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Customer relationship management in call centers: the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Customer relationship management in call centers: the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach. / Alferoff, Catrina; Knights, David.
In: Information and Organization, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2008, p. 29-50.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Alferoff, C & Knights, D 2008, 'Customer relationship management in call centers: the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach', Information and Organization, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 29-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2007.10.002

APA

Alferoff, C., & Knights, D. (2008). Customer relationship management in call centers: the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach. Information and Organization, 18(1), 29-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2007.10.002

Vancouver

Alferoff C, Knights D. Customer relationship management in call centers: the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach. Information and Organization. 2008;18(1):29-50. doi: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2007.10.002

Author

Alferoff, Catrina ; Knights, David. / Customer relationship management in call centers : the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach. In: Information and Organization. 2008 ; Vol. 18, No. 1. pp. 29-50.

Bibtex

@article{9a28828b8946426f9ead7d93ca7f93c9,
title = "Customer relationship management in call centers: the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the {\textquoteleft}people-by-numbers{\textquoteright} approach",
abstract = "Real-time technology has the capability of symbolising both customers and call center representatives (and the moment of interaction), purely by/as numbers, or forms. The pinnacle of this data processing is customer relationship management (CRM), where the digitised data is assembled so as to reproduce a mimetic model of the customer. This could be seen as a metamyth (Adams & Ingersoll, 1990) that, in its concealed appearance within corporate databases, seems to cuts loose from any critical inquiry. In this paper, we offer an embryonic form of such a critique through the analysis of a number of original call center case studies. It seeks to analyze the nature of abstraction at the heart of IT-based CRM practices, and the contradictions that such abstraction can foster.",
author = "Catrina Alferoff and David Knights",
year = "2008",
doi = "10.1016/j.infoandorg.2007.10.002",
language = "English",
volume = "18",
pages = "29--50",
journal = "Information and Organization",
issn = "1471-7727",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Customer relationship management in call centers

T2 - the uneasy process of re(form)ing the subject through the ‘people-by-numbers’ approach

AU - Alferoff, Catrina

AU - Knights, David

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - Real-time technology has the capability of symbolising both customers and call center representatives (and the moment of interaction), purely by/as numbers, or forms. The pinnacle of this data processing is customer relationship management (CRM), where the digitised data is assembled so as to reproduce a mimetic model of the customer. This could be seen as a metamyth (Adams & Ingersoll, 1990) that, in its concealed appearance within corporate databases, seems to cuts loose from any critical inquiry. In this paper, we offer an embryonic form of such a critique through the analysis of a number of original call center case studies. It seeks to analyze the nature of abstraction at the heart of IT-based CRM practices, and the contradictions that such abstraction can foster.

AB - Real-time technology has the capability of symbolising both customers and call center representatives (and the moment of interaction), purely by/as numbers, or forms. The pinnacle of this data processing is customer relationship management (CRM), where the digitised data is assembled so as to reproduce a mimetic model of the customer. This could be seen as a metamyth (Adams & Ingersoll, 1990) that, in its concealed appearance within corporate databases, seems to cuts loose from any critical inquiry. In this paper, we offer an embryonic form of such a critique through the analysis of a number of original call center case studies. It seeks to analyze the nature of abstraction at the heart of IT-based CRM practices, and the contradictions that such abstraction can foster.

U2 - 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2007.10.002

DO - 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2007.10.002

M3 - Journal article

VL - 18

SP - 29

EP - 50

JO - Information and Organization

JF - Information and Organization

SN - 1471-7727

IS - 1

ER -