Title: Customer communication in distance shopping: how to reveal complexities through socio-pragmatic conversation analysis

Authors: U. Larsson, G. Goldkuhl, B-M. Johansson

Addresses: Department of Informatics, Jonkoping International Business School, P.O. Box 1026, SE-551 11, Jonkoping, Sweden. ' Department of Informatics, Jonkoping International Business School, P.O. Box 1026, SE-551 11, Jonkoping, Sweden; Department of Management and Engineering, Linkoping University, SE-581 83, Linkoping, Sweden. ' Department of Informatics, Jonkoping International Business School, P.O. Box 1026, SE-551 11, Jonkoping, Sweden

Abstract: In order to find the most appropriate fit between media to use and density of interaction in distance shopping, a thorough analysis of customer communication is needed. In this paper, the authors present two examples of such in-depth analysis (e-mail and telephone conversations). These analyses are based on a socio-pragmatic communication framework. The result uncovers deep complexities in the communication process between employees of distance selling companies and their customers. This complexity includes a number of different areas, such as the change of topicalisation of a conversation and context-dependence. The analysis of these customer conversations has also been translated into possible recommendations for customer communication.

Keywords: customer communication; electronic commerce; e-commerce; conversation analysis; communicative action; social action; distance shopping; emails; telephone; customer relationship management; CRM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJECRM.2009.027952

International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, 2009 Vol.3 No.3, pp.236 - 363

Published online: 22 Aug 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article