Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance
Previous research has examined call center agent performance from the viewpoint of efficiency (an organizational goal) or from customer satisfaction (the callers‘ goal). However, few studies examine call center practice from the perspective of the agent and caller by considering the text of interact...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/45497 |
| _version_ | 1811693833151315968 |
|---|---|
| author | Clark, Colin MacKinnon |
| author2 | Ang Soon |
| author_facet | Ang Soon Clark, Colin MacKinnon |
| author_sort | Clark, Colin MacKinnon |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Previous research has examined call center agent performance from the viewpoint of efficiency (an organizational goal) or from customer satisfaction (the callers‘ goal). However, few studies examine call center practice from the perspective of the agent and caller by considering the text of interactions between them. The study takes a grounded theory approach to investigate the communication strategies of call center agents at a large company in Singapore receiving calls seeking information and solutions for problems. An initial list of strategies used in calls with customers was derived from an initial sample of 75 calls. These were discussed and refined with call center agents and managers. A large corpus of 1560 calls was then sifted for calls indicating customer-induced social stress factors. These calls were scored for efficiency, courtesy and effectiveness and the results analyzed in terms of communication strategies or conversational moves. Ten key communication strategies emerged that could be categorized into two broader constructs: solidarity building and conversational control. Hierarchical modeling analysis was conducted with a nested model including demographic variables and emotional intelligence, communication competence and cultural orientation of the agents in addition to solidarity building and conversational control strategies. Results showed that solidarity building predicted courtesy, conversational control strategies predicted efficiency, and both solidarity building and conversational control predicted effectiveness. Further, conversational control strategies had a negative effect on courtesy, while solidarity had no significant impact on efficiency. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:57:57Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | ntu-10356/45497 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:57:57Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/454972024-01-12T10:26:07Z Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance Clark, Colin MacKinnon Ang Soon Priscilla S. Rogers Nanyang Business School DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Communication Previous research has examined call center agent performance from the viewpoint of efficiency (an organizational goal) or from customer satisfaction (the callers‘ goal). However, few studies examine call center practice from the perspective of the agent and caller by considering the text of interactions between them. The study takes a grounded theory approach to investigate the communication strategies of call center agents at a large company in Singapore receiving calls seeking information and solutions for problems. An initial list of strategies used in calls with customers was derived from an initial sample of 75 calls. These were discussed and refined with call center agents and managers. A large corpus of 1560 calls was then sifted for calls indicating customer-induced social stress factors. These calls were scored for efficiency, courtesy and effectiveness and the results analyzed in terms of communication strategies or conversational moves. Ten key communication strategies emerged that could be categorized into two broader constructs: solidarity building and conversational control. Hierarchical modeling analysis was conducted with a nested model including demographic variables and emotional intelligence, communication competence and cultural orientation of the agents in addition to solidarity building and conversational control strategies. Results showed that solidarity building predicted courtesy, conversational control strategies predicted efficiency, and both solidarity building and conversational control predicted effectiveness. Further, conversational control strategies had a negative effect on courtesy, while solidarity had no significant impact on efficiency. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (NBS) 2011-06-14T06:34:52Z 2011-06-14T06:34:52Z 2011 2011 Thesis Clark, C. M. (2011). Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/45497 10.32657/10356/45497 en 160 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Communication Clark, Colin MacKinnon Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| title | Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| title_full | Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| title_fullStr | Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| title_short | Communication strategies of call center agents : a multi-method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| title_sort | communication strategies of call center agents a multi method study of solidarity building and conversation control on agent performance |
| topic | DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Communication |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/45497 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT clarkcolinmackinnon communicationstrategiesofcallcenteragentsamultimethodstudyofsolidaritybuildingandconversationcontrolonagentperformance |