Providing Customer Service Research Articles

EXPRESS: Retailer Differentiation in Social Media: an Investigation of Firm-Generated Content on Twitter

Social media platforms have been used by firms for a variety of purposes - for building firms’ brand image, increasing customer engagement, providing customer service, among others. However, there is very little research on content strategies adopted by traditional rival firms competing on online social media platforms. This paper seeks to fill this gap by examining whether retailers, traditionally identified as close competitors, mirror this rivalry in their social media content strategies on Twitter. To this end, this study introduces a new metric for assessing competition on online social media, based on content similarity. The authors find that retailers competing closely in traditional context show greater divergence in their content strategies on social media, and firms whose social media content strategies are less similar to content strategies of their close traditional rivals benefit from higher engagement and acquire new followers faster. In examining the mechanism of the effect, the authors find that these divergent firms’ improved performance is attributable to their superior ability to leverage the higher-level affordances of Twitter as compared to their rivals. The results of this study offer valuable insights for firms seeking to distinguish their social media content from that of their competitors.

The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy in the Relationship Between Salespersons’ Personal Factors and Sales Performance

A skilled salesperson can build strong relationships with clients, which fosters loyalty and repeat business. They provide valuable insights into customer preferences and competitive landscapes as well as creating value for their customers, manage customer relationships, and gather information for their firms. Hence, this paper explores how self-efficacy functions as a mediator in the correlation between improvisational behaviour, adaptive selling, and sales performance of salespersons. This study investigates the direct and indirect relationship of self-efficacy with sales performance. This study used a survey research approach using clustered random sampling. Data are collected from 315 salespersons employed by Malaysian commercial banks in Klang Valley via survey questionnaires. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that self-efficacy serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between improvisational behaviour and adaptive selling with sales performance. Additionally, the results also showed that improvisational behaviour and adaptive selling are positively related to sales performance. The study concluded that personal factors of salespersons are important in determining their sales performance. Hence, for managers to have a competitive advantage in the banking sector, they need to adopt a more comprehensive understanding of what makes a good customer service provider.

Strategy for striking the omnichannel balance in Retail 4.0

PurposeThe rise of Industry 4.0 led to digitally-enabled evolutionary and radical changes in all branches of the retail industry, resulting in the emergence of the distinct term “Retail 4.0”. Within this paradigm, particular emphasis is placed on forming a balanced system of omnichannel sales and customer service, allowing reaching a synergistic effect in the face of constant changes, turbulence and uncertainty in the business environment. The main objective of this study is to offer and justify a practical strategy for optimal utilization of sales channels and customer service provision within the Retail 4.0 paradigm.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual argument of the study is based on the review of the literature and illustrative case studiesFindingsThe decision-making model proposed in this study provides a roadmap for retailers. It underscores the need for a data-driven approach, where decisions are informed by real-time analytics and customer insights. This model also advocates for a flexible yet structured approach to managing various sales channels, ensuring that each channel complements and enhances the other.Originality/valueThe study offers and justifies an original five-stage process model for forming a balanced system of omnichannel sales and customer service.

Customer service chatbot enhancement with attention-based transfer learning

Customer service is an important and expensive aspect of business, often being the largest department in most companies. With growing societal acceptance and increasing cost efficiency due to mass production, service robots are beginning to cross from the industrial domain to the social domain. Currently, customer service robots tend to be digital and emulate social interactions through on-screen text, but state-of-the-art research points towards physical robots soon providing customer service in person. This article explores the feasibility of Transfer Learning different customer service domains to improve chatbot models. In our proposed approach, transfer learning-based chatbot models are initially assigned to learn one domain from an initial random weight distribution. Each model is then tasked with learning another domain by transferring knowledge from the previous domains. To evaluate our approach, a range of 19 companies from domains such as e-Commerce, telecommunications, and technology are selected through social interaction with X (formerly Twitter) customer support accounts. The results show that the majority of models are improved when transferring knowledge from at least one other domain, particularly those more data-scarce than others. General language transfer learning is observed, as well as higher-level transfer of similar domain knowledge. For each of the 19 domains, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test suggests that 16 have statistically significant distributions between transfer and non-transfer learning. Finally, feasibility is explored for the deployment of chatbot models to physical robot platforms including “Pepper”, a semi-humanoid robot manufactured by SoftBank Robotics, and “Temi”, a personal assistant robot.

Profit compression, time compression, and emotional exhaustion: the platformization of Taobao and its constraining effects on Chinese ‘original design’ women’s e-shops

ABSTRACT This study examines how Taobao, the dominant Chinese e-business platform, regulates the production, operation, and sales models of its e-shops, and the response to this regulation in the women’s original-design apparel industry. Drawing on ethnographic research with Shanghai-based Taobao original-design e-shops, this study shows that Taobao has normalized the ‘wanghong model’. This business model, which prioritizes internet celebrity and traffic generation through frequent online shopping festival promotions, tends to enhance the platform’s traffic rather than the e-shops’ sales or interests. Moreover, Taobao’s ‘consumer-first’ philosophy, responding to the socialist state’s left-leaning calls and competition from other platforms, places significant demands on practitioners’ time, making it challenging for the e-shops to manage the increase in returns along with sales. Taobao also requires practitioners to perform a large amount of emotional labor to provide customer service. Overall, a detailed analysis of Taobao’s platformization process complicates the simplistic understanding of China’s apparel industry transitioning from state-driven to market-oriented models. Instead, it reveals how the platform-mediated ‘market’ has become more diversified and stratified by various sub-platforms, affordances and business norms. Furthermore, it empirically shows how the axis of state-platform power has encroached upon the time, emotions, and energy of small businesses without enhancing their profitability.

Penerapan Uji-T Independen untuk Sistem Chatbot Gaotek

Artificial intelligence has become a primary focus in the development of computer systems that mimic human brain functions. One application is the development of Chatbots to assist in various fields. In this context, the research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of two types of Chatbots, namely Chatbot Gemini and ChatGPT, in providing customer service at GAOTek Inc. Through the application of Independent T-tests, the research findings indicate a significant difference in the performance of the two Chatbots. ChatGPT exhibits a lower average score compared to Chatbot Gemini, demonstrating significant efficiency superiority. The Independent T-test statistical results show the rejection of the null hypothesis, indicating a significant difference between the two groups. The alternative hypothesis is accepted, confirming a distinction in the performance of the two Chatbots. Thus, ChatGPT is declared as the most efficient Chatbot in the context of customer service at GAOTek Inc. These results are expected to provide valuable insights for the development and implementation of Chatbots in enhancing customer service effectiveness across various industries, particularly at GAOTek Inc.

Blockchain-Based Security Framework for VNF Package Protection in 5G Network Slicing Services

Abstract The demand for scalable, open and granular networks has enabled mobile networks such as 5G to adopt new concepts including NFV (Network Function Virtualization). NFV separates the dependency of network functions from the hardware component, allowing them to be deployed flexibly and dynamically across network slices. In this way, operators can deliver personalized services and optimize the use of network resources, contributing to greater operational efficiency and an enhanced end-user experience. However, there are several issues to be addressed, such as the security of VNFs and the way in which service provider customers instantiate NSSIs (Network Slice Subnet Instance). In this article, we present a new approach based on blockchain 2.0, which guarantees the immutability of VNFs and templates, as well as highly secure instantiation with access management and support for replay attacks.

Social Behavior Analysis in Exclusive Enterprise Social Networks by FastHAND

There is an emerging trend in the Chinese automobile industries that automakers are introducing exclusive enterprise social networks (EESNs) to expand sales and provide after-sale services. The traditional online social networks (OSNs) and enterprise social networks (ESNs), such as X (formerly known as Twitter) and Yammer, are ingeniously designed to facilitate unregulated communications among equal individuals. However, users in EESNs are naturally social stratified, consisting of both enterprise staffs and customers. In addition, the motivation to operate EESNs can be quite complicated, including providing customer services and facilitating communication among enterprise staffs. As a result, the social behaviors in EESNs can be quite different from those in OSNs and ESNs. In this work, we aim to analyze the social behaviors in EESNs. We consider the Chinese car manufacturer NIO as a typical example of EESNs and provide the following contributions. First, we formulate the social behavior analysis in EESNs as a link prediction problem in heterogeneous social networks. Second, to analyze this link prediction problem, we derive plentiful user features and build multiple meta-path graphs for EESNs. Third, we develop a novel Fast (H)eterogeneous graph (A)ttention (N)etwork algorithm for (D)irected graphs (FastHAND) to predict directed social links among users in EESNs. This algorithm introduces feature group attention at the node-level and uses an edge sampling algorithm over directed meta-path graphs to reduce the computation cost. By conducting various experiments on the NIO community data, we demonstrate the predictive power of our proposed FastHAND method. The experimental results also verify our intuitions about social affinity propagation in EESNs.

Role of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) and Machine Learning (Ml) in Financial Decision-Making

In the banking business, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to detect fraud, automate trading activities, manage portfolios, and provide customer service has increased significantly in recent years. Artificial intelligence (AI) uses statistical modeling to create predictions. Managing relationships and providing investors with financial advisory services. The inherent capacity of AI to quickly analyze several data sets and create different business scenarios to aid in decision-making can enhance an organization’s financial performance without explicitly programming for predicted results. This study examines how well AI is implemented in the Indian financial sector, as well as how much progress has been made in this area Integration has produced. The study addresses some of the contemporary AI technologies used in the Indian financial sector and attempts to investigate the comfort level and expectations of these workers with regard to AI use. Additionally, it attempts to statistically examine the degree of integration and potential relationship between AI systems and the features and efficacy that they have brought to financial decision making across all industries and participants in the Indian financial sector, as well as across all job levels within various financial organizations.

Breaking barriers: How race shapes service expectations across actors and contexts

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact of race on Customer Service Quality Expectations (SQE) using the Similarity-Attraction Perspective within the context of all interacting service actors, including customers, service providers, and other customers. A thorough literature review of racial effects in service environments is followed by a 2 (Service Actor Race: White vs. Black) × 2 (Service Actor Role: Service Provider vs. Other Customers) × 2 (Context: Experience vs. Credence) experimental study with Black and White customers. The study revealed that customer Perceptions of Service Actor Similarity (PSIM) mediate the influence of matching Customer Race and Service Actor Race on SQE. Results indicate: 1) that SQE is higher when customers are in the presence of other Service Actors perceived to be of their own race, and 2) that the effect varies by Service Actor Role and Service Type. This is an initial attempt to explore the impact of race on Experience and Credence services by adopting a Similarity-Attraction framework considering all participants in the service environment. The findings of this study hold important managerial implications, emphasizing that businesses should be mindful of the impact of race on SQE and consider fostering a diverse and inclusive service environment to enhance customer outcomes.

Seasonal Adaptations in the Hospitality Industry: Balancing Profits with Customer Needs

The hospitality industry plays a role in tourism, contributing to the economy of various regions worldwide. Its ability to adapt and withstand challenges makes it an essential part of ecosystems worldwide (Chetty and Raj, 2020). The demand for hospitality services follows its rhythm, influenced by seasons, international events and cultural celebrations. For example, coastal destinations attract visitors during summer when the sun is shining bright. On the other hand, adventurous souls are drawn to areas where winter brings crisp air. Adding to this complexity are festivals that require management strategies (Lozano et al., 2021). The digital age has changed the hospitality industry due to advancements. The appearance of analytics, intelligence and big data has changed traditional practices, empowering businesses to predict trends, enhance their offerings and cater to evolving customer preferences (Zervas et al., 2017). However, there are challenges associated with this transformation. The accessibility of platforms for customer feedback amplifies the impact of reviews. Negative critiques can harm a brand's reputation and revenue during peak demand periods (Alrawabdeh, 2021).In the sections of this paper, we will explore these strategies used during different seasons. We will also examine how businesses balance driving profitability and providing customer service. To enhance our understanding, we will analyse real-world case studies from industries. Our focus is on unravelling and appreciating the nuances and dynamic trends that shape the changing face of the modern hospitality sector.

공인중개사의 직업전문성 인식이 직무만족에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between recognition of professional expertise and job satisfaction of licensed real estate agents. To achieve the purpose of this study, we derived factors that recognized the professionalism of real estate agents and statistically analyzed their impact on job satisfaction among 203 real estate agents in Seoul and Gyeonggi regions. As a result, it was confirmed that sense of calling, self-control, and professional consciousness have a statistically significant influence on the recognition of professional expertise of licensed real estate agents. However, it was analyzed that sense of ownership had no effect on job satisfaction. Therefore, in order to increase job satisfaction through recognition of the professionalism of real estate agents, the factors of sense of calling, self-control, and professional awareness must be improved. To this end, first, real estate agents must recognize the profession of a real estate agent as useful and important, and strive to have a sense of vocation in engaging in it because it is rewarding and enjoyable to work as a real estate agent. Second, licensed real estate agents must strengthen self-control, including regulation of violations of law and ethics, appropriate punishment, mutual evaluation of licensed real estate agents, and ethical practice. Third, it is necessary to recognize that the real estate agent profession is a recognized profession that contributes to society and to strengthen professional awareness by providing customer service and professional services.

Entrepreneurship Development In Cameroon: An Analysis of The Characteristics of Cameroonian Entrepreneurs

The main objective of this study is to describe the characteristics of Cameroonian entrepreneurs. Using a descriptive research design, the study collected 150 questionnaires through the purposive and referral (snowball) sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse and present collected data. The result of the study reveals that most Cameroonian entrepreneurs are dominantly Optimistic in nature and have a fighting spirit to see that their ventures survive and grow in the midst of the many challenges that surround them such as disturbance from local council agents and taxation agents, high taxes, inflation, the socio-political crisis, unsafety, power outages, lack of subventions, bad roads. They are also hardworking, generous, trustworthy, gentlemanly, sceptical, ambitious, risk bearers, confident, customer service providers, determined, discrete, dynamic, focused, goal getters, innovative, motivated, profit conscious, realistic, self-confident, strategic, time conscious, visionary. It can also be concluded that the majority of entrepreneurs in Cameroon are below forty-two (42) years, they are mostly male, married, have at least a Bachelor degree, schooled in government schools, are not very bold about their political affiliations and are not very inclined to the practice of their traditions.

The cyber-industrialization of catfishing and romance fraud

We examine a new form of online fraud, which we refer to as Intimacy Manipulated Fraud Industrialization (IMFI). This type of fraud bears a strong resemblance to traditional online romance fraud and catfishing, but is “industrialized” through enterprise business practices, software platforms, and customer service processes. To gain a better understanding of this operation, we conducted an inductive analysis of publicly available testimonial and review data provided by current and prior employees of a specific company in the online customer service contract space. Companies hire individuals online to work as “chat moderators” or “customer service providers” who are told that their task is to advance engagement on social media platforms. In fact, they are being recruited as “sexting” workers, paid on a per-text basis to engage in intimate chatting with clients who believe they're interacting with individuals of the opposite gender on a dating site. The process is mediated via client management processes that monitor employee productivity and monetize all interactions between “clients” and “workers.” The company executes these processes with great efficiency by algorithmically assigning multiple workers to individual clients and assembling background files on clients in real time. We find that workers serve as both exploiters of their clients as well as victims of the company they work for. The implications of our study could significantly impact how we address AI-generated online fraud in the future, shedding light on the complex dynamics at play within these fraudulent enterprises.

IMPACT OF SERVICE QUALITY OF SELECTED FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS IN LAGOS STATE ON CUSTOMER PATRONAGE

The provision of excellent customer service is a vital aspect in the growth of a fast-food business. The purpose of this study was to look into the impact of the quality of service on consumer patronage of chosen fast-food restaurants in Lagos State. The study used survey research design, with the target audience consisting of customers of fast-food restaurants in Lagos State. 6 fast-food outlets were randomly selected in each of Lagos State's 3 senatorial zones. The analysis used both descriptive and inferential statistics. The population was assumed to be infinite, sampling quotas was employed to select a sample of 240 participants. Individually, reliability (𝛽2=0.280, p=0.000) and responsiveness (𝛽3=0.370, p=0.000) were discovered to have a considerable favorable impact on client patronage. Tangibility, on the other hand, has a favorable but small impact on consumer patronage (𝛽1=0.058, p=0.271). The study suggests that fast-food management consider the tangibility aspect of service quality

Agency Banking and Accessibility to Financial Services of Commercial Banks in the Northern Province of Rwanda

This research project was on assessing the effects of agency banking on accessibility to financial services in commercial banks in the Northern Province of Rwanda. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population was 555 agents under which sample size was 233 people found using the Yamae formula. The study used a stratified and simple random sampling method. Also, different research instruments of data collection were used which include: journals, articles, document analysis and questionnaires. The reliability of the study was tested by carrying out pilot research and found that Cronbach's Alpha of .831. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and data was presented using tables, percentages, means, and standard deviations. To analyze the relationship between two variables, Pearson Chi-Square and Pearson correlation were used to come up with comprehensive results. It was clear from the study that strategic responses to the implementation of agency banking as a competitive strategy in enhancing customers’ access to financial services included the provision of high-quality customer service, enhancing the operational structure and improving the brand image. The study established that operational structure, brand image and financial services awareness among the rural population are positively correlated (r = 0.805) with access to financial services. Access to financial services was greatly enhanced by strategically increasing the proximity of agency banking services, increasing the number of services that could be offered through agency banking and increasing awareness among the population on financial services available at agency banking outlets. Keywords: Agency banking, Financial Services, Commercial banks, Customers, Rural population.

Analyzing The Relationship Between Marketing Public Relations, Digital Marketing, Marketing Mix, Customer Service, and Customer Loyalty

This study aims to investigate the intricate relationship among marketing public relations, digital marketing, marketing mix, customer service, and customer loyalty within the contemporary business landscape. Employing a qualitative research design, the study utilizes purposive sampling to gather data from a diverse range of industry experts, marketers, and consumers. Data analysis involves thematic analysis to unveil patterns, themes, and insights from the collected data. The findings shed light on the nuanced interactions among marketing public relations, digital marketing strategies, elements of the marketing mix, quality customer service provision, and its impact on fostering customer loyalty. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamic marketing ecosystem, offering valuable insights for businesses aiming to enhance customer engagement and loyalty in the digital age.

Customer misbehavior and service providers’ risk perception in the sharing economy

Sharing economy (SE) service providers (e.g., home-sharing hosts) are regularly faced with customer misbehavior, either directly via their own experiences or indirectly via the experiences of other providers. In our study, we demonstrate that this increases providers’ perceived risk and, ultimately, their intention to quit sharing. Based on a comprehensive framework, we identify several boundary conditions for providers’ risk processing. We tested our model utilizing a sample of 1,312 owners of European holiday homes. Regarding sharing platforms’ management, our results offer insights for reducing provider turnover by selectively encouraging providers to share experiences with each other and by increasing service providers’ enjoyment in sharing. We performed an additional multigroup analysis to examine the role of providers’ places of residence, which reveals important differences. For example, it appears that risk-related information acquired in face-to-face interactions has a greater impact on perceived risk than information from indirect exchanges (e.g., online forums).

Strategi Persaingan Gojek Dalam Mode Tranportasi Online Guna Meraih Keunggulan Yang Kompetitif Dalam Peningkatan Pajak Daerah

Currently Go-jek is an application for many services. This research aims to determine the influence of Go-Jek's business model transformation to preserve the company's competitive advantage in economic development from various customer perspectives. The competitive strategies and policies implemented as well as company synergies determine the achievement of results. The competitive strategy is intended to look objectively at the company's internal and external conditions to gain excellence in its field which is a means of achieving long-term and sustainable goals by prioritizing service quality, managing customer expectations, providing customer service, providing information about Gojek online services to customers and building a culture. online transportation services needed by the community

Customer care in selected academic libraries in Ghana

This article reflects on a study done on the state of customer care in five selected academic libraries in Ghana. The study examined the prevailing customer care programmes – the policies, structures, practices, and the effects of customer care on the use of library products and services. Based on a pragmatic assumption, the researchers adopted a mixed-method research approach and a survey design with a sample of 3153 respondents which comprised three strata: students, faculty and library staff from the five selected academic libraries in Ghana. Data was largely collected with questionnaires and interviews were used to gather information from university librarians/heads of customer service. A document review instrument was used to confirm information provided by the respondents. The findings revealed that all five academic libraries had some form of customer care programmes. The article also established that customer care programmes contributed greatly to the improvement of skills, knowledge, experiences, and service performance of the academic library staff, which influenced the patronage of library products and services. However, the researchers identified inadequate financial resources, lack of written customer care policies, shortfalls in the customer care practices and training programmes as some of the challenges facing the implementation of customer care initiatives in academic libraries in Ghana. The article recommends developing written customer service policies and programmes specific to the provision of excellent customer services in academic libraries, adequate funding for regular customer service training of library staff and effective application of modern technology to enhance customer care in academic libraries.