客服中心當地以及非當地客戶服務代表的服務質量

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(1)國立臺灣師範大學管理學院管理研究所碩士論文 Graduate Institute of Management College of Management National Taiwan Normal University Master Thesis. Study on Clients’ Perceived Service Quality between Local and Non-Local Customer Care Representative in Call Centers 客服中心當地以及非當地客戶服務代表的服務質量. 黃順明 Wong Soon Ming. 指導教授：邱皓政博士 Advisor：Dr HawJeng Chiou. 中華民國 103 年 7 月 July, 2014.

(2) Abstract Providing a good quality Customer Care has become vital for companies in order to succeed on the market and differ from competitors. Running call center is example of the service which companies offer to customers. However, in many cases companies distinguish running call centers as extra expenditure and as such in some cases outsource/offshore those to lower labor rate countries. As a result, Customer Care is regularly provided by non-local speakers.. The aim of this thesis was to determine whether customers perceive service in a different manner hearing that employee is not a local speaker. Additionally, study examined which non-local speech characteristics are important for the service quality perception. Besides that, study looked for differences in the service quality perception between respondents under 30 years (so called Generation Y) and older respondents.. Theoretical framework focused on three core areas – call center specifics, the service quality perception and the role of language in call centers in particular. Literature review helped to summarize factors characterizing non-local speech (accent, vocabulary, rhythm of speech, cognitive language frame and syntax) and determine suitable measure item scale for empirical part.. The empirical study consisted of the pilot study and consequent survey study. Pilot study was based on customers´ and Customer Care representatives´ interviews. All Customer Care representatives had experience with conducting calls in their non-local language(s). Based on the pilot study, hypotheses were formed and consequently tested by survey realized in two countries, Taiwan and Philippines. Questionnaires with imaginary scenarios were used to gain data. 2.

(3) A series of analyses on evaluating the measures as well as the testing of the hypotheses will be processed following the procedure of data collection.. Keywords: Call center, outsourcing, offshoring, perceived service quality, customer expectations. 3.

(4) Table of Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................2 Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 6 1.1. Background and Motivation ............................................................................6 1.2. Research Purpose ............................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................ 9 2.1. Outsourcing…...................................................................................................9 2.2. Offshoring…………….................................................................................. 10 2.3. Service Quality Perceptions in Call Center…………………………..…..….10 2.3.1. Service Quality Perception Framework……………………………….11 2.3.1.1. Customer Expectations .................................................................11 2.3.1.2. Total Perceived Service Quality ...................................................13 2.3.2. Factors Causing the Service Quality Perception................................... 15 2.3.2.1. Company Image .......................................................................... 15 2.3.2.2. Country Image…………………………………………………..16 2.3.2.3. Cultural Differences……………………………………………..17 2.3.2.4. Age Dissimilarity………………………………………………..19 2.3.2.5. Other Factors………………………………………………...….20 2.3.3. Service Quality Perception Measurement..............................................21 2.3.3.1. Service Quality (SERVQUAL)……............................................22 2.3.3.2. Service Recovery (RECOVSTAT)…...........................................23 2.3.4. The Role of Language in Call Center Context.......................................24 2.3.4.1. Language in Service Encounters...................................................24 2.3.4.2. Language as Expression of Belonging to the Nation....................25 2.3.4.3. Second Language Acquisition.......................................................26 2.3.4.4. Common Differences Between Language Spoken by Local and Non-Local Speaker.......................................................................27 2.3.4.5. Language Factors Influencing Service Quality Perception...........32 2.3.5. Summary…………………....................................................................33 2.4. Hypotheses......................................................................................................35 Chapter 3 Methods ......................................................................................................36 3.1. Selection of Research Method…………………....……………………….....36 3.2. Research Design……………..........................................................................37 3.2.1. Pilot Study…………............................................................................. 37 3.2.2. Survey Study………. ............................................................................42 Chapter 4 Results……………….................................................................................50 4.1. Results of Pilot Study………...……………….....………………………......50 4.

(5) 4.2. Results of Survey Study……..........................................................................53 Chapter 5 Discussions..................................................................................................67 5.1. Local and Non-Local Speaker Perception…….....………………………......67 5.2. Cross-National Comparison............................................................................71 5.3. Conclusion…………………………………….....………………………......74 5.4. Theoretical Implications..................................................................................75 5.5. Managerial Implications………………...…….....………………………......76 5.6. Limitations………………..............................................................................78 5.7. Further Research Suggestions...………...…….....………………………......78 References…………....................................................................................................80 Appendix…………......................................................................................................84. 5.

(6) Chapter 1 Introduction. 1.1. Background and Motivation. In the world of high rivalry it has become a need for companies to offer good quality Customer Care for clients. Customers anticipate company to be easily reachable and reacting rapidly to answer client’s questions. Companies went a long way towards these conditions, for instance by allowing clients to provide themselves with the help of easy to navigate web pages. With the growing amount of technology surrounding the world, customers frequently feel that our society is “dehumanizing” (Duchene, 2008). Nonetheless, some services are not likely to handle without human communication. Customer Care, especially call center, is measured as such example.. Call center is defined “as a telephone service facility system to handle a large number of both inbound and outbound calls” (Businessdictionary.com). Word inbound refers to calls coming from customers, for example orders or help desk requests. Outbound calls are initiated by employees aggressively contacting customers with e.g. voicemail & callback. The combination of telephone and other technology (computers, faxes) is usual for call centers. Lately, additional technologies, like the inter-active voice response (IVR) and automatic call distribution (ACD) has been exploited (Robinson and Morley, 2006).. As said by “Aggravating Circumstances: A Status Report on Rudeness in America” survey (2004), calling Customer Care has become very horrible situation for clients to go through. Although customers regularly whine about having to pay attention to.

(7) automatic recording rather than human their dissatisfaction does not end with communicating to AGENT. Clients normally disagree that AGENTs do have a lack of topical information, try to disconnect the call quickly and it is overall difficult to get a solution to a problem. Alterlocally, AGENTs mention that they have to regularly deal with stubborn clients, impoliteness and swearing. (Yellin, 2009). With some call centers being situated in foreign countries; language problems together with nationalism often strengthen antipathies towards calling a Customer Care.. Call centers are in numerous cases seen as a further expenditure for a company instead of being taken as a chance for income gaining and customer relationships building. With the aim of cut costs for managing a call center companies had diverse strategies. With existing phenomena, outsourcing and offshoring, when the Customer Care is situated outside of country, fresh challenges have appeared. Cultural, geographical and language barriers make the contact between company and customer very sensitive issue in advance a lot of public and academic attention (Stringfellow, 2007). Stringfellow also submit to above-mentioned obstacles as hidden costs pointing out that these hidden costs have not yet been further explored although they should be robustly considered by companies when deciding about offshoring a call center.. It has been proved that language plays a key role in services (Holmqvist, 2009). As Holmqvist (2009) notes, language is perceived as consequential in service encounters and customers do not mind paying extra in order to receive service in the language they prefer. Nevertheless, what remains unrevealed is to what extent language, and especially language verbalized by non-local verbalizers, contributes to the perceived accommodation quality. Language is crucial factor for successful interaction between 7.

(8) client and AGENT. The way employee verbalizes the language (tone, accent, wording) probably influences not only the one concrete communication episode but additionally company’s image, which client engenders among others on the substructure of these communications. The interaction between customer and employee is so-called “the moment of truth” exhibiting company’s posture towards customers´ enquiries.. 1.2. Research Purpose. The purpose of this thesis is to establish whether clients perceive service in a dissimilar manner knowing that Customer Care representative is not a local speaker. Additional research objective is to distinguish the non-local communication characteristics vital for the service quality perception. 8.

(9) Chapter 2 Literature Review. Call center management is a wide-ranging area, which cannot be defined broadly in this study. Yet, consideration should be specified to vital topics associated to the thesis purpose. Consequently, the next segment explains terms stated in the introduction, outsourcing and offshoring, concerning the call center service division. Short outline of the call center placement in Asia follows. In this study only the word offshoring is used in situations where it is secondary whether call center was outsourced or offshored.. 2.1 Outsourcing Outsourcing has grown on attractiveness during the 1980s when it was presented as a cost-cutting technique to many companies. Nonetheless, it has its roots in Roman times when government assigned the tax collection to the accredited citizens (Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2005). In the widest meaning, outsourcing comprehends the allocating or distributing of some industry activity with the third-party merchant centered abroad (Ramarapu and Parzinger, 1997) Concerning the spot, outsourcing can be said “among associates within the same country (onshore outsourcing), between associates of the same region (nearshoring), or between associates from any site (international sourcing)” (Stare and Rubalcaba, 2009). Hence, if an Asian company assigns part of the business tasks to another Asian based associates, term nearshoring concerns. Nearshoring produces benefits in the form of geographical and cultural closeness; however, there are certain negatives too, for example the language gap.. 9.

(10) 2.2 Offshoring Offshoring is an equally alike custom to outsourcing in terms of the service division to another country. Detail differentiate offshoring from outsourcing is the nonexistence of the third-party merchant. The assigned service stays “in-house” so business maintains running the operations on its own though situated overseas. The drive of offshoring does not differ from outsourcing; it is executed so as to reduce the expenses. Offshoring does not differ among whereabouts, therefore no matter where to the Customer Care is located, the term offshoring is used. Offshoring and outsourcing typically take an advantage of a comparatively low-cost and welleducated workforce in such countries like India, Latin America, Philippines, or Eastern Asia (Le Bon and Hughes, 2009). There are numerous purposes for the services outsourcing/offshoring. Gilley and Rasheed (2000) call attention to that three most usual aims are saving expenditures, refining the service quality by assigning the activity to the specialized firm or focusing on the vital business while outsourcing the other business related responsibilities.. 2.3. Service quality perceptions in the call center context The following segment inspects the content linked to service quality perception in the situation of call centers taking customers’ opinion. Terms as customer expectations and total perceived quality are justified at first. Aspects as company and country image correspondingly are considered in detail at the same time as other potential influencing issues are recommended and explained concisely. A brief debate on the cultural differences follows as the thesis purposes for comparing between two 10.

(11) different nations. On the related note, as study goals for finding the variances in sensitivity of non-local speakers between people less than 30 years, so called Generation Y, and people being over 30 years old, the chapter 2.3.2.4 examines Generation Y personalities. Conclusively, current frameworks for service quality perception and customer satisfaction measurement are presented. Part 2.3.4 is devoted to the role of language in the call center setting. Primarily, the role of language in service confronts, particularly in call centers is examined. Then, the view of language representing the part of belonging to a nation is presented. Because of the thesis purpose, the focus is on the second language acquisition and its key attributes. In chapter 2.3.4.4, the most shared features of the second language use are examined fully.. 2.3.1 Service quality perception framework Because of the service quality perception being a comprehensive term, debate is limited to two features with the respect to the study’s purpose. Initially customer’s expectations concerning the service encounter are deliberated and subsequently the concept of total perceived service quality is presented.. 2.3.1.1 Customer expectations This study emphasize on expectancies and service perception towards Customer Care. In this matter, it is secondary whether customer´s call concerns on the services or goods acquired. Consequently, no dissimilarity is made regarding the fact if service or goods were acquired prior to communication.. 11.

(12) Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman, (1993) describe expectancies as “needs or wants of consumers, i.e., what they feel towards a service provider should provide rather than would provide”. Although the knowledge can be new for client prior to interaction, s/he holds at least some image of what should occur. Expectancies are formed based on many influences, i.e. customer‟s earlier occurrence and company‟s marketing message. Obviously, expectations differ differing on the type of service. For instance Ojasalo (2001) varies among three key types of prospects customers may have. Primarily, the condition when customer is unsure what would precisely occur and which way are called fuzzy prospects. It is the job for the company to recognize and subsequently resolve the exact difficulty. The identification happens through the conversation. As Ojasalo (2001) further call attention to just as fuzzy prospects can be concentrated, implicit prospects can be discovered and discussed over. Lastly, the prospects of customers may be as well obvious meaning that they have a well-defined picture about the service progress. Clients regularly listen to the service content and consequently whether their expectancies are fulfilled.. In the call center setting, there occurs some unfairness regarding customer expectations. Dean (2004) recommends that clients have very high anticipations prior to calling. High anticipations in this context meaning to the capability of call center to resolve all customer problems and response potential queries within one call. This assumption is also supported by Monger, Rudick and O‟Flahavan (2004) affirming that the customer fulfillment will be 5 to 10 percent lower in case that in excess of one call is needed so as to resolve the issue. Dean (2004) further varies between expected expectation level and satisfactory level of expectations. Expected expectations are based on the earlier experiences together with customer´s prediction of communication course. 12.

(13) As stated above, clients’ expectations are created in very individual ways and are outcome of person´ s own experiences and manners. Next parts deliberate furthermore the effect of firm image, country where Customer Care is outsourced, cultural dissimilarities and age on the expectancies and total perceived quality. Other aspects (attitude, demographical variables) included in the chapter.. 2.3.1.2 Total perceived service quality Total perceived quality is dissimilarity between what client projected and what really practiced (Grönroos, 2007). The total perceived qualities of service is prejudiced by many features such as earlier and present service incidents, prospects towards on the whole this sort of service and emotions from both customer and service provider areas.. Clients identify two kinds of qualities. The technical value is the result of the course, in other words what clients obtain as result of service. Functional quality includes the service course, so how clients receive a service. To achieve high customer fulfillment both functional and technical values should be exceptional meaning that customer obtains a great service in a good way. (Grönroos, 2007).. 13.

(14) Image Expected Quality Total Perceived Quality Experienced Quality. Customer needs and value. Technical Quality (What) Functional Quality (How). Figure 1 Total Perceived Quality (Gronroos, 2007) The Figure 1 provides an outline of aspects influencing the total perceived quality listing individually features of anticipated and skilled quality. Significant role of emotions is recommended by sorting out this feature from the two others. As stated in the figure 1, predictable service quality image contains of many features, like marketing communication and customer desires. Alter locally, experienced quality is formed by two vital features, technical and functional process quality, as mentioned above.. Through physical and visual mechanisms missing in the call center setting, clients frequently perceive the whole company´s quality based on the communication with AGENT (Burgers, Ruyter, Keen and Streukens, 2002). As Barker and Härtel (2004) states once the communication is finalized both parties go through a process of attributing effects to outcomes and satisfaction. Additionally, some researches point to that the competence measurement used in some call centers does not take to account the customer satisfaction (Feinberg et al., 2000; Miciak and Desmarais, 2001 all cited in Keiningham et al., 2006). 14.

(15) 2.3.2 Factors causing the service quality perception In many cases service quality perception is not formed on the basis of expectations towards service encounter and subsequent real experience. Regularly there are side aspects influencing one concrete service episode. In the next part some of those aspects are talked about with highlights on the company image, image of country where service is offshored, cultural and age dissimilarity.. 2.3.2.1 Company image Company image plays a role during service episode. Consequently, interacting with company influences its company´s image in the client´s eyes. Many companies are getting aware of the influence which offshoring may have on their representation. The fact that call center is situated in different country and calls handled by non-local speakers can change customer´s perception of a firm. Company´s concerns are often related to brand image, property rights; lower customer satisfaction and as consequences increased clients‟ complaints and lower brand loyalty (Sharma et al., 2009). It has been proved that service quality and customer satisfaction correlate (Selnes, 1993; Sharma et al., 2009). Therefore, low quality service has a negative influence on the customer fulfillment. On the other hand, service of a first-class influences positively customer´s satisfaction and as an outcome, business image. Roggeveen, Bharadwaj and Hoyer (2007) have carried out a study aiming to find out how location and reputation influence on customer´s expectations regarding upcoming service encounter. Based on their findings call center location does not affect the expectations prior to interaction if the firm has a good image and reputation. This is, however, not the case for less known companies when clients predict lower level of service. (Roggeveen et al., 2007). The suggestion is based on the fact that if 15.

(16) the company is lesser known, customers will expect poorer service from call center offshored than in case of good reputation firm which, as Roggeeveen et al. (2007) state out, will guarantee the quality service regardless where the call center located. This discovery is somewhat supported by Sharma (2009) stating that” the more reputed or well known a service company is, the less likely are its clients to criticize against its offshored call centers and more likely to continue using its services.”. Furthermore, if company emphasizes its origins being in a certain country, this fact possibly influences customer’s expectations towards the Customer Care being also provided from this country. The truth that call center is located to a different location may cause more negative reactions than in case of firms not basing their image on a country.. 2.3.2.2 Country Image Findings point out that many countries are allocated various images by the clients. As a result, this fact also causes on the service quality perception (Huber and McGann, 1982; Thelen et al., 2010). Huber and McGann (1982) recommend that in case that customers are incompetent to identify the service quality on the source of own experiences, they are subject to estimate it on the basis of their attitudes towards countries. Consequently, the country image is significant determinant of service quality.. Thelen et al. (2010) have conducted a study where customers were asked to estimate the imaginary service quality on the basis of the country service was offshored to. As Thelen et al. (2010) completed “the most preferred countries to American consumers 16.

(17) for services offshoring are not vitally the ones with the highest trained labor, lowest cost, or geographic closeness to the origin country.” From the chosen countries (India, China, Canada, Philippines & Pakistan), customers anticipated to obtain quality service respectively, with Canada receiving the highest and Pakistan the lowest preferences (Thelen et al., 2010). Roggeveen et al. (2007) based on the research concluded that call center location influences callers’ expectations only for slighter known firms having no contact on the expectations from well known firms with a good reputation. On the contrary, Barker and Härtel (2004) point out that customer have low prospects towards the quality of service provided by AGENT with different cultural and ethnic background.. Thelen et al. (2010: 196) recommends that companies should be conscious of customers´ country perceptions prior to offshoring. Nevertheless, it is uncertain to what extent the country perception varies within Asian/Asian countries and as a result, to what Asian/Asian countries the service can be offshored without damaging the company´s image. Nonetheless, a Asian/Asian country sensitivity may differ from one country to another and as a result, conducting the research is advantageous prior to offshoring.. 2.3.2.3 Cultural differences Hofstede (1997) describes culture as “collective programming of the mind which differentiates the members of one group or category of people.” Cultural differences are numerous of the aspects explaining differences in customers´ behavior. As this report is conducted in Philippines and Taiwan, variance in manners based on the cultural behavior may come into view. In case countries´ cultures are similar they are referred to as low cultural distances countries (Stringfellow et al., 2008). 17.

(18) Hofstede (1997) provides four dimensions of cultural classification. (1) Power distance As Hofstede (1997) stated, the power distance is “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country anticipate and believe that power is scattered unequally.”. (2) Collectivism versus individualism The degree of collectivism and individualism points out how human distinguishes himself – as a part of the society or individual.. (3) Femininity versus masculinity Based on IBM company study, Hofstede (1997) projected a set of characteristics normally perceived as masculine (earnings, challenge) and feminine (cooperation, employment security). Taking the studies into account, Hofstede finished off that some country´s citizens are likely to act more masculine or feminine than it is usual in other countries.. (4) Uncertainty avoidance Some nations appear to accept higher level of impulsiveness while others like to manage the forthcoming (by technology, laws). (Hofstede, 1997).. 18.

(19) For achieving in a different way in the above mentioned features, countries (and subsequently cultures) do not need to be located geographically distant. Regardless of Asia being relatively small area on the globe, many cultural variations can be found even in neighboring countries.. 2.3.2.4 Age dissimilarity It has been recommended that typical personalities are shared by customers born in a certain time (Yoon and Niehm, 2006). Generations have dissimilar life approaches and value. Heaney (2007) reviews key personalities of three generations. Although in the table 1 generation Y refers to those born after 1977, some studies note that Generation Y covering people born between 1977 and 1994 (Yoon and Niehm, 2006) or 1995 (Barlett, 2004). Table 1. Generational characteristics Heaney (2007) Context Economy Cohort Experience Core values Buying habits. Baby Boomers 1946 – 1964 Economic prosperity Vietnam War Cold War Idealistic, individuality Spend a lot, brand loyalty. Generation X 1965 – 1976 Downsizing economy Death of socialism. Generation Y after 1977 Capitalism rules. Pessimistic, diversity Very skeptical consumers. Positive, globalization Products with cool images are important. Rise of China and high technology. This study focuses for responding the question whether members of generation Y identify service performed by non-local speaker in a different way compared to other age groups. As stated in the table 1, Generation Y is distinguished by their experience with use of media and high technology (computers, mobile phones). Members of this 19.

(20) generation are personalized to globalization and they are more likely to learn foreign languages (Ramirez, 2008). Thus, it may be supposed that their approach towards non-local speakers is more positive compared to other generations. This assumption is based on the fact Generation Y members are more likely to interact with foreigners and consequently also with non-local speakers (through the use of technological devices). Taking this assumption to account, it may be supposed that they may perceive non-local speakers in call centers in a different way compared to other generations.. 2.3.2.5 Other factors As stated above, there are many aspects both on the customers and AGENT´s sides influencing the service encounter. Barker and Härtel (2004) stated out that prior to communication, both parties bring with them their exclusive “makeup” containing demographic variables such as race and gender as well as knowledge, dispositions, beliefs, attitudes and previous experiences. The present mood and customer´s and Customer Care representative´s (AGENT´s) personalities also determine to a definite scale on how well the communication will be. Customer´s expectations towards service whether with or without previous experiences affect the service encounter´s way as well. It is AGENT´s task to focus fuzzy expectations, reveal inherent expectations and debate over with customer possible too high or low expectations towards service (Ojasalo, 2001). All this should happen in a pleasant and calm manner. In addition, Sharma et al. (2008) states that “negative attitudes towards offshored call centers result in feelings of dissatisfaction, raise in complaints and decrease in purchases”. With customers experiencing the negativity with some call center their attitude towards all call centers may be negative. 20.

(21) 2.3.3 Service quality perception measurement Multiple methods to measure service quality perception (from the customer´s point of view) have been recommended. In forthcoming chapters attention is given to those being applied in call center related research, SERVQUAL and RECOVSTAT.. 21.

(22) 2.3.3.1 Service Quality (SERVQUAL) Parasuraman et al. (1988) developed a service quality evaluation tool using a multiitem scale called SERVQUAL, a 22-item instrument that includes five service dimensions of responsiveness, empathy, tangibles, assurance, and reliabilty (Badri, Abdulla and Al-Madani, 2005). SERVQUAL represents the gap between the service performance level expectations and actual perceptions (Jaishwal, 2008). As Badri et al. (2008) further point out SERVQUAL has been tested and used to measure service quality in various contexts such as professional services, telecommunication, retailing or hospitality. Naturally, each service has its particular meaning that SERVQUAL elements and aspects should be modified accordingly prior to current study. In the call center setting Keiningham et al. (2006) projected to use four SERVQUAL with leaving out the tangibles (physical) item.. Jaishwal (2008) disagrees that SERVQUAL does not pleasing clarify whether high expectations towards the service result in positive service estimation while low expectations indicate a high quality service evaluation. In addition, opponents of this measurement tool, Cronin and Taylor (1992) suggested that service performance evaluations are directly linked to the service quality and therefore use of SERVQUAL is inadequate. On the basis of this argument Cronin and Taylor (1992) projected SERVPERF framework for evaluating the service performance.. However,. SERVPERF has not been widely used in the call center context.. 22.

(23) 2.3.3.2 Recovery Quality (RECOVSTAT) Boshoff (1999) projected a scale tool called RECOVSTAT in order to establish the customer satisfaction with the observe to the service recovery. (Boshoff, 1999). In later study Boshoff (2005) removes 4 items leaving the scale instrument to consist of 6 dimensions and 13 items. Given that call centers regularly play significant role in the service recovery the RECOVSTAT scale is very popular in this background. Burgers et al. (2000) projected to assess call center performance on the basis of following 8 attributes suggested by Boshoff (1999): “reliability, time, communication style, perceptions of commitment to service quality and customer satisfaction; empowerment; staff attitude; and explanation” included within the four-scale model including dimensions of adaptiveness, assurance, empathy, authority. (Burgers et al, 2000). Regardless of which scale instrument is used for service quality perception dimension, researchers should constantly keep in mind to adapt the items with regard to research question. For instance, when applying SERVQUAL in call center associated research, tangible item is frequently missing due to its irrelevance in this particular setting.. 23.

(24) 2.3.4 The role of language in the call center context In this section the content related to the function of language within the call center setting is presented. Initially, the role of language in service encounters, especially in call centers is reviewed. The concept of language representing the part of belonging to a nation is introduced subsequently. Due to the thesis topic, the focus is on the second language acquisition and its main attributes. In this respect, chapter 2.3.4.3. presents the most common characteristics of the second language use are discussed.. 2.3.4.1 Language in service encounters Language is the very important part of any communication. In call centers it is mainly noticeable, lack of visual features makes both, customers and agents rely on the language skill only. If the company and customer lack the common language, interaction is naturally more problematic than in case of using the same local language. Currently, large numbers of studies state out at the increasing customer disappointment with offshored call centers originating from the communication insufficiency (Compass, 2007; Sharma et al., 2009). In addition to cultural and geographical distance related barriers, the language distance forms another potential challenge to successful interaction. The language may be explained as a difficulty created by the condition when customer and agent do not share the same language (Stringfellow, 2008).. Among factors related to language distance are considered among others accent, speech understandability and vocabulary used. Naturally, geographical and cultural factors play important role as well. With outsourcing raises the likelihood of technical difficulties such as difficult telephone lines making the communication even harder. 24.

(25) 2.3.4.2 Language as expression of belonging to the nation Isaacs (1975) states out, the role of a person and its belonging to the nation has been often discussed. It has been suggested that language is the vital part of national distinctiveness (Isaacs, 1975; Sonntag, 2009).. Many people have tough emotional bonds to their language connecting it to their own uniqueness and are affected by their cultural uniqueness also in the role of clients (Holmqvist, 2009). For instance Sonntag (2009) notes that American customers consider speaking American English as an equivalent to being American and therefore thinking that “if you’re not American, then you don’t speak English”. Language is professed as the vital aspect when it comes to the national cohesion and the perception of job loose contributes significantly to rising of such attitude (Poster, 2007). In the Asian context Holmqvist’s study (2009) also confirmed the importance of local language in the service setting assigning the preference for local language functional and also emotional aspects. The perception of non-local speakers may be influenced also by these issues. As Barker and Härtel (2004) further note, prior to interaction, both parties bring with them their unique “makeup” comprising demographic variables such as race and gender as well as dispositions, beliefs, knowlege, attitudes and past experiences. ¨. While agents are asked to familiarize to Western culture by posing like Americans and they are also given English names (Poster, 2007; Sonntag, 2009), there are no trace of similar requirements towards call center employees in Asia. One of the reasons behind this may be the cultural proximity within Asia. India, the country where Customer Care for United States of America is often offshored to, has no cultural, geographical 25.

(26) neither language proximity to America.. On the other hand, the non-local speakers‟ perception within Asian context remains fairly unexplored area. There seem to be so far no study dealing with meaning and importance of the national language to Asians and consequently their perception of non-local speakers. Researches have confirmed that the person´s perception by listener differs by accent (Magen, 1998; Wang et al., 2009). Thelen et al. (2010) have recommended that the perception is affected by the speaker´s country of origin since different countries have different images.. 2.3.4.3 Second language acquisition The term second language acquisition relates to the way in which people learn a language other than their mother tongue. As Ellin (2003) points out, phrase the second language does not necessarily need to apply to one language studied but refers also to third or fourth language acquisition. For instance, if person speaks besides own language three other languages, the term “second language” applies to all of them. In addition, the term “second language” is often confused with “foreign language”. The second language may be spoken in a person´s local country and cannot be, therefore, called foreign.. A second language can be acquired in a variety of ways, differing among others in the extent of mastering the language and purpose of studying it (Klein, 2003). The success of language mastering depends on many factors such as social conditions, person’s intelligence, language aptitude (a disposition for learning a language), motivation or age, just to mention a few. (Ellin, 2003; Klein, 2003). There have been many studies regarding the fact to what extent is a person capable to manage the 26.

(27) second language and whether it is possible to master the language on the local level (Sleve and Miyake, 2006). Every language has own specifics which are not easy to bear for non-local speakers.. The next chapter discusses in detail some common mistakes non-local speakers make. These languages aspects are those indicating that a person uses the second acquired language.. 2.3.4.4 Common differences between language spoken by local and non-local speakers It has been recommended that second language acquisition is relatively complicated process with many factors influencing the final output. It is, however, debatable to what extent the output is final since language studying is in many cases life lasting process. It has been proved that local speakers can recognize a foreign accent from the very short speech samples (Flege and Hammond, 1982; Flege, 1984 in Magen, 1998). In the following subchapters some of typical features differing non-local from local speakers are presented.. The forthcoming aspects form a basis for the thesis´s empirical study. Since one of the thesis aims is to identify language factors contributing to the perceived quality, the following aspects are important part of empirical research.. 27.

(28) 1. Accent The second language acquisition has been gaining the research interest within the field of psychology and social psychology for decades (Derwing, 2003). Accent as the important aspect of the second language use has been given attention as well. Topical research has focused on the communication from both parties, local speaker´s (Magen, 1998; Cargile, 2000) and non-local speaker´s (Derwing, 2003; Gluszek and Dovidio, 2010). Sociolinguistics literature (Lippi-Green, 1994; Giles and Powesland, 1975) considers accent as important indicator of person’s ethnicity, regional association and social background. This fact suggests that non-local speakers are assigned certain characteristics formed apart of their appearance by the way they speak the language. In personal encounters the total impression is created by both physical appearance and spoken language together with non-verbal signals.. As noted above, customers can recognize the non-local speakers already after a couple of exchanged sentences. Depending on pre existing attitudes, established and enforced throughout an individual’s life experiences clients evaluate AGENT and the company (Barker and Härtel, 2004). As accents are often connected with certain status (e.g. social and cultural background) people tend to react differently on various accents (Magen, 1998; Cargile, 2000). As a consequence some non-local speakers are perceived more positively than others. The accent indicates in many cases the nonlocal speaker´s probable country of origin. Some researchers (Thelen et al., 2010) suggest that this association of Customer Care being located in a particular country significantly influences the perceived service quality. Chapter 2.3.2.2. Country Image further examines this concept.. 28.

(29) Wang et al. (2009) have conducted a study where respondents listened to the short conversation. samples. from. call. centers.. The. conversation. content. was. indistinguishable in all cases; manipulation factor was Customer Care employee´s accent. On the basis of the research Wang et al. (2009) conclude that customer satisfaction is strongly affected by the service outcome. In case that clients are not satisfied they tend to reflect this fact on the employee personality. Thus, Indian English has received the least positive feedback out of offered options (Wang et al., 2009).. Nevertheless, the researches mentioned above were carried out in the United States of America and it is debatable whether their findings relate also in Asian setting differing from Anglo-Saxon culturally.. 2. Vocabulary Customer Care representative needs to master language to such extent that communication with client makes no problems to any side. A sufficient vocabulary is a core condition for a successful interaction. However, as far as it concerns the second language acquisition, there may appear challenges related to vocabulary. Typically, non-local speakers face four kinds of problems:. 29.

(30) (1) Insufficient vocabulary It is very difficult to determine the proficiency level which can be considered as a sufficient. Generally, Customer Care employee has to be familiar with the second language vocabulary at least to such extent that enables understanding customer´s requirements and providing an understandable good-proficiency answer in a fluent matter. Naturally, the vocabulary sufficiency depends on the kind of Customer Care. Vocabulary proficiency requirements are different for the employee accepting and confirming simple order by phone and employee advising customer how to set up a computer program. (2) Use of words in a wrong context This problem is strongly related to language incompetence. Employee has learnt to use a word in a wrong context changing the sentence meaning. Consequently, this influences the customer´s image of employee and the company in a negative manner. (3) Unfamiliarity with idioms To understand idioms, usually specific in every language; non-local speaker has to be on the advanced language level. Various languages express idioms in various ways often leaving non-local speakers confused about the meaning. (4) Vocabulary confusion When using the second language, people are likely to bring cognitive frames from mother tongue and so ultimately use improper wording (Marcella and Davies, 2004). Commonly these mistakes include word confusion such as using a word from a one language in another language. Additionally, non-local speakers may not be aware of words possible other meanings.. 30.

(31) 3. Syntax Syntax is defined as the study of the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages (Chomsky, 1971). Naturally, this process varies from language to language. In some of them free word order applies while in others fixed word order needs to be kept. The basic rules of second language syntax need to be studied by non-local speakers already at the very beginning of second language acquisition. The knowledge of syntax is crucial for a sentence forming.. For instance, question form in some languages is formed by switching the pronoun and verb position in the sentence. Leaving this out, a person does not ask question but instead states a sentence. Alter locally, especially in free word order languages manipulating with a word order changes noticeably the sentence meaning. Non-local speakers may not be aware of the shifted sentence meaning.. 4. Rhythm of speech Rhythm of speech significantly influences the understandability of message. Therefore, both client and agent should adjust the speech pace so that interaction makes no problem to any of them. However, if they communicated grammatically correctly and their speeches are otherwise understandable, listeners are not very sensitive to voicing differences (Magen, 1998).. 31.

(32) 2.3.4.5 Language factors influencing the service quality perception Chapter 2.3.4.4. Common differences between language spoken by local and nonlocal speakers identified the main factors distinguishing local and non-local speech. The figure 2 summarizes the language factors contributing to the call center interaction between customer and agent.. Accent. Cognitive Language Frame. Vocabulary Service Interaction. Rhythm of Speech. Syntax. Figure 2 Aspects affecting the call center service interaction with non-local speaker (Flege and Hammond, 1982; Flege, 1984 in Magen, 1998). Even though the above mentioned factors are affecting the service interaction, their contribution does not need to be equal. For instance, the accent may be perceived more significantly than rhythm of speech by customer (local speaker). The perception of these factors depends on the concrete customer and concrete service encounter episode.. 32.

(33) SERVQUAL and RECOVSTAT measurement scales were discussed in the section 2.3.3. Service quality perception measurement. Both tools were used in the call center settings and therefore, this study as well, takes advantage from them.. 2.3.5 Summary Theoretical part centered on the three major areas, the call center essentials, service quality perception and image in the call center context and the role of language in the call center context.. Studies indicate that countries are assigned a certain image in the client´s eyes and this fact also influences on service quality (Huber and McGann, 1982). Therefore, the company and country image aspects were discussed as vital pointers of customer´s service evaluation.. Due to thesis focus, attention was given to the role of language in service interactions. The language is the very vital part of any interaction, especially in call centers where the other visual components are missing. The language defined as a fence created by the circumstances when customer and agent do not share the same mother tongue (Stringfellow et al. 2008) can make the interaction more challenging. For offshored call centers the significant percentage of non-local speakers is typical. The situation when client and agent do not come from the same country spaced out from language also cultural and geographical distance related barriers (Stringfellow et al., 2008). Since the language is a significant part of local uniqueness (Isaacs, 1975; Sonntag, 2009), the role of language as a local aspect was discussed. As Holmqvist (2009) states out many people love their language that represents their identity and being 33.

(34) affected by their own cultural as consumers. Speaking the language is by some people perceived as a belonging to the nation.. Due to thesis theme the second language acquisition was given the attention. Ongoing research aims for determining whether a non-local speaker is capable to master the language at the local level (Robert and Miyake, 2006). Due to the fact that local speakers recognize non-local speech in a short time (Flege and Hammond, 1982; Flege, 1984 all cited in Magen, 1998), the subsequent chapters discussed in detail common characteristics of non-local speech: accent, vocabulary, syntax, rhythm of speech and different cognitive language frame.. 34.

(35) 2.4 Hypotheses Based on the literature review, five hypotheses were recommended. H1 and H2 were formed based on the findings related to offshoring awareness and call center allocation abroad and company´s perceived trustworthiness respectively. H3 is directly connected to the thesis aim; exploring the influence of non-local speech on the perceived quality. H4 and H5 support H3 trying to further explain the role of accent (H5) in the interaction and non-local speakers perception (H4).. H1: Interacting with non-local speaker, customers are more likely to suppose that call center is located outside of country H2: Customers perceive non-local Customer Care representative as less trustworthy compared to local speaker H3: Customers perceive lower service quality when interacting with non-local Customer Care representative H4: Non-local Customer Care representative is perceived as less competent H5: Customers perceive higher probability of misunderstanding when interacting with non-local speakers. 35.

(36) Chapter 3 Methods. This chapter presents the general idea of selected research methods and explains the incentive behind these choices. The need for pilot study is justified, with the main aspects of the chosen survey approach of the empirical study.. 3.1 Selection of research method. The intention of this thesis is to determine whether clients perceive communication differently if service is provided by non-local agent. Moreover, this thesis also plans for determining the part of respondents‟ age in the service quality perception. The selection of research method is very significant decision in regard to thesis. When choosing the most appropriate research method, the thesis seek, especially the research question, need to be taken to account. At first, researcher has to make a decision whether to use qualitative or survey methods or eventually their mixture. Even as survey methods deal with impartially measurable data, qualitative focus on deep analysis of issue. In marketing, the survey methods used to be chosen to qualitative since they base on the statistics and are therefore easily provable (Hunt, 1994). Qualitative methods intend in prior for understanding a certain phenomenon than to simplify the truth (Patton 2002). While Reichardt and Cook (1979) put it, the primary difference between survey and qualitative methods is in the measurement of verification versus discovery. Survey techniques are frequently used to prove or validate theories whilst qualitative methods are used in theory creating and developing.. 36.

(37) 3.2 Research design This part deals with the research design of the pilot study and survey. Regarding the first mentioned, the methods used for the interviews are justified and the interview guides are offered. In the survey part, source of data and questionnaire and general research design are explained.. 3.2.1 Pilot study The pilot study was derived from the interviews with two collections of informants, clients and Customer Care agents.. 3.2.1.1 Participants of pilot study 10 respondents (5 answered the local speaker version and 5 respondents filled the non-local speaker version questionnaire) were conducted in order to determine possible unfairness. To reduce error it was aimed for made scenario to be realistic and clear. Customer Participant. Age. Nationality. Language. A. 45. Taiwan. Chinese. B. 51. Taiwan. Chinese. C. 24. Taiwan. Chinese. D. 28. Taiwan. Chinese. E. 34. Taiwan. Chinese. F. 28. Philippines. Tagalog/English. G. 35. Philippines. Tagalog/English. H. 26. Philippines. Tagalog/English. I. 28. Philippines. Tagalog/English. J. 62. Philippines. Tagalog/English. 37.

(38) Customer Care Representatives: Participant. Nationality. Language. Language Customer Care Provided in. A. Taiwan. Chinese. Chinese. B. Taiwan. Chinese. Chinese. C. Taiwan. Chinese. Chinese/English. D. Taiwan. Chinese. Chinese/English. E. Philippines. Tagalog/English. Tagalog/English. F. Philippines. Tagalog/English. Tagalog/English. G. Philippines. Tagalog/English. Tagalog/English. 3.2.1.1 Interviews with clients. When taking qualitative approach interview is a literally standard tool to obtain information. They are interviewed by researcher in order to get information that is unobservable, like feelings, thoughts and intentions (Patton, 2002). During interviews researcher has chance to discover a person´s behavior and value (Silverman, 2006). However, interviews are normally not practiced in the survey methods mostly due to time and financial demand.. The thesis centers on exploring the power of language on the perceived service quality in the context of Asian countries and languages with emphasizes on the Chinese and Tagalog language. Due to the thesis being conducted in two countries, ten interviews with customers were carried out with five respondents of Taiwanese nationality and five of Filipino nationality. The major reason for carrying out the interviews with clients was to gain a pre-understanding on the topic prior to the survey study and then search for likeness and dissimilarities with non-Asian research. 38.

(39) Hypotheses were recommended after the pilot study findings.. Interviews with Taiwanese informants were conducted during March, 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. Five face-to-face interviews lasted about 10 minutes each. Likewise, five interviews with Filipinos were carried out with around same duration but interviewed conducted via Skype. These interviews took a place in March/2014 in Taipei.. Several methods may be taken in regard to case selection. For example, Patton (2006) varies among sixteen different techniques within two categories – random probability and purposeful sampling. In qualitative interviews the number of informants is rather small with the study aim being to obtain in-depth insight to a problem. Therefore, as Eisenhardt (1989) stated, cases selection is vital for creating theory. In this study the purposeful sampling was used leaving on the researcher to choose the cases for own research purposes.. Informants were selected in regard to the purposive sampling, where it is the researcher choosing respondents on the beginning of their suitability with the study aim. As Patton (2002) states it the information-rich cases are to be selected. Therefore, within the purposive sampling a criteria selection has been applied. The informants had to complete the condition of at least one communication with a call center prior to interviews.. 39.

(40) 3.2.1.2 Interview guide for clients. Interview guide is used when researcher performed the interview guide method when the interview proceeds on the basis of a set of predefined questions. In this case, researcher may follow exciting way in conversation returning later back to the guide process. Aside from the open ended questions, they were described a short scenario of calling to a call center and then asked to answer some questions. The incentive for including this short scenario was for researcher to get a real picture of their attitude towards one specific situation.. 3.2.1.3 Interviews with Customer Care agents. The interviews with the agents were significant part of this these since these employees, all non-local speakers, communicate or communicated with clients – local speakers on the daily basis. In this situation, the criteria sampling was used as well and prior to the interview informants had to have a work experience as Customer Care agent in a call center. It was very valuable to get an insight from this and the interviews were source of great information on the non-local speakers. Agents were chosen to represent maximum variety of Asian languages and countries. The interviews were conducted during March 2014 in Taipei. Seven face-to-face interviews lasted approximately 20 minutes each.. 3.2.1.4 Interview guide for Customer Care agents. The interview guide for agents includes to a high extent similar questions as the interview guide for clients. However, there are some differences too. Firstly, it takes 40.

(41) the agent´s opinion and it is based rather than on scenario on individual experiences. Additionally the background questions are expanded by the set of enquires concerned with the second language acquisition.. 3.2.1.5 Questions design for interview As stated above, the interviews with clients and agents formed the base for determining the aspects used in the survey part. Thus, categories found by the pilot study analysis were developed when designing a questionnaire.. Questionnaire has been chosen as the most suitable method for the data gaining. Questionnaire has a multiple use often being utilized in experiments and case studies. Due to the fact that one of the study purpose was to explore whether perception of non-local speakers differs between two countries, Taiwan and Philippines, the questionnaire was distributed in two geographically different locations and moreover in two language versions.. Scenario experiment was used as the most suitable choice for the study aim. Saunders et al. (2009) stated that experiments are considered to explore whether there is a relationship between two variables. In experiments respondents are normally assigned into two groups, experimental and control. Assigning to groups occurs on the random basis. In this thesis, respondents receiving “non-local speaker” version of scenario are members of experimental group whilst those getting “local speaker” version are considered as a control group. Roggeeveen et al. (2007) used in the similar study the scenario based questionnaire with the own research scale items developed. As they point out scenario based technique allows controlling the independent variables and guarantee that all respondents are given the same treatment. The classical form of 41.

(42) questionnaire with questions and answers based on the respondent´s knowledge did not go well with this study aims since prior to the survey study a comprehensive inquiry would have to be carried out to find only respondents having a prior experience with the non-local speakers in call centers. Furthermore, the types of call centers would most likely significantly vary making experiences of respondents noncomparable. Thus, the scenario experiment when respondent is presented with a story and asked to imagine being the part of it seems to be the most suitable selection. Once scenario was presented, a set of follow up questions was introduced after the play. The scenario was printed in two versions distinguishing only in the characteristic of call center employee being and not being the language´s local speaker. The presented scenario (purchasing a membership and later making complaint in Customer Care) received a positive feedback during the pilot study with respondents stating that scenario was easy to imagine and represented a type of situation most of the people have already experienced. The fact that all respondents base their answers on the same text can be seen as the advantage of Scenario Experiment. However, the scenario is only a made-up and respondent´s answer does not need to necessarily reflect their real behavior when it comes to the situation.. 3.2.2 Survey study 3.2.2.1 Samples. In the survey section, a total 280 questionnaires were submitted and a total of 241 questionnaires returned. Nevertheless, respondents marking “Other” as their mother tongue were excluded due to thesis purpose being narrowed to comparison between Filipinos and Taiwanese. Thus, after exclusion of 15 questionnaires, the sample consisted of 226 respondents, 91 (40.3%) males, 135 (59.7%) females.. The local 42.

(43) language being used is Taiwanese (114, 50.4%) and Tagalog (112, 49.6%), respectively. The age groups of respondents are drawn in the figure 3.. Figure 3. The average age of participants. Respondents submitted information concerning the highest education they have reached. In this case, the sample consisted predominantly of people obtaining university/polytechnic degree (54 %).. Figure 4. The education level of participants. 43.

(44) 3.2.2.2 Instruments. As recommended in the theoretical part, service quality perception in the call center background was most regularly deliberated by two tools, SERVQUAL and RECOVSTAT (Jaishwal, 2008). Statements contained in the questionnaire reflect categories of SERVQUAL. As stated in previous chapter. SERVQUAL, SERVQUAL contains of five service dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy). Tangibles item was left out because of its irrelevance for the thesis. A 7-point Likert-type scale (completely disagree – completely agree) was chosen because it gives respondent enough variety for expressing opinion. Table 2 presents SERVQUAL categories and example statements in the questionnaire.. Table 2. SERVQUAL categories reflected in the questionnaire SERVQUAL Example question RELIABILITY My overall impression from the service is good RESPONSSIVENESS I am satisfied with the way my complaint was handled ASSURANCE I believe that Customer Care person did her best to help me EMPATHY In my opinion Customer Care person was polite. The purpose of thesis was to determine whether service provided by non-local speaker is perceived differently compared to the one conducted by local speaker. Therefore, two questionnaire´s version were developed differing in the one detail: (1) In scenario respondents were supposed to read prior to question´s answering (nonlocal speaker) was added following sentence “You can clearly hear that she [Customer Care employee] is not a local speaker of your language because she has a foreign accent”. 44.

(45) After reading a short scenario respondents were asked to express their opinion on the seven-item Likert-type scale (1= completely disagree, 7= completely agree). Below are the questions from the questionnaires. Negatively worded questions were reversed prior to statistical analysis. Statements marked with (r) are the reverse coded items. Example questionnaires may be found in Appendix 4. (Local speaker version) and 5. (Non-local speaker version). The statements were preliminary divided into following 4 categories.. (1) Perceived service quality (4 items) I am satisfied with the way my complaint was handled The solution Customer Care person offered was customer-friendly I will purchase from this company also in the future My overall impression from the service is good. (2) Opinion on the AGENT´s competence and behavior (5 items) I think that Customer Care person was competent I am satisfied with behavior of Customer Care person towards me I wonder why call center employed exactly this person (r) I felt annoyed by need to repeat my sentences (r) There was a high probability of misunderstanding during this call (r). (3) Opinion on the AGENT´s helpfulness and politeness (3 items) In my opinion Customer Care person was polite I believe that Customer Care person did her best to help me I believe that other Customer Care person would serve me better (r). 45.

(46) (4) Opinion on the AGENT´s trustworthiness (2 items) I wonder why Customer Care person complained about poor lines when I heard her well (r) I think that poor phone connection was just an excuse for her not really understanding me (r). One statement was not preliminary placed into any category because it did not particularly suit to any cluster. Statement “I think that call center is located outside of country” was intended to test whether customers perceive higher probability of service being allocated abroad when interacting with a non-local speaker.. 3.2.2.3 Procedures Questionnaire, originally developed in English, was translated into English and Chinese. Both versions were reviewed by local speakers to ensure that content is grammatically correct and wording is as similar as possible. Both Taiwanese and Filipino respondents were told that the purpose of thesis is to determine call center function influence on the company´s image.. Chinese version was obtained via networking. Asking friends and acquaintances to fill and distribute the questionnaires could have affected the final results (57 valid answers) [respondents marking “Other” as their mother tongue were omitted from the study). Unfortunately, no company was interested to participate in questionnaires´ distribution and later benefit from the results.. The English sample answers were obtained in two ways. 56 valid answers were obtained via networking. Asking friends and acquaintances to fill and distribute the 46.

(47) questionnaires could have affected the final results. Unfortunately, no company was interested to participate in questionnaires´ distribution and later benefit from the results.. Prior to questions answering, respondents were briefly explained the nature of research and its purpose (master thesis). After reading a short scenario, respondents answered a set of questions directly related to the text. Firstly, they were asked to evaluate the company performance and satisfaction with the complaint handling. Finally, after filling the questionnaire, respondents were kindly asked for information regarding their sex, age, education and mother tongue. Since the thesis purpose is comparison between Taiwanese and Filipinos, only questionnaires where respondent marked Chinese or English as a mother tongue were included.. 3.2.2.4 Analyses As Hair et al. (2010) point out MANOVA is suitable for assessing group differences across multiple dependent variables simultaneously. In this study MANOVA was used for hypotheses testing as well as for assessing differences in cross-national comparison in case of more variables involved. Additionally, t-test was conducted in case of single dependent variable. Hair et al. (2010) define t-test as a “test to assess the statistical significance of the difference between two sample means for a single dependent variable.” When comparing only two means, t-test for independent samples and ANOVA gives identical results (www.experiment-resources.com). Thus, t-test was performed when possible.. Prior to the analysis, gained data was examined for not violating the basic assumptions. Firstly, checking for missing data was performed. As Pallant (2005) 47.

(48) points out it is hardly the case that complete data would be obtained from all respondents. In this study, the check showed that 11 values were, indeed, missing. Nevertheless, the number did not exceed three responses per item and mostly one answer per question was reported. Table 10 lists the missing answers per item. However, since the sample was rather large (N=217), the amount of data missing did not threaten the analysis course. Participants with missing responses were not excluded from the analyses.. Next, the normality of the data was assessed. This process was done in order to test basic assumptions requested by method used for hypotheses´ testing. Normality of the data may be assessed by multiple ways. In this study it was screened by skewness and kurtosis scores which are described below. Additionally, the PASW analysis was run (By using “Explore” option). For data to be considered as normal, the Kolmogorov – Smirnov statistics should be non-significant (over .05). In this study all items were significance of .00 which is considered as normality assumption violation (Pallant, 2005). However, as Pallant (2005) states this is fairly ordinary in bigger samples. Skewness and kurtosis were checked next. In the perfect case both values would be 0 but as Pallant (2005) states out this is rather strange in social sciences. Out of 15 items checked for skewness, 8 items scored positive values and 7 items reached negative skewness. These values indicate whether the mean deviations for items are going to be positive or negative. Regarding kurtosis, all items were assigned negative values suggesting the flat distribution.. 48.

(49) According to Pallant (2005) this fact indicates that many cases fall into extreme values. Nevertheless, with larger samples (N≥200) skewness and kurtosis values are not of high difference (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2000 in Pallant, 2005). Therefore, it may be supposed that even though data is not distributed normally, it is not an obstacle for this study. Moreover, data suitability for the particular method was monitored prior to concrete analysis (MANOVA and t-test).. 49.

(50) Chapter 4 Results In this chapter the study´s results are presented. Initially, the pilot study is studied, compared and contrasted to already existing topical research.. 4.1 Results of pilot study. In this part findings from conducted interviews are presented. Subsequently, the set of hypotheses derived from the pilot study is introduced. The obtained data was examined with the respect to the theoretical framework presented.. 4.1.1 Findings on the offshoring awareness. Interview guide included three questions whose purpose was to get knowledge on the offshoring awareness and perception. (1) In case that employee is a non-local speaker would you have concerns on service being located outside of the country? (2) In case that employee is a non-local speaker would you have concerns on theft or misuse of your personal data? (3) In case that employee is a non-local speaker would you have concerns on reliability and trustworthiness of the company?. Table 3 presents. questions asked together with summary of findings contrasted and compared to the literature evidence. The last column, “comments” further explains the findings gained.. From findings it can be concluded that awareness towards offshoring varies by the age with younger informants possessing higher level of offshoring consciousness.. 50.

(51) Table 3. Findings on the offshoring awareness and perception Factor Question Literature Pilot study evidence findings Service In case that If customers 5 informants allocation employee is non- are aware of have expressed local speaker service being these thoughts; would you have located abroad 5 informants concerns on they become did not connect service being more critical the non-local located outside towards the speakers with of the country? interaction the service outcome being allocated (Sharma et al., abroad. 2009; Wang et Interestingly, 4 al, 2009). of these 5 informants were over 30 years old. Theft or In case that Nationalistic No informant misuse of employee is non- tendencies has agreed with personal local speaker may grow into this statement. data would you have doubts about This fact is also concerns on theft AGENT´s supported by or misuse of moral qualities AGENTs your personal (Sonntag, stating that data? 2009) customers have never expressed these concerns. Reliability and trustworth iness of the company. In case that employee is nonlocal speaker would you have concerns on reliability and trustworthiness of the company?. Risks of outsourcing are among others descending company´s image and consequently reduced brand loyalty (Sharma et al. 2009). Comments This finding may indicate lower offshoring awareness among Asian customers in comparison to U.S. customers. This finding may suggest that Asians posses higher level of trust towards companies compared to U.S. customers No informant Based on has agreed with the pilot this statement. study This fact is also informants supported by do not seem AGENTs to directly stating that link customers have AGENT to never a firm. expressed these concerns. Nevertheless, 4 51.

(52) informants stated that they would possibly have doubts of AGENT´s trustworthiness in case of him/her having insufficient language knowledge. 4.1.2 Findings on the perception of non-local speakers. Three questions whose purpose was to gain understanding on the perception of nonlocal speakers were integrated into the interview guide: (1) On the basis of what it can be recognized that employee is a non-local speaker? (2) In your opinion why do companies employ foreigners in call centers? (3) In your opinion, do foreigners provide worse service because of them being non-local speakers?. In two cases pilot study findings directly supports the literature evidence. Analysis confirmed that local speakers can indeed recognize non-local speech within couple of sentences. The recognition is somehow intuitive since informants had troubles to express which factors make speech sounded as non-local. Similar to previous findings, informants considered labor costs to be the most important reason for employing nonlocal speakers in call centers. Even though informants did not directly support the statement that service provided by non-local speakers is of poorer quality, they indirectly expressed it by adding the condition of very good language capacity of AGENT.. 52.