Some industries, like telecommunications, finance and retail, have been operating call centres for several years and there has been growing academic interest in exploring the work experience of employees taking calls and answering telephone queries assisted by computers. Nurses who staff telephone centres in the healthcare industry are different from their counterparts in other fields. These are highly qualified workers with a strong occupational identity and distinct spheres of competence. However, occupation is not a constant as a mediator of technology and it is argued that the extent to which nurses were able to shape their call centre work differed cross-nationally owing to the simultaneous interplay of different societal constructions of nursing and the national-historical development of tele-health centres. This article uses cross-national qualitative case study research to examine the different effects of occupation, nation and timing of industry formation on the design and experience of call centre work in the healthcare industry.
Ashburner, L. & Birch, K.Professional control issues between medicine and nursing in primary care. In A. L. Mark & S. Dopson (Eds), Organisational behaviour in health care: The research agenda. London: Macmillan , 1999.
2.
Bain, P. & Taylor, P.Entrapped by the ‘electronic panopticon’? Worker resistance in the call centre . New Technology, Work and Employment,2000, 15, 2-18 .
3.
Bain, P. , Watson, A. , Mulvey, G. , Taylor, P. & Gall, G.Taylorism, targets and the pursuit of quantity and quality by call centre management . New Technology, Work and Employment,2002, 17, 170-186 .
4.
Baker, M. , Robson, B. & Shears, J.Clinical decision support in the NHS - The clinical element . The Journal of Clinical Governance, 2002, 10, 77-82 .
5.
Batt, R.Strategic segmentation in front-line services: Matching customers, employees and human resource systems . International Journal of Human Resources Management, 2000, 11, 540-561 .
6.
BBC News 13 April 1999. Health PM backs high street healthcare. Available [accessed 13 September 1999]: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/h…/317456.st
7.
Beardshaw, V. & Robinson, R.New for old? Prospects for nursing in the 1990s. London: King’s Fund Institute , 1990.
8.
Callaghan, G. & Thompson, P.Edwards revisited: Technical control and call centres . Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2001, 22(1), 13-36 .
9.
Chagnon, M.Continuous improvement of nursing practice: Experience in Quebec . Quality Assurance in Health Care, 1992, 4, 179-186 .
10.
Child, J.Theorizing about organization cross-nationally. In J. L. C. Cheng & R. B. Peterson (Eds), Advances in international comparative management, Vol. 13. Stamford, CT: JAI Press , 2000.
11.
Clarke, J. & Newman, J.The managerial state: Power, politics and ideology in the remaking of social welfare. London: Sage , 1997.
12.
Cole, R. E.Issues of skill formation in Japanese approaches to automation. In P. S. Adler (Ed.), Technology and the future of work. Oxford: Oxford University Press , 1992.
13.
Collin-Jacques, C.Professionals at work: A study of autonomy and skill utilization in nurse call centres in England and Canada. In S. Deery & N. Kinnie (Eds), Call centres and human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave , 2004.
14.
Deery, S. , Iverson, R. & Walsh, J.The effect of customer service encounters on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. In S. Deery & N. Kinnie (Eds), Call centres and human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave , 2004.
15.
Department of Health . The new NHS: Modern, dependable. London: Department of Health , 1997.
16.
Department of Health . New national NHS Direct computer system to benefit patients. London: Department of Health , 2000.
17.
Donnelly, L.The bastard let us down: NHS Direct bidder . Health Service Journal,2000, 110(5722), 5 .
18.
Edwards, R.Contested terrain: The transformation of the workplace in the twentieth century. London: Heinemann , 1979.
19.
Fernie, S. & Metcalf, D.(Not) hanging on the telephone: Payment systems in the new sweatshops. London: Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics ,1998.
20.
Frenkel, S. , Korczynski, M. , Shire, K. & Tam, M.Beyond bureaucracy? Work organisation in call centres . International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1998, 9, 957-979 .
21.
Frenkel, S. , Korczynski, M. , Shire, K. & Tam, M.On the front line: Organization of work in the information economy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press , 1999.
Hanlon, G. , Goode, J. , Greatbatch, D. , Strangleman, T. , Luff, D. & O’Cathain, A.Technology, knowledge and nursing: The case of NHS Direct . Paper presented at the 18th annual Employment Research Unit conference, Cardiff Business School, 10-11 September 2003.
24.
Hart, G.The NHS: Founding principles and the reforms. In K. Lee (Ed.), Health care systems in Canada and the United Kingdom: Can they deliver?Keele: Ryburn , 1994.
25.
Hartmann, G. , Nicholas, I. , Sorge, A. and Warner, M.Computer machine tools, manpower consequences and skill utilization: A study of British and West German firms. In N. Heapet al. (Eds), Information technology and society. London: Sage , 1995.
26.
Hénault, M. & Malo, D. L’exercice infirmier en santé communautaire: Les services de santé courants et Info-Santé. Montréal: Ordre des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec, 1999.
27.
Holman, D.Employee well-being in call centres. In S. Deery & N. Kinnie (Eds), Call centres in human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave , 2004.
28.
Holtgrewe, U. , Kerst, C. & Shire, K. (Eds). Re-organising service work: Call centres in Germany and Britain. Aldershot: Ashgate , 2002.
29.
Houlihan, M.Tension and variations in call centre management strategies. In S. Deery & N. Kinnie (Eds), Call centres in human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave , 2004.
30.
Kinnie, N. , Purcell, J. & Hutchinson, S.Fun and surveillance: The paradox of high commitment management in call centres . International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2000, 11, 967-985 .
31.
Korczynski, M.The contradictions of service work: Call centre as customer-oriented bureaucracy. In A. Sturdy , I. Grugulis & H. Willmott (Eds), Customer service: Empowerment and entrapment. Basingstoke: Palgrave , 2001.
32.
Lane, C.Management and labour in Europe: The industrial enterprise in Germany, Britain and France. Aldershot: Elgar , 1989.
33.
Maurice, M. , Sellier, F. & Silvestre, J.-J.The social foundations of industrial power: A comparison of France and Germany. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press , 1986.
34.
Maurice, M. & Sorge, A.Embedding organizations. Amsterdam: Benjamins , 2000.
Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux. Report of the commission of inquiry on health and social welfare. Vol. IV, Tome II. Québec: Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux, 1966.
37.
Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux. Service téléphonique: Accessibilité continue 24/7, Québec: Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux, 1994.
38.
Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux. Évaluation provinciale des services Info-Santé CLSC: Rapport final 1994-1999. Québec: Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux, 1999.
39.
Munro, J. , Nicholl, J. , O’Cathain, A. & Knowles, E.Evaluation of NHS Direct first waves sites: Second interim report to the Department of Health. Sheffield: University of Sheffield, Medical Care Research Unit , 2000.
40.
National Audit Office . NHS Direct in England. London: The Stationery Office , 2002.
41.
NHS Executive . NHS Direct: Secretary of State’s statement. London: NHS Executive , 2 February 1999.
42.
Noble, D.Social choice in machine design: The case of automatically controlled machine tools. In A. Zimbalist (Ed.) Case studies on the labour process. New York: Monthly Review Press , 1979.
43.
Pineault, R. , Lamarche, P. A. , Champagne, F. , Contandriopoulos, A-P. & Denis, J.-L.The reform of the Quebec health care system: Potential for innovation . Journal of Public Health Policy, 1993, Spring, 198-219 .
44.
Quilter Wheeler, S. with Windt, J. H.Telephone triage: Theory, practice and protocol development. New York: Delmar , 1993.
45.
Rathwell, T.Health care in Canada: A system in turmoil . Health Policy, 1994, 27, 5-17 .
Smith, C.Interview conducted with a general manager of a NHS Direct site. Unpublished, 1999.
52.
Smith, C. & Meiksins, P.System, society and dominance effects in cross-national organisational analysis . Work, Employment & Society, 1995, 9, 241-267 .
53.
Smith, C. & Thompson, P.Re-evaluating the labour process debate . Economic and Industrial Democracy, 1998, 19, 551-578 .
54.
Sorge, A. & Maurice, M.The societal effect in the strategies of French and West German machine-tool manufacturers. In B. Kogut (Ed.), Country competitiveness. Oxford: Oxford University Press , 1993.
55.
Taylor, P. & Bain, P.An assembly line in the head: Work and employee relations in the call centre . Industrial Relations Journal, 1999, 30, 101-117 .
56.
Taylor, P. & Bain, P.Trade unions, workers’ rights and the frontier of control in UK call centres . Economic and Industrial Democracy2001, 22(1), 39-65 .
57.
Taylor, P. , Mulvey, G. , Hyman, J. & Bain, P.Work organisation, control and the experience of work in call centres . Work, Employment & Society, 2002, 16(1), 133-150 .
58.
Trottier, L.-H. Evolution of the nursing profession in Quebec from 1920 to 1980. MSc dissertation, Faculty of Nursing Sciences, University of Montreal, 1982.
59.
Truss, C. , Goffee, R. & Jones, G.Segregated occupations and gender stereotyping: A study of secretarial work in Europe . Human Relations, 1995, 48, 1331-1354 .
60.
Van Den Broek, D.Call to arms? Collective and individual responses to call centre labour management. In S. Deery & N. Kinnie (Eds), Call centres in human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave , 2004.
61.
Wahlberg, A.-C. , Cedersund, E. & Wredling, R.Telephone nurse’s experience of problems with telephone advice in Sweden . Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2003, 12(1), 37 .
62.
Wilkinson, B.The shop floor politics of new technology. London: Heinemann , 1983.
63.
Williams, A.Nursing, medicine and primary care. Buckingham: Open University Press , 2000.
64.
Witz, A.The challenge of nursing. In J. Gabe , D. Kelleher & G. Williams (Eds), Challenging medicine. London: Routledge , 1994.
65.
Zimbalist, A. (Ed.). Case studies on the labour process. New York: Monthly Review Press , 1979.
