How Does Offshore Outsourcing of Customer Services Affect Customer Satisfaction: The Case of AOL in India?

As national boundaries and cultural lines continue to blend together, the success of a modern business enterprise has increasingly depended on a global network of stakeholders. To remain sustainable, multinational enterprises (MNEs) seek any competitive advantage that strengthens their brand, improves efficiency, increases profitability, or lowers costs. Considering all available options and committing to perpetual value creation is not just good business sense, it is fundamental to survival. Driving up shareholder value is the result of a culmination of business decisions to meet the expectations of one important stakeholder, the customer. Customers are consumers, and despite significant differences in needs, tastes, and preferences, common denominators are an appreciation for value and transaction benefits that exceed opportunity costs. How effectively a business meets or exceeds a customer's expectations will directly impact their overall satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is sensitive to a wide variety of factors, and how a company addresses them will ultimately determine their success, longevity, and positioning amongst industry peers.