The Journal of Business Science

Abstract

The first industrial revolution, the Industry
1.0, with the discovery of steam and the use of machines, was realized by
switching from agricultural economy at the end of the century 18. The Industry
2.0 is believed to have started with the Fordist production system, where Henry
Ford adopted mass production for car assembly. Although this period is the
beginning of mass production, it covers the period until the end of 1960s. The
Industry 3.0 has shown itself with developments in electronic and information
Technologies since the beginning of the 1970s. In this era, machines using
digital technology was replaced with the ones using mechanical and electronic
technology in production. Computer and internet have developed rapidly thanks
to digital technology and the use of information processing, communication and
micro-electronic techniques has become widespread. In 2011, the Industry 4.0
was expressed for the first time at Hannover Fair. Experts attending this fair
stated that the modern face of the IT age has brought a whole new dimension to
the production processes and that a new industrial revolution was taking place.
The technological factors of the industry that will shape the industrial
production of the future includes three-dimensional (3D) printers, the Internet
of objects, -smart factories, cyber-physical systems, big data, autonomous
robots, simulation, system integration, cloud computing and increased facts are
grouped under ten groups.

The Industry 4.0 that brings information and
production technologies together defines a period in communication of devices
and machines with each other and to be able to exchange data. Call centers are
considered as one of the services that was emerged as a result of the expansion
of outsourcing in the service sector with the developments in information and
Communication Technology. In this respect, Call Centers, which are the most
important contact points established with customers, are among the sectors that
follow and are affected by the Industry 4.0. In this study, the relationship
between the Industry 4.0 and call services are examined and evaluated in
relation to the employees, managers and customers of the Industry 4.0.

In this study, it is aimed to examine the
relationship of call services with the units related to the Industry 4.0. The
population of this study is composed of call centers in Istanbul. In this
study, simple random sampling method was employed. The sample consists of 114
employees. The survey method was used for study. In the first part of the
survey, there are statements about the demographic characteristics of the
participants. In the second part, there are statements about Industry 4.0 in the
call services category. A five-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 5=
strongly agree) was used to measure the statements. SPSS 17.0 Windows package
program was used during the evaluation of survey forms.

Cronbach alpha values were checked for the
reliability of the scales before the data was analyzed. Cronbach alpha value
was 0,76 and this indicates that scales are quite reliable as it is greater
than 0,7.

The following hypothesis were developed to
address the aim of the study.

H1: There is a relationship
between the Industrial 4.0 applications and employee satisfaction.

H2: There is a relationship
between the Industrial 4.0 applications and customer satisfaction.

H3: There is a relationship
between the Industrial 4.0 applications and solving customer problems.

H4: There is a relationship
between the Industrial 4.0 applications and the behavior of managers.

H5: There is a relationship
between the Industrial 4.0 applications and teamwork.

H6: There is a relationship
between the Industrial 4.0 applications and operating environment.

The results show that 44.7 % of the survey
participants are male and 55.3 % are female. Age distribution was seem to be
intense in the age range of 18-25 (58,8 %) and the majority of the participants
are married with 72,8 %.

Examining educational status, a large
majority of the participants, such as 64,0 % shows that they are graduates from
high school. Elementary school graduates are only two (1,8 %). 17,5 % of the
other participants are associate degree graduates, %14 are license graduates,
2,7% are master’s/doctorate degree graduates.

When the hypothesis are examined in detail;

The relationship between employee
satisfaction and Industry 4.0 is statistically meaningful and positive. A high
level of relationship between the satisfaction of the employees and the
Industry 4.0 (r=0,651) was determined and therefore the H1 hypothesis was
accepted.

A positive-orientation relationship (r=0,426)
was determined between the satisfaction of the customers and the Industry 4.0,
and H2 hypothesis was accepted as statically significant. Customer satisfaction
is considered a satisfactory development for Industry 4.0. Solving customers
problems and the relationship between Industry is meaningful, positive and weak
(r=0,188). Therefore, the H3 hypothesis is accepted in this direction.

The relationship between the behaviors of
managers and the Industry 4.0 is significant and this relationship is positive.
The relationship level is moderate (r=0,147). The H4 hypothesis is accepted
because it is related in statistical direction.

The relationship between teamwork and
Industry 4.0 was positively and moderately determined (r=0,426) and this
relationship is statistically significant, the H5 hypothesis was accepted.

The relationship between the working environment
and the Industry 4.0 is statistically significant. This relationship is
positive. The relationship-level is moderate (r=0,147). Therefore, the H5
hypothesis was accepted.

In conclusion, the findings
of this study indicate that call centers should invest more in Industry 4.0
applications to achieve both employee and customer satisfaction. Future
research should focus on developing the scales that were used in this study.
Also, a research can be conducted on managers, employees and business owners
separately to see the differences in their attitudes.