The Impact of Organizational Culture on Customer Service Effectiveness from a Sustainability Perspective

Daniel Metz,Liviu Ilieș,Răzvan Liviu Nistor

doi:10.3390/su12156240

Abstract

The conducted study focused on a multinational ITC (Information Technology and Communications) company. Empirical research aimed to evaluate organizational culture based on Denison’s model through four features: capacity development, basic values, customer orientation, and goals and objectives. At the same time, the study analyzed service provided to customers, taking into account its three phases: pre-transaction, transaction, and post-transaction. As research methods, we used a questionnaire-based survey and direct observation. The results of the study demonstrate that the company has a strong culture based on an adequate core value system (shared by company members), innovative and effective human capital management practices, and customer orientation. All characteristics ensure the integration of sustainability principles into strategies, policies, and management practices of the company. At the same time, the authors develop a design and analysis model of the impact of organizational culture features on customer service effectiveness, highlighting that the four organizational culture features are good predictors for improving customer service effectiveness, which promotes an ethical business model and sustainable pursuit of economic, social and environmental performance. The study identified a set of good management practices and solutions in the design, operationalization, and monitoring of customer service.

Highlights

For most companies, customer service represents an important factor in retaining customers and in maintaining high profits, as well as in securing new customers
This paper proposes a conceptual framework that examines the impact of organizational culture on customer service effectiveness at a multinational company in the IT industry from the perspective of integrating the principles of sustainability into the business model in order to help achieve current and strategic sustainability objectives in business
The general objective of this study consists of the development of a model for the assessment and analysis of the impact of organizational culture, represented by four traits, on customer service effectiveness within a multinational company from the ITC industry in Romania

Summary

Introduction

Customer service represents an important factor in retaining customers and in maintaining high profits, as well as in securing new customers. An increasing number of companies carry out surveys regarding customer needs and expectations in order to determine competitive customer service levels [1], The effectiveness of customer service is an important factor in ensuring a competitive advantage. Improving the level of customer service from the perspective of sustainability is essential for a company’s orientation towards ensuring customer satisfaction by customer loyalty, which costs much less than regaining lost customers or attracting new ones [1,3,4,5,6]. The improvement of customer service effectiveness can significantly enhance organizational effectiveness, as well as customer and employee satisfaction [7,8]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion