Empowerment in call centers and customer satisfactionEmpoderamento em call centers e satisfação do clienteEmpoderamiento del centro de llamadas y satisfacción del cliente

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Proenca ◽  
Helena Rodrigues

Purpose Call center is a large and growing sector worldwide and is facing important human resource management (HRM) and service challenges. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of structural empowerment (SE) and psychological empowerment (PE) on customer satisfaction (CS) through employee job satisfaction (JS) at a call center in Portugal. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by means of a survey handed over personally to 267 employees at the call center of a telecommunication company. This was then linked to their respective net promoter score (CS) provided by the call center. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used as analytical tools. Findings SE affects PE, and both have a positive impact on JS. Empowerment impacts CS: SE positively affects CS mediated by PE; and PE affects CS mediated by JS. Practical implications This study emphasizes the importance of the use of organizational practices of SE in call centers to achieve two important organizational outcomes: employee JS and CS. Originality/value This study tests a process model involving two domains, HRM (employee side) and service delivery (customer side), which are traditionally dealt with separately in the context of call centers. This helps to understand how HRM polices are connected to CS. Although some of these relationships have been studied separately in different contexts, the research offers a strong methodological design by linking employee perceptions of empowerment with data provided by the firm on CS.

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-767
Author(s):  
Tomas Jungert ◽  
Rickard Östergren ◽  
Nathalie Houlfort ◽  
Richard Koestner

Purpose Perceived support from co-workers and managers is important for many organizational outcomes. However, the benefit of competence support from colleagues and school management on personal teacher efficacy has not been investigated. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the impact of competence support from colleagues and the school management on growth in teacher efficacy and second, to investigate cultural differences (Canada and Sweden). Design/methodology/approach The authors administered an inventory measuring support for competence and personal teacher efficacy to over 400 teachers in Canada and Sweden at 27 schools, at two times. Time 1 took place at the first week of a fall semester and Time 2 at the end of the same semester. Findings Structural equation modeling revealed that competence support from colleagues predicted growth in teacher efficacy, whereas competence support from school management did not. No differences in these relations emerged between Canadian and Swedish teachers. Practical implications The findings have implications for how schools organize teachers in teacher teams so that competence support from co-workers is promoted. Originality/value This study is the first cross-cultural study to empirically show that teachers’ self-efficacy is significantly benefitted by competence support from their teacher peers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 3465-3483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uttam Chakraborty

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the vitality of source, receiver and message factors on credibility assessment of online hotel reviews. Further, the current study determines the effects of perceived credibility of online reviews (PCOR) on hotel booking intentions (HBI). Design/methodology/approach The current study performs reliability analysis to determine the internal consistency of the measurement scales and to ensure the uni-dimensionality of the measurement scales the present study performs exploratory factor analysis. Further, the present study performs structural equation modeling to identify the relationships between the variables. Findings Two-sided online reviews have a more significant positive impact on PCOR as compared to the effects of receiver, review quality, review consistency and negative-sided online reviews. Originality/value This is one of the first study that analyses the impact of source, receiver and message on PCOR. Moreover, the present study offered theoretical justification behind the factors that affect the authenticity of online hotel reviews and its effects on HBI.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taghreed Al Dari ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen ◽  
Matloub Hussain ◽  
Dana Al Khawaja

Purpose This study aims to develop a theoretical framework of the impact of clan and hierarchy cultures and knowledge technological capabilities on organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 693 employees working in knowledge management centers in various law and enforcement units in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between the variables. Findings The findings show that the clan culture had a significant negative effect on organizational learning. However, hierarchy culture and knowledge technological capabilities had a significant positive impact in predicting organizational learning behavior. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on a specific type of public organization only, which somewhat limits the generalizability of the research results. Second, as the study was cross-sectional, the causal relationships could not be inferred directly. The study results will help policymakers create a learning organization by examining the impact of organizational culture and knowledge of technological capabilities. Originality/value This paper has added knowledge about the relationship between culture types, knowledge technological capabilities and organizational learning, particularly in the UAE. This study helps to bridge the gap in research on culture and knowledge technological capabilities and organizational learning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 242-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungsun (Sunny) Kim ◽  
Anthony Gatling

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the perceived ease of use and the usefulness of a virtual employee engagement platform (VEEP) positively influence employees’ intentions to use the VEEP and, in turn, actual use of VEEP. This study further examined how using the VEEP influences employee engagement as well as two organizational outcomes (i.e. employee participation and intention to stay). Design/methodology/approach The survey items for this study were developed based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and motivation theory. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed relationships in a sample of 373 employees of a hospitality organization in the USA. Findings The results indicate that employees’ perceived ease of use and usefulness of a hospitality company’s VEEP positively influence employees’ intentions to use the VEEP. The study also found employees with greater intentions to use their company’s VEEP tend to use the VEEP more frequently, which in turn positively influenced their engagement. Eventually, the more-engaged employees showed a higher level of participation, as well as intention to stay. Practical implications This study addresses the call by researchers to demonstrate how a VEEP can positively influence employee engagement and to present new insights into how employee engagement can contribute to improving organizational outcomes in a hospitality setting. Originality/value This study is the first empirical study involving the emergent field of engagement platforms and employee engagement in a hospitality setting. Moreover, this research provides support for increased adoption and investment in the VEEP by hospitality companies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 677-692
Author(s):  
Farhan Ahmad ◽  
Isto Huvila

Purpose While there is relatively plenty of evidence for the positive impact of communication on the perceptions of organizational change, how organizational changes affect information sharing is relatively unknown. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if a favorable perception of ongoing organizational changes has a positive impact on information sharing and whether trust mediates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire (n=317) was administered to the employees of a large Finnish multinational organization. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses based on earlier research findings. Findings The results show that a positive perception of recent organizational changes improves information sharing both directly and indirectly, mediated by trust. Consequently, when changes are perceived negatively, employees recoil from information sharing which is known to have negative implications for organizations. Research limitations/implications Data were collected in a single organization. The nature of the specific changes in the studied organization and its particularities undoubtedly had an effect on respondents’ perceptions. Originality/value This paper contributes to organizational information management research by elaborating on the relationship between organizational changes and interpersonal information sharing between employees. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study confirming the impact of the perception of organizational changes on employee information-sharing behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1709-1730
Author(s):  
Dalia Suša Vugec ◽  
Vesna Bosilj Vukšić ◽  
Mirjana Pejić Bach ◽  
Jurij Jaklič ◽  
Mojca Indihar Štemberger

PurposeOrganizations introduce business intelligence (BI) to increase their performance, but often, this initiative is not aligned with the business process management (BPM) initiative, which also aims to improve organizational performance. Although some findings from the literature indicate that BI implementation has a positive impact on organizational performance, the impact seems to be indirect. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of how BI maturity is translated into organizational performance. Alignment of BI and BPM initiatives seems one possible way for creating business value with BI, particularly because BI enables process performance measurement and management, which allows the BI initiative to become more business focused.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was prepared and used to collect data in Croatian and Slovenian organizations with more than 50 employees. A BI–BPM alignment measurement instrument was developed for the purpose of this study using the recommended process of scale development and validation. A total of 185 responses were analyzed by the structural equation modeling technique.FindingsOur results provide evidence that the effect of BI on organizational performance is fully mediated by alignment of BI and BPM initiatives, and therefore, BI business value can be generated through the use of common terminology and methodologies, as well as a strong communication between BI and BPM experts, managers and teams in order to coordinate the two initiatives.Originality/valueThis study has responded to the call for better understanding of how the impact of BI on organization performance is realized. It confirmed that BI and BPM initiatives should be aligned in order to give BI a business value.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol

Purpose This paper examines the effect of improvisational behavior of entrepreneurs on firm performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand during the economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also explores external factors in terms of competitive intensity and internal factors in terms of financial and human resources possessed by firms that could enhance the impact of improvisational behavior on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered online questionnaire survey was used to collect the data from the random sample of 312 SMEs in Thailand. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings The analysis supports the positive relationship between the improvisational behavior of entrepreneurs and firm performance. Moreover, the moderating effect analysis shows that the positive impact of improvisational behavior on firm performance tends to be stronger for firms that encountered a higher level of competitive intensity and for firms that possessed a higher level of financial and human resources. Originality/value This research extends the knowledge from prior research by confirming some moderating factors that could strengthen the benefit of improvisational behavior during the crisis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn Giroux ◽  
Frank Pons ◽  
Lionel Maltese

Purpose In the highly saturated sports industry where sport teams represent a complex offering loaded with intangible and tangible attributes, it is important to implement appropriate marketing strategies that will ultimately contribute to the development of strong brand equity. In this paper, the authors focused on the relationship between brand variables and marketing activities on the development of brand equity. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to study the impact of brand personality on the evaluation of marketing promotional activities and the impact on the brand equity. Design/methodology/approach Respondents (2,400) were recruited through an online survey and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The survey revealed that the congruence between the brand personality and the promotional activities has a positive impact on its evaluation and on brand equity. In addition, the results showed that consumers who consider the financial strength of the team as an important factor evaluate more positively the value of congruent and incongruent promotional activities. Practical implications Brand managers should maintain consistency between their brand personality and their promotional activities in order to maintain and increase their brand equity. Originality/value The results contribute to the literature by investigating the impact of brand personality on the evaluation of promotional activities. Also, it examines an important factor (financial consciousness) that could influence how fans react in front of an incongruent promotional activity. This research brings a better understanding of the impact of brand personality on marketing strategies and brand equity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minkyun Kim ◽  
Nallan C Suresh ◽  
Canan Kocabasoglu-Hillmer

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships among strategic sourcing, e-procurement and firm performance, along with the moderating effects of business characteristics and environmental factors on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical investigation relies on structured survey responses from 137 managers of US manufacturing firms. The partial least squares-based structural equation modeling approach is used for data analysis. Findings – The research results confirm that both strategic sourcing and e-procurement have a positive effect on firm performance. In addition, e-procurement is also found to have a positive impact on strategic sourcing. In addition, the research results suggest that business characteristics and the environment, especially the degree of competition, market turbulence, firm size and stage in product life cycle moderate these relationships significantly. The positive effects of strategic sourcing and e-procurement on firm performance are particularly enhanced under the right conditions. Originality/value – This research is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to provide insights into the joint effects of strategic sourcing and e-procurement, and how business characteristics and the environment affect their roles on firm performance. In addition, firm performance is evaluated as a multi-dimensional construct involving financial, operational and supply chain aspects, with the measurements consisting of several second-order constructs. The study makes both theoretical and practical contributions.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Farrukh ◽  
Azeem Ahmad Khan ◽  
Muhammad Shahid Khan ◽  
Sara Ravan Ramzani ◽  
Bakare Soladoye Akeem Soladoye

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of family background, big five personality traits and self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) of business students in private universities in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected with the help of structured questionnaires, 500 questionnaires were distributed among the students and 306 useable questionnaires were received and analyzed. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relationship among the study variables. SmartPLS was utilized to run the analysis. Findings The findings revealed a strong relationship between the exogenous and endogenous variables. The variance accounted by the independent variables was 74.3 percent in the EIs of the students. Family background was found to have a positive impact on the EIs of students. The findings also showed a positive relationship between self-efficacy and EIs. Consciousness, extroversion and openness to experience are positively linked with EIs while neuroticism and agreeableness did not show any relationship. Originality/value The study’s findings attract the attention of the academicians to take note of the factors examined while training the students the art of entrepreneurship. This is because this study has revealed that if these factors are not present the intention of the students to start a business venture may prove to be weak. Entrepreneurial activities are one of the biggest ways to reduce unemployment, thus, it is suggested that academicians should develop psychological plans and training to motivate the students to convert their intentions into actions.


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