How call center location impacts expectations of service from reputable versus lesser known firms |
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Authors: | Anne L Roggeveen Neeraj Bharadwaj Wayne D Hoyer |
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Institution: | a Babson College, 215 Malloy Hall, Babson Park, MA 02457-0310, United States b The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, 5807 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, United States c McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, CBA 7.248, Mailcode: B6700, Austin, TX 78712, United States |
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Abstract: | Businesses are increasingly turning to call service centers located abroad to provide customer support. Although the country-of-origin literature as well as other reports may lead one to believe that consumers will expect offshore call centers to deliver poorer service, call center location is simply one cue which consumers can utilize to form expectations. This research investigates how two factors (location and reputation) impact a consumer's expectations regarding an upcoming service encounter. We employ information integration theory to examine how these two cues are combined. Results from two experiments demonstrate that call center location does not impact pre-encounter expectations if the firm is reputable. If, however, the firm is less known, consumers anticipate being less satisfied if they believe the call center is located in a nation dissimilar to the U.S. (e.g., India or the Philippines) versus in the U.S. or similar to the U.S. (e.g., England). Belief about training provided by the firm is shown to be the key mediator. |
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Keywords: | Call centers Country-of-origin Offshoring Reputation Services Training |
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