An Empirical Analysis on the Operational Efficiency of CRM Call Centers in Korea SoonHoo So

As CRM has come into the spotlight, call center, which is at the cutting edge of CRM strategy, is newly spotlighted as an important communication channel of relationship between company and customer. Since call center handles more than 70% of all customer contacts, there is no doubt that efficient and effective call center operation is vital for ensuring customer satisfaction remains high. Despite the strategic importance of the call center, however, there has been no empirical research completed on the efficiency of call center operation. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the operational efficiency of call centers in Korea, to indentify the current status and issues of call center operations, and to suggest ways to improve operational efficiency. For this purpose, non-parametric efficiency measurement method, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), was applied to cross-sectional data for 43 domestic call centers to compare their relative efficiency. According to the empirical results of applying the input-oriented BCC model of DEA, 19 call centers were identified as efficient call centers while the rest were identified as relatively inefficient call centers. In conclusion, it is anticipated that the methodology suggested herein may be applied to various contexts including call center certification, call center outsourcing management, and call center agents productivity diagnosis. Key words