scholarly journals A Study of Customer Service Agent’s Pragmatic Identity Construction in Complaint Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. p89
Author(s):  
Cheng Huang ◽  
Ping Liu

Positioned within rapport management theory proposed by Spencer-Oatey, this article investigates the customer service agent’s pragmatic identity construction in complaint response calls. Drawing on data of 42 complaint handling recordings from the customer care center of a Chinese airline company, this study tries to address these three research questions: 1) What types of pragmatic identities do the customer service agents construct in complaint response calls? 2) How are these pragmatic identities constructed through rapport management strategies? 3) What interpersonal functions do these pragmatic identities perform? By adopting a qualitative research method, this study has found that the agents mainly construct three default identities and one deviational identity in complaint response calls by employing nine rapport management strategies from four rapport management domains. These different pragmatic identities mainly perform three kinds of interpersonal functions: support face needs, support sociality rights and obligations, and support interactional goals. The findings further validates the feasibility of rapport management theory in the study of identity construction, and provides new ideas for future study on pragmatic identity construction in institutional communications.

ATLAS JOURNAL ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 200-214
Author(s):  
Jose G. VARGAS HERNANDEZ

2021 ◽  
pp. 002224292110021
Author(s):  
Alireza Golmohammadi ◽  
Taha Havakhor ◽  
Dinesh K. Gauri ◽  
Johann Joseph Comprix

Firms are increasingly turning to social media platforms for complaint handling. Past research and practitioners’ reports highlight the benefits of complaint handling on social media, urging firms to provide prompt and detailed responses to complaints. However, little research has explored the possible drawbacks of such practices, especially when responses inadvertently further publicize complaints. Utilizing two unique data sets in a series of observational and quasi-experimental analyses, this research provides the first evidence of complaint publicization in social media, a phenomenon in which firm responses to complaints on popular social media platforms increase the potential public exposure of complaints. This negative effect can outweigh any positive customer care-signaling impact from firm responses. The authors show that a response strategy that engenders a high level of complaint publicization – e.g., providing detailed responses through multiple communication exchanges with a complainant – could negatively impact perceived quality and firm value, diminish the positive impact of a firm’s own posts, and increase the volume of future complaints. Additional analyses reveal that these adverse impacts are stronger for firms that are targeted by retail investors. The authors also uncover specific response strategies and styles that could mitigate these effects.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 153-180
Author(s):  
Ping Liu ◽  
Min Cai

For any business organizations, it is of great importance to handle customer complaints effectively. This is particularly vital in the service industry as complaining customers are found not very collaborative and tend to be emotional in the process of complaining [1] and sometimes the exchanges between agents and complaining customers become interpersonally sensitive. Following Orthaber and Reiter’s [2] definition of “interpersonally sensitive exchange”, this study addresses two research questions: (1) what pragmatic strategies are employed by call center agents in interpersonally sensitive interactions in complaint responses? 2) and what are the effects of these strategies on interpersonal relationship in complaint responses? Based on a corpus of 42 outbound calls (approximately 7.5 hours) made by the agents in the Complaint Centre of one Chinese airline, four conventional and two unconventional complaint response strategies are found to be employed by the agents. These strategies produce positive outcomes in some cases while lead to opposite effects in others. An effective strategy can either enhance the rapport between the agent and the complaining customer, or benefit the progressivity of complaint handling. Conversely, it deteriorates the originally sensitive rapport and sometimes even leads to upgraded complaint.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayyed Amir Sheikhan

The present study sets out to examine the realisation of the speech act of expressing sympathy in Persian, which, notwithstanding its significant communicative role, has not received the attention it deserves. More precisely, drawing on data collected through open role-plays and retrospective interviews, and using rapport management theory (Spencer-Oatey 2005), this study is an attempt to scrutinise Persian speakers’ sympathy expressions in a situation exhibit-ing solidarity between the interlocutors. Results show that by employing 12 distinct strategies, Persian speakers respect behavioural expectations through expressing involvement, empathy and respect in the context of sympa-thising. Also, they respect and mostly enhance their own and the interlocutor’s identity and respectability face. In addition, their interactional goals are strongly relational.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Banasiewicz ◽  
Rolf Becker ◽  
Adam Bobkiewicz ◽  
Marco Fraccalvieri ◽  
Wojciech Francuzik ◽  
...  

Recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic leading to a rapidly increasing number of hospitalizations enforced reevaluation of wound management strategies. The optimal treatment strategy for patients with chronic wounds and those recovering from emergency and urgent oncological surgery should aim to minimize the number of hospital admissions, as well as the number of surgical procedures and decrease the length of stay to disburden the hospital staff and to minimize viral infection risk. One of the potential solutions that could help to achieve these goals may be the extensive and early use of NPWT devices in the prevention of wound healing complications. Single-use NPWT devices are helpful in outpatient wound treatment and SSI prevention (ciNPWT) allowing to minimize in-person visits to the health care center while still providing the best possible wound-care. Stationary NPWT should be used in deep SSI and perioperative wound healing disorders as soon as possible. Patient’s education and telemedical support with visual wound healing monitoring and video conversations have the potential to minimize the number of unnecessary in-person visits in patients with wounds and therefore substantially increase the level of care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 182-195
Author(s):  
Samuel Alaba Akinwotu

Speech making in politics is an essential tool used to manage relationships between politicians and the electorate. The success of a speech depends on the content and the discourse and linguistic strategies employed to achieve speakers’ communicative goals. Political speeches have been widely studied, but extant studies have given tangential attention to the management of rapport in speeches of political office holders delivered in crisis situation in Nigeria. Two speeches delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu (GBS) on the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, downloaded from www.guardian.ng and www.premiumtimesng.com respectively, were purposively selected and analysed using Rapport Management theory. This is with the view to accounting for the linguistic elements and discourse strategies and their functions in maintaining harmonious relationship in selected texts. Linguistic elements such as the inclusive “we”, the institutional “I”, collective/possessive “us” “our” “your” and descriptive adjectives and strategies such as claiming common ground, expressing solidarity, showing empathy were employed to manage rapport and achieve communicative goals by PMB and GBS. While GBS tactically avoids utterances that are rapport threatening, some utterances of PMB have the tendency to impair rapport. He however mitigates them through hedging, personalisation, institutionalisation and testimonial argument.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongtao Yang ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Yenchun Jim Wu ◽  
Hangyu Shi ◽  
Shuting Xie

The effectiveness of trust has been extensively investigated in entrepreneurship studies. However, compared to the outcomes of trust, we still lack knowledge about the mechanisms underlying venture capitalists' initial trust in entrepreneurs. Drawing from signal theory and impression management theory, this study explores an impression management motivational explanation for the influencing factors of venture capitalists' initial trust. An empirical test is based on 202 valid questionnaires from venture capitalists, and the results indicate that the signal of five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation has a significant impact on the initial trust of venture capitalists and that a signal of entrepreneurial orientation of perseverance or passion positively influences venture capitalists' initial trust through acquired impression management strategies, while a signal of entrepreneurial orientation of risk-taking, innovation, or proactivity positively affects the initial trust of venture capitalists through defensive impression management strategies. The perceptions of entrepreneurs' hypocrisy by venture capitalists negatively moderate the relationship between acquired impression management strategies and the initial trust of venture capitalists and negatively moderate the relationship between defensive impression management strategies and the initial trust of venture capitalists.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 47-56
Author(s):  
Azmil bin Zainal Abidin

Sa`id Hawwa was a prominent figure of the post-Ottoman Islamic revival. As well as being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood of Syria, he was also grounded in Sufi tradition and education. He exerted an effort to re-organize the orientation of understanding about the tradition of Islamic knowledge in order to answer the challenge of the Western thoughts. His work is impregnated with new ideas related to the forms of interactions towards the Islamic disciplines which come in equilibrium; this includes the knowledge of tasawwuf. The objective of this study is to identify the Sufi framework which underlies Sa'id Hawwa’s works. The study also examines his perspective in revitalizing Sufi discourse in relation to current reality. Another objective of the study is to analyse his recommendations in endorsing the current understanding and practice of Sufism. This research was based on literature review through the documentation method in collecting data related to the research questions as well as data analysis method; thaht was the process of identifying the form of data collected for interpretation. The study finds that Sa'id Hawwa’s works are centered on purifying the conceptions of the Muslim community in their interaction with the world and Sufism. He stressed on the link between tasawwuf with other Islamic branches of knowledge. In the theoretical context, he reaffirmed that Sufism, as a stage of experiential faith (dhawqi), is a consequence of the monotheistic creed of Islam, which is a stage of intellectual faith (aqli). In the practical context, he emphasized the importance of orientating Sufism so as not to neglect the demands of the current obligations (wajib al-waqt) based on the current Islamic scenarios. The study concludes that Sa'id Hawwa made several contributions to the field of Sufism:  they are the integration of Sufi discourse with perspectives from other forms of Islamic knowledge;  and the revitalization of Sufi discourse by acknowledging current reality; and the criticism of those apsects of Sufism that are deemed to have deviated from the authentic Sufi path. He also linked aspects of the practice of Sufism with spiritual preparation for the restoration of the caliphate system. In other words, Sa’id Hawwa’s perspective is centered on the re-interpretation of Sufism, as a medium to elevate the status of the Islamic Sharia comprehensively.   Keywords: Sa`id Hawwa; contemporary tasawwuf perspective; Sufism tradition.     Sa`id Hawwa adalah tokoh idea kebangkitan Islam pasca-Uthmaniyyah. Selain menceburi gerakan al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin Syria, keperibadian beliau berlatarkan tradisi dan pendidikan kesufian. Dalam konteks keilmuan, beliau berusaha menyusun semula kerangka tradisi ilmu agar siap menghadapi bentuk cabaran dan serangan pemikiran Barat. Karya beliau sarat dengan idea pembaharuan berhubung bentuk interaksi terhadap disiplin ilmu Islam secara sepadu dan seimbang, termasuk ilmu tasawuf. Kajian ini bertujuan mengenal pasti sudut pandang yang melatari karya tasawuf Sa`id Hawwa. Penulisan ini turut mengkaji perspektif beliau dalam menyegarkan wacana tasawuf menurut realiti semasa. Termasuk dalam objektif kajian adalah menganalisis saranan beliau dalam memperbaiki aspek kefahaman dan pengamalan tasawuf semasa. Penulisan ini diasaskan kepada kajian kepustakaan menerusi metode dokumentasi dalam mengumpulkan data penting berkaitan persoalan yang dikaji dan metode analisis data iaitu proses mengesan bentuk data yang telah dikumpul untuk melakukan interpretasi. Kajian mendapati, karya Sa`id Hawwa adalah berpaksikan pemurnian semula konsepsi umat Islam dalam berinteraksi dengan tasawuf. Beliau menekankan pertautan di antara ilmu tasawuf dengan panduan ilmu-ilmu Islam lainnya. Dalam konteks teoretikal, beliau menegaskan kedudukan ilmu tasawuf yang berupa iman di peringkat rasaan (dhawqi) sebagai susulan ilmu akidah tauhid yang berupa iman di peringkat akliah (aqli). Dalam konteks praktikal, beliau menekankan kepentingan orientasi penghayatan tasawuf yang tidak mencuaikan tuntutan kewajipan semasa (wajib al-waqt) menurut senario umat Islam. Kajian merumuskan sumbangan utama Sa`id Hawwa di bidang tasawuf iaitu mengintegrasikan tasawuf dengan perspektif ilmu-ilmu Islam lain, mengaitkan wacana tasawuf dengan realiti semasa dan mengkritik gejala penyimpangan dari landasan tasawuf yang sahih. Beliau turut mengaitkan aspek pengamalan tasawuf sebagai persiapan rohani dalam mengembalikan semula sistem khilafah. Dalam erti kata lain, perspektif Sa`id Hawwa berpaksikan kepada pemaknaan semula tasawuf sebagai wahana memartabatkan syariat Islam secara komprehensif.   Kata kunci: Sa`id Hawwa; perspektif tasawuf kontemporari; tradisi kesufian.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor Moreno - Mendoza ◽  
Agustín Santana - Talavera ◽  
José Molina - González

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to affirm that it is possible to segment visitors of cultural heritage into homogeneous groups according to a series of characteristics to detect the variables that have statistical significance to identify visitor clusters.Design/methodology/approachFour case studies were selected, where a total of 500 questionnaires were made to visitors. The authors proceeded with cluster analysis using SPSS software to differentiate visitor segments. Four groups of visitors were first identified and which have subsequently been reduced to three, according to several factors.FindingsThe main contributions of this paper are: (1) the segment to which each one of the determinants of the cultural tourism product is dedicated; (2) the variable object of the analysis, i.e. the formation of visitor segments; and (3) the inclusion of less studied variables such as type of accommodation contracted, treatment offered in the museums or entrance price.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis has been developed in different museums, with different management models, in a specific place. However, the results are generalizable to other places and to other institutions that manage cultural heritage. The implications are management strategies for a sustainable cultural development in institutions of tourism and heritage.Practical implicationsFrom a practical point of view, the results are useful for cultural managers, travel agencies, tour operators, tourism companies or political offices, among others, because they generate new ideas and strategies focused on maximizing the use of the resources of cultural institutions.Social implicationsFor both local and non-local agents, the knowledge of the factors that make up the groups of visitors in the heritage sites represents a strategy in aspects of marketing, promotion and distribution, thus generating capacities for the different intermediaries, and the possibility of negotiating lower prices with better benefits. It is also possible to create new products destined for other publics.Originality/valueThe study is original because this has not been published.


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