Organizational knowledge and information technology: the key resources for improving customer service in call centers

Abstract

This study examines whether organizational knowledge and information technologies (IT) resources influence the service expertise and performance of customer service representatives (CSRs) in call centers. More specifically, the study classifies organizational knowledge into two forms, digital knowledge stored in knowledge management systems and human knowledge that internal experts have in the organization. Moreover, the study verifies that service expertise is a major factor for providing good service. A total of 292 responses on CSRs were collected and used for the analysis. The key findings are as follows: first, digital knowledge, human knowledge, and IT resources considerably improve CSRs’ service expertise. Second, digital and human knowledge resources improve service performance, but an IT resource does not. Finally, service expertise greatly increases performance. The findings indicate that CSRs’ service expertise and performance depend on organizational knowledge and IT resources provided by the call center.