RESEARCH PAPER

Research Paper

Research Paper

In the increasingly competitive marketplace, information technology (IT) is now frequently being employed as a distribution channel and medium of interaction (Gilbert et al., 1999; Glynn, 1997). Organizations that do not learn and adapt to changing technology can face painful competition, but integrating technology can require substantial re-thinking of the exact nature of customer relationships (Zineldin, 2000). For high-level financial services, it is frequently difficult to separate technology from the relationship between firms and their customers. Some technology implementations may reduce interaction across the employee - customer interface (Quinn, 1996). However, customer satisfaction in many services depends strongly on the service encounter (e.g. Jones and Suh, 2000). For technology to enhance competitiveness, it must deliver real value to customers in the service interaction, and customers must like it. Thus, the impact of technology on customer satisfaction in the service interaction is a critical area of research.

Globalization complicates things because culture may well influence responses to technology. Even in the West, some observers question whether technology can fully replace interpersonal relationships in financial services, (e.g. Howcroft and Durkin, 2000). In Asian countries, the strength of human relationships is much greater than in the West, and Asian cultures place even more value on strong relationships in business. For example, key account managers of banks operating in Hong Kong view a whole set of social interactions as quite important in facilitating information exchange for building and maintaining customer relationships (So and Speece, 2000). Thus, technology may need to integrate into relationships, rather than replace them, as Srijumpa et al. (2002) hint.

Part of the movement toward greater use of IT involves adding sales force automation (SFA) systems to the sales process. SFA is an example of technology used on the customer interface, where it can affect customer relationships. Successful application of SFA can potentially help a company develop strategic advantage due to speed, improved accuracy, greater synergy, and cost saving (Erffmeyer and Johnson, 2001). However, for such technology to enhance competitiveness dramatically, it must add value for customers. In high-level financial services, this is likely to mean that it must enhance relationships. Financial services are rapidly adopting SFA systems, and even stand-alone self-service technologies which might replace salespeople, but the impact of SFA on customer relationships with their salespeople has not been examined in any detail.

If customer relationships are the key, service firms such as insurance companies must understand how technology applications such as SFA affect the quality the relationships with their customers. The objective of this qualitative exploratory research is to examine perceptions of SFA in the context of life assurance in Thailand. Thailand provides a particularly good example of a developing Asian country, which is opening rapidly under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). IT usage in developing countries is comparatively behind most of the developed world (Kirlidog, 1996). Thailand's life assurance market is also still underdeveloped, but with rising living standards, it is potentially large and life assurance is a major source of insurance ...