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From branches to call centres: new strategic realities in retail banking

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  • Antony Beckett

Abstract

Relationship marketing and its application to retail banking has become a common theme in managerial and academic literature. This article argues that the rhetoric of relationship marketing has been used to obscure banks' real strategic objective, cost reduction. Those cost reductions have been achieved through the mechanisation of processes within the branch network and the creation of centralised call and administration centres, or service factories. Those service factories enable banks to generate significant economies of scale and the sources of such economies are explored in detail. In conclusion the article argues that banks have sought to use the rhetoric of relationship marketing to disguise the impact of their cost reduction strategies on customer relationships and service provision.

Suggested Citation

  • Antony Beckett, 2004. "From branches to call centres: new strategic realities in retail banking," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 43-62, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:servic:v:24:y:2004:i:3:p:43-62
    DOI: 10.1080/0264206042000247759
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    Cited by:

    1. Hsien-Jui Chung & Chun-Chung Chen & Hsuan Lo, 2007. "Geographic market entry of Taiwan securities firms," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5), pages 709-721, May.
    2. Trkman, Peter, 2010. "The critical success factors of business process management," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 125-134.
    3. Santosh B. Rane & Yahya A. M. Narvel, 2021. "Leveraging the industry 4.0 technologies for improving agility of project procurement management processes," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 12(6), pages 1146-1172, December.

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