Document Type : Original Article (Qualitative)
Authors
1
Department of Communication, Maybod Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maybod, Iran
2
Department of statistics, Maybod Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maybod, Iran
Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this research is to present a model for utilizing modern communication technologies with a customer-oriented approach and social capacity building in passenger terminals in Tehran using a data-driven method. The present study is applicable-developmental in terms of the type of objective, descriptive in terms of data collection, and qualitative in terms of the nature of the data. The statistical population of the research includes specialists and experts familiar with the subject. Sampling in this research was of the snowball type. Based on the subject, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and sampling continued until theoretical sufficiency and saturation. The information obtained was analyzed with MAXQDA2020 software. The results showed that the model has causal conditions including external environmental pressures, internal needs and operational challenges, macro policies and guidelines; contextual conditions including technical and infrastructural context, human and cultural context, and legal-legal context; intervening conditions including facilitating factors and inhibiting factors; strategies including technological-communication strategies, customer-centric and interaction strategies, capacity-building and social participation strategies; consequences including operational and functional consequences, economic-financial consequences, social-organizational consequences, macro and strategic consequences.
Introduction
In recent years, along with the advancement of technology and digital transformation, changes have taken place in various sectors (Naji & Alirezaei, 2025). The widespread use of information technology has created the basis for the formation of an information society and has brought significant advances in the processing, storage and transmission of information, so that information technology has entered all aspects of social and organizational life. Humans use various technologies every day to achieve greater well-being, security, and efficiency, and these technologies have had a profound impact on culture, economy, environment, and employment (Sheykhyoosefi et al., 2024(
At the organizational and managerial level, the use of new communication technologies is also rapidly increasing. One of the main challenges for executive institutions and passenger terminals is the quality of electronic and digital services provided to users. Service quality in this study means the optimal use of communication technologies and media by citizens to receive services and create effective interaction with organizations. The use of social media and information technologies can help managers and organizations identify neglected capacities and increase customer satisfaction. Despite the many opportunities that modern communication technologies and social media provide, Tehran passenger terminals face operational and financial constraints. Lack of adequate and targeted funding is one of the main obstacles to implementing technologies, empowering employees, and creating coordinated management networks. These limitations not only make it difficult to implement digital services, but also reduce the organizational and social capacity to effectively respond to travelers’ needs (Rodriguez et al., 2021).
Customer-centricity is not simply about providing a product or service; it also involves continuous interaction with customers, collecting and disseminating information, and actively responding to their needs. Information and technology are at the heart of implementing customer-centricity, and new information tools enable the enrichment of these processes and the digitalization of the customer experience. In addition to customer-centricity, social capacity building is one of the main goals of using new communication technologies. Social capacity building means increasing the ability of individuals, groups, and institutions to solve problems, make informed decisions, and participate effectively in organizational and social processes (Heydari Sareban&Javid, 2019). Social capacity building demonstrates the importance of the role of social relations in economic, social, and cultural variables (Montezeri et al., 2016).
In Tehran passenger terminals, social capacity building includes empowering employees to effectively use technology, improving their skills and autonomy, and creating a network of multiple and diverse managements that, through coordination and harmonization, enables effective collaboration and improved organizational performance. Such a network allows organizations to use diverse resources and capacities in an integrated and coordinated manner to improve service quality and increase passenger satisfaction. As one of the main centers for the movement of citizens and intercity passengers, Tehran passenger terminals have a significant contribution to the quality of urban services and public satisfaction. However, in the current situation, the weakness in the use of modern communication technologies has led to reduced efficiency, passenger dissatisfaction, and an information gap between terminal management, transportation companies, and users. Given the importance of using new communication technologies, the researcher seeks to answer the fundamental question: what is the model of using new communication technologies with a customer-oriented approach and social capacity building in passenger terminals in Tehran?
Theoretical foundations
New communication technologies
New communication technologies refer to a set of digital tools, systems, and platforms that provide two-way, interactive, real-time, and data-based communication between individuals, organizations, and physical environments (Bahri et al., 2011). These technologies include the Internet, social networks, location-based systems (GPS), the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence in communications, and intelligent information systems. The use of these communications is expanding among the new generation of society (Moradi & Alirezaei, 2024).
Customer orientation
The words customer and customer satisfaction in service organizations, due to their complete dependence on customers for survival, are doubly important. Providing different services in order to retain existing customers and attract new customers and ultimately gain a greater share of the competitive market reflects this importance. Customer satisfaction is a measure of how a company or organization performs overall in relation to a set of customer expectations (Babaei Meybodi & Alirezaei, 2019(.
Social capacity building
Capacity building helps create a sense of ownership, pride and responsibility in the community because individuals actively participate in decision-making and this participation leads to stronger commitment and ensures that local perspectives, needs and aspirations are taken into account and is also essential for promoting sustainable development and long-term growth in communities (Ghaderi et al., 2012).
Research Background
Nancy et al. (2025) conducted a study titled “How to Use Emerging Service Technologies to Enhance Customer Centricity in Business-to-Business Contexts: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda.” The study presents opportunities to use specific emerging technologies to enhance four customer-centric processes: (1) Interactive Customer Relationship Management (discovering implicit needs), (2) Customer Integration (systematic customer participation in decision-making), (3) Internal Integration, and (4) External Integration.
Ghobadifar et al. (2024) conducted a study with the aim of designing and validating a socio-cultural capacity-building model in the implementation of public policies in the social security organization. The results show that the organizing themes of "approving convergent policies and intra-organizational coherence", "political independence of the organization", "establishing social justice", "implementing e-government principles in the organization", "paying attention to environmental changes", "reforming the culture of social security", "believing in creating change and innovation", "networking in the organization" and "creating a monitoring and feedback system" constitute the socio-cultural capacity-building model in the implementation of public policies in the social security organization.
Azimi Amoli & Rezaei (2016) conducted a study entitled “Investigating the Role of Modern Information and Communication Technologies on the Management and Organization of Urban Transportation in Tehran”. Based on the results obtained, District 12 of Tehran Municipality is not in a good condition in terms of its residents’ benefit from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the urban transportation system. Also, the majority of the citizens studied in this region believed that the use of information and communication technologies in this region has improved and promoted urban transportation management, improved the capacity of roads and highways, prevented waste of energy, time, cost, etc.
Research Methodology
The present study is applicable-developmental in terms of the type of purpose, descriptive in terms of data collection, and qualitative in terms of the nature of the data. The statistical population of the study includes specialists and experts familiar with the subject. Sampling in this study was snowball. Based on the subject, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and sampling continued until the theoretical sufficiency and saturation were reached. The full text of the interviews conducted was analyzed using MAXQDA software, and three experts outside the research were consulted to ensure the transferability of the research findings.
Research Findings
In this section of the research, the open, central, and selective codes of the model were answered. The research findings showed that the model has causal conditions including external environmental pressures, internal needs and operational challenges, macro policies and guidelines; contextual conditions including technical and infrastructural context, human and cultural context, and legal-legal context; intervening conditions including facilitating factors and inhibiting factors; strategies including technological-communication strategies, customer-centric and interaction strategies, capacity-building and social participation strategies; consequences including operational and functional consequences, economic-financial consequences, social-organizational consequences, macro and strategic consequences.
Discussion and Conclusion
The aim of this study was to present a model of utilizing modern communication technologies with a customer-centric approach and social capacity building in passenger terminals in Tehran using a data-driven method. The research findings showed that the model has causal conditions including external environmental pressures, internal needs and operational challenges, macro policies and guidelines; contextual conditions including technical and infrastructural context, human and cultural context, and legal-legal context; intervening conditions including facilitating factors and inhibiting factors; strategies including technological-communication strategies, customer-centric and interaction strategies, capacity-building and social participation strategies; consequences including operational and functional consequences, economic-financial consequences, social-organizational consequences, macro and strategic consequences. These findings are somewhat consistent with the results of Azimi Amoli & Rezaei M, 2016), Rodriguez et al. (2021), and confirm the results of this study.
The findings show that transformation in these terminals is not possible through relying on technology alone, but requires an integrated approach that simultaneously strengthens the three main pillars of technology, customer-centricity, and social acceptance. In this model, causal conditions including environmental pressures such as increasing competition, growing passenger expectations, and macro-transport policies, along with internal needs such as inefficiency of existing processes, act as the main driving force for change. These factors reveal the necessity of moving towards smart and human-centered terminals. Based on the research findings, it is suggested that a terminal (such as the Bayhaqi or Argentine terminal) be selected as a pilot site for the full deployment of the model (including the smart system, customer-centric programs, and social participation campaigns). The results of this project should be used as objective evidence for attracting capital and generalizing to other terminals.
Keywords
Subjects
