CCE Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

College of Engineering and Computing

Advisor

Gertrude W. Abramson

Committee Member

Martha M. Snyder

Committee Member

Marilyn Olander

Keywords

call centers, evolution of technology, primary source materials

Abstract

Historical research was conducted through literature. The report traces the evolution of technology in call centers (CCs) from their early inception to 2018. CCs are integrated into many facets of multidisciplinary areas of business, industry, and public and private institutions of higher education. Three research questions were addressed:

  1. What technologies enabled the start of CCs? How did the communications between customers and CSRs take place? What was the content of the earlier communications?
  2. How did services and communications evolve as technology matured?
  3. What are the current state-of-the-art technologies that exist in CCs? Which industries appear to have the best solutions? What are these solutions?

Photograph Analysis Worksheets and Written Document Analysis Worksheets from the National Archives and Records Administration were used to analyze primary source materials. Also, used were Primary Source Analysis Tools from the Library of Congress.

The final report offers a comprehensive history of the technology evolution within the industry. Included are a discussion of state-of-the-art technologies, the range of their applications and suggestions for staff training.

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