A study of Australian Internet service provider industry stakeholder collaboration : implications for functional service quality practices

![CDATA[Customer Service (CS) and Complaints Handling (CH) referred to as Functional Service Quality (FSQ) are the top two Internet service issues that have drawn the serious attention of the telecommunications industry regulator and the ombudsman following poor FSQ performance of the Australian Internet industry. FSQ is the quality of services delivered to customers. This paper analyses the recent collaborative efforts of the Australian Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry stakeholders to address systemic problems related to CS and CH. Eleven senior executives from key ISP industry stakeholder organizations were interviewed. Using institutional theory lens, this study found that the institutional forces (regulatory, customer and competition pressures) played a pivotal role in bringing all stakeholders together to address FSQ deficiencies in the old Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code 2007. This led to significant changes to the CS/CH practices detailed in the revised TCP Code 2012. The study findings revealed that frequent and fateful collaborations between central institutional actors has led to the emergence of organizational fields. The actors identified in the emerging fields actively influence the FSQ practices and the subsequent implementation of the practices in ISPs. Such ‘emerging’ fields can transform into ‘mature’ fields and inform future FSQ practices of the ISP industry.]]