionen und über die KI als Gefahr für die Menschheit Misstrauen. Dies kann in eine ablehnende Haltung gegenüber dem technologischen Fortschritt resultieren. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, einen Beitrag zum Aufbau eines berechtigten digitalen Vertrauens zu leisten. Hierzu werden Kenntnisse zu humanen Vertrauensquellen und -mustern zusammengeführt und ein Trust-Journey-Ansatz zum Vertrauensaufbau für das Marketing entwickelt. Implikationen einer spezifischen KI-Trust-Journey werden am Beispiel von Voice User Interfaces (VUI) wie z. B. Amazon Alexa, Tmall Genie von Alibaba, Alice und Google Home konkretisiert. Abschließend werden Prinzipien des digitalen Vertrauensaufbaus empfohlen, um Marken und innovative, digitale Produkte aus der Vertrauensperspektive zu stärken und die wesentliche Rolle des Marketings in der menschzentrierten digitalen Produktentwicklung herauszuarbeiten