Understanding customer relationship management technology adoption in small and medium-sized enterprises

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 541-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Newby ◽  
Thuyuyen H. Nguyen ◽  
Teresa S. Waring
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
It Resources

Purpose – The customer relationship management (CRM) technology adoption process in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an under-researched area and the purpose of this paper is to extend the knowledge and offer greater understanding of the CRM adoption process through an empirical study in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – In this study it is hypothesized that the likelihood of CRM technology being adopted is dependent on management characteristics, organizational characteristics and management's perception of CRM technology. To investigate the proposed model a survey of SMEs in the retail, manufacturing and services sectors was conducted in Southern California, USA. Findings – The results indicate that management characteristics significantly influence a firm's perception of CRM technology specifically innovativeness and positive attitude to CRM. Organizational characteristics such as the employee, information technology (IT) resources, a firms’ innovativeness influence the likelihood that CRM technology will be adopted and the extent to which CRM technology will be implemented. Research limitations/implications – First, the industries focused on were in retail, manufacturing and services. Second, the sample was geographically specific to Southern California. Third, the sample size in this study was relatively small, although it is within the testable range. Finally, only one respondent was surveyed from each firm. Practical implications – Management regardless of gender, age or education level, must be supportive, innovative and have a positive attitude towards the new IT application, as positive perception will likely to lead to decision to adopt. In addition, there must be innovation within the organization and the firm must have the ability to absorb knowledge and to use it. There must be an availability of IT resources, both infrastructure and skills to support the change. Originality/value – The results of this study have implications for CRM adoption in SMEs. More importantly, they suggest a framework which demonstrates the necessary linkage between organizational characteristics and CRM adoption process.

UST Global, India: delivering software service solutions

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Balakrishnan Menon
Keyword(s):  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Services Marketing ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Delight ◽  
Software Service ◽  
Offshore Development

Subject area Marketing management – services marketing specialization. Student level/applicability MBA/PGDM senior students studying services marketing as a specialization course. Case overview US Technology Private Ltd (UST) is a major software services company in India. It was started in 1999 with a few employees at an offshore development centre in Trivandrum. Now in 2010, renamed UST Global, the company has over 7,000 employees worldwide. Phenomenal success of such a software company, in the left-oriented party dominated state of Kerala, has invited the attention of many people in the industry. The company earned valuable foreign exchange through software exports for the country and the state over the last ten years. The company has created innovative service differentiators, to impress on its clients, on the advantage of doing business with the company. The cementing customer satisfaction and derived customer delight that the company has created in their clients, has secured stable customer relationship management and customer loyalty. This reinforces the trust they have shown in the services management philosophy adopted by the company. The company's unique hybrid delivery model has worked well with its clients. Its unique selling proposition of “few clients and more focus” has resulted in delight of its customers, as they see it as a value addition for their money's worth. The leadership team attributes the success of the company to its fundamental core values and twin strategy of customer centricity and employee focus. Expected learning outcomes These are: customer perception of service; purpose of customer relationship management; service differentiators; and employees' role in delivering successful software service solutions to the customer, etc. Supplementary materials Teaching notes.

Customer relationship management

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhail Ahmad Bhat ◽  
Mushtaq Ahmad Darzi
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Customer Knowledge ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive integrated model which helps in explaining the impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) dimensions (complaint resolution, customer knowledge, customer empowerment and customer orientation) on customer loyalty and competitive advantage of a bank. The study also explores the mediating role of customer loyalty in the relationship between CRM and competitive advantage in retail banking. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a theoretical model which consists of four CRM dimensions and two exogenous variables. These have been used for establishing the hypotheses to analyze relationships between the variables constituting the CRM model. The data have been collected from 278 customers of a private bank. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The scale was developed and purified through factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis). SEM was then used to examine the causal relationships and “model fit” of the proposed model. Findings – The results provide evidence that the four CRM dimensions have a positive effect on customer loyalty and competitive advantage of the bank. Among the CRM dimensions, customer knowledge is most influential of all the dimensions. Furthermore, customer loyalty acts as the mediator in the CRM model between CRM and competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications – Since, the study involved a single bank and therefore the results should be generalized cautiously. Only four CRM variables were included in the study; additional variables can be introduced in further studies involving different contexts. Practical implications – The study highlights and supports the need for mangers to devote additional resources toward developing a better CRM system. Therefore, mangers need to think beyond the technological aspects and should focus on these four dimensions, especially customer knowledge, to enhance the loyalty and competitiveness. Originality/value – The paper investigated hitherto unexplored relationships between customer-centric CRM dimensions instrumental in providing competitive advantage to a bank through mediational analysis. Thus, it contributes to the information on the implementation of CRM practices valuable for banking sector.

A structured literature review on Big Data for customer relationship management (CRM): toward a future agenda in international marketing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Del Vecchio ◽  
Gioconda Mele ◽  
Evangelia Siachou ◽  
Gloria Schito
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
International Marketing ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Structured Literature Review

PurposeThis paper aims to advance the international marketing debate by presenting the results of a structured literature review (SLR) focusing on Big Data implementation in customer relationship management (CRM) strategizing. It outlines past and present literature and frames a future research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe research analyzes papers published in journals from 2013 to 2020, deriving significant insights about Big Data applications in CRM. A sample of 48 articles indexed at Scopus was preliminarily submitted for bibliometric analysis. Finally, 46 papers were analyzed with content and a bibliometric analysis to identify areas of thematic specializations.FindingsThe paper presents a conceptual multilevel framework demonstrating areas of specialization emerging from the literature. The framework is built around four coordinated sequences of actions relevant to “why,” “what,” “who” and “how” Big Data is implemented in CRM strategies, thus supporting the conception and implementation of an internationalization marketing strategy.Research limitations/implicationsImplications for the development of the future research agenda on international marketing arise from the comprehension of Big Data in CRM strategy.Originality/valueThe paper provides a comprehensive SLR of the articles dealing with models and processes of Big Data for CRM from an international marketing perspective. Despite these issues' relevance and the increasing literature focused on them, research in this area is still fragmented and underexplored, requiring more systematic and holistic studies.

Social customer relationship management factors and business benefits

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheshadri Chatterjee ◽  
Ranjan Chaudhuri ◽  
Demetris Vrontis ◽  
Alkis Thrassou ◽  
Soumya Kanti Ghosh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Leadership Support ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Actual Use

Purpose This study aims to identify the business benefit of and factors affecting the use of social customer relationship management (SCRM) in Indian organizations. Design/methodology/approach Building on theoretical foundations, a conceptual model of factors affecting SCRM in Indian organizations is developed and empirically tested through a survey and corresponding analysis using SPSS and AMOS software. Findings The study presents empirical evidence that technological competence, environmental characteristics and organizational environment positively impact the actual use of SCRM on Indian organizations. Additionally, leadership support of organizations impacts positively the actual use of SCRM in organizations, while the trust factor insignificantly impacts the latter. The actual use of SCRM in organizations was found to have a positive impact on their business benefits. Research limitations/implications The theoretical model is built on the constructs of the technology, environment and organizational framework. It has added new factors, such as leadership support and trust, and thereby identified the business benefits of organizations using SCRM mediating through the organizations’ actual use of SCRM. The proposed model is simple, implementable and has a high explanative power of 81 per cent. Practical implications The study provides practitioners with evidence and practicable knowledge regarding the means and impact/benefits of SCRM use in Indian organizations. Originality/value The study is one of few empirical studies on the topic and contributes valuable knowledge to extant works through additional factors, theoretical conceptualization and empirical scientific findings of both scholarly and executive worth.

The adoption of customer relationship management (CRM) technology in SMEs

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 824-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
ThuyUyen H. Nguyen ◽  
Teresa S. Waring
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Employee Involvement ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Market Position ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industry Sector ◽  
Innovation And Technology ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Employee Characteristics

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to use an innovation decision process to examine CRM technology adoption in small to medium-sized enterprises and its intrinsic link to the nature of the organisation and the individuals within it. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to SMEs in Southern California to measure the organisational characteristics, specifically management characteristics, employee characteristics, IT resources and firm characteristics. The perception of CRM, decision to adopt CRM, and extent of CRM implementation were also measured. Previously validated instruments were used where required. The data were analysed using multivariate and logistic regression. Findings – The results indicate that management's innovativeness affects the firm's perception of CRM systems, but age, education and gender do not. The decision to implement a CRM system is influenced by management's perception of CRM, employee involvement, the firm's size, its perceived market position, but not the industry sector. However, the number and types of CRM features implemented are affected by management's perception of CRM, employee involvement, the firm's size, the industry sector, but not its perceived market position. Research limitations/implications – This study is specific to Southern California and the sample size is relatively small, although sufficient for this analysis. The study should be replicated in more diverse geographic settings with a larger sample. Practical implications – The study provides evidence of the need for management to be supportive of innovation and technology, to evaluate the available resources (IT knowledge, skills, infrastructure) within the organisation, to recognise the importance of employees' contributions, and to be aware of the features appropriate to their company's size and industry sector before undertaking CRM technology adoption. Originality/value – The findings from this study extend the understanding of CRM adoption in SMEs and help in building a greater understanding of the factors associated with such adoption. It will be of great value to owners/managers in SMEs who are considering adopting CRM.

The impact of customer knowledge and customer relationship management on service quality

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Mei Tseng ◽  
Pin-Hong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Customer Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Enterprises realize that customers are their most important asset and recognize that a high level of customer satisfaction can only be achieved by enhancing service quality. Thus, how enterprises acquire customer knowledge by which to initiate and maintain customer relationships, as well as to enhance service quality has become an important issue. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a questionnaire and statistical analytical techniques to explore the impact of customer knowledge and customer relationship management (CRM) on service quality. Findings – The results indicated that customer knowledge has a positive influence on service quality and CRM is the partial intervening variable between customer knowledge and service quality. That is, customer knowledge enhances the CRM, while CRM, in turn, increases service quality and provides competitive advantages. Research limitations/implications – This research explored the impact of customer knowledge and CRM on service quality based on the company's perception and there was no validation on the customers' perception of the company. Therefore, it is suggested that future research should involve company staff, current customers, and latent customers to strengthen the triangulation. Practical implications – The results found that customer knowledge is indeed an important source of competitive advantage. Hence, enterprises should acquire valuable customer knowledge in order to enhance the relationship with customers, as well as enhance their service quality. Originality/value – There is still little related literature investigating the relationships amongst customer knowledge, CRM, and service quality. Hence, this study applies questionnaire methods as the main research tools in order to conduct an in-depth investigation into the influence of customer knowledge and CRM on service quality. Furthermore, this research is expected to provide enterprises with valuable suggestions for management practices.

scholarly journals Mastering the complementarity between marketing mix and customer-focused capabilities to enhance new product performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aron O'Cass ◽  
Nima Heirati
Keyword(s):  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
New Product ◽  
Marketing Mix ◽  
Product Performance ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Product Performance ◽  
Management Capabilities

Purpose – This study aims to address the extent that the deployment of and complementarity between marketing mix and customer-focused (brand management, and customer relationship management) capabilities provide firms the capacity to transform their market knowledge into effective responsive actions that help to achieve new product success. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was used as the primary means of data collection. Data from 160 large business-to-business firms across a variety of industries in Iran were analyzed using partial least squares regression to test the hypothesized paths. Findings – The results show that market-oriented firms are better at deploying marketing mix, brand management and customer relationship management capabilities, and these capabilities help to drive new product performance, and the complementarity between these marketing capabilities enhances the firm’s capacity to achieve new product success more than deploying each capability in isolation. Originality/value – In contrast to many existing studies, this study is the first to examine the role of marketing mix, brand management and customer relationship management capabilities and their complementarity as intervening mechanisms in the relationship between market orientation (MO) and new product performance. Further, this study extends the marketing literature by investigating the role of different forms of marketing capabilities in a complementary fashion in the context of a Middle Eastern economy.

Implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in hotel industry from organizational culture perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Rahimi ◽  
Ebru Gunlu
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Hotel Industry ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the impact of organizational culture on implementing customer relationship management (CRM) in the hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach The research is conducted with a quantitative approach and a questionnaire adapted from Denison Organizational Culture Survey, and the Mendoza CRM model is the research instrument. The questionnaire was administered among 346 managers of a chain hotel in the UK. Gathered data were subjected to correlation and multiple regression analyses. Findings The correlation analysis demonstrates that organizational culture factors of adaptability, consistency, staff involvement and mission have a positive significant impact on CRM implementations. The multiple regression analysis further showed that though CRM implementation is highly correlated with these four factors, its successful implementation is not dependent on all of them. Research limitations/implications The research is conducted in the frame of a case study where a UK chain hotel is selected; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to a larger population. This research is conducted in the context of hotel industry and the result might be different for other industries. Due to the limitation in access to all employees, only managers were selected as the sample of the study and future studies with all staff may show different results. Practical implications Organizational culture readiness is one of the most important requirements in CRM implementation initiatives. The results of this study will benefit hotel managers in measuring their organizational culture and improve it toward better CRM outcomes. Originality/value Previous studies on organizational culture and CRM with qualitative approaches have tried to highlight the role of organizational culture on CRM implementation or some have attempted to identify the organizational culture factors with potential impact on CRM implementations. However, very few of these studies have empirically investigated the impacts of organizational culture on CRM implementation, and this is the first study that empirically investigates this impact in the context of the hotel industry.

scholarly journals The Impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Technology on  Business-to-Business Customer Relationships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Edward Richard
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Relationship Model ◽  
Relationship Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

<p>Recent academic and practitioner studies suggest that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) provides improved business opportunity, yet has received mixed performance reviews in the extant literature. This research explored the relationship between CRM technology adoption, market orientation and relationship marketing, and the subsequent impact on business relationships and relationship performance. A conceptual model was developed based on the literature and information obtained through one-to-one in-depth interviews. The model incorporated key relationship constructs; trust, commitment and communications quality, and investigated the impact of CRM technology adoption on these constructs and relationship performance. In addition the firm's market and technology orientation was considered as critical antecedents to the adoption of CRM technology. The research incorporated a two-phased, cross-sectional design. The first research phase was exploratory, utilising one-on-one in-depth interviews with key informants. The objective was to explore the conceptualised CRM technology adoption - customer relationship model for robustness and realism. These findings were used to refine the CRM technology adoption - customer relationship model and the measurement instrument before proceeding with the explanatory phase of the study. The explanatory phase of the research consisted of an instrument development stage - creating, testing and finalising the research instrument, followed by a quantitative study of medium and large business in the manufacturing, services and wholesale industries in New Zealand. The objective of this stage of the research was to test and validate the CRM technology adoption - customer relationship model and measurement instruments. Measures of CRM technology adoption were collected from the supplier firms, while measures of relationship strength and relationship performance were collected separately from the customer perspective. The benefits for practitioners include methods to improved relationship and business performance from CRM technology implementation. The key benefit for academia is the development of a conceptual model linking CRM technology to RM, and providing insights into the synergies available from technology.</p>

Key factors for a successful implementation of a customer relationship management technology in the Tunisian hotel sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nedra Bahri-Ammari ◽  
Khaldoon Nusair
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Sales Force ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial System

Purpose – This study aims to show the contribution of the determinants of customer relationship management (CRM), namely, customer-centric organizational culture and customer-centric management system, in explaining CRM performance. The moderating role of employee support has also been examined. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was administered to 406 CRM users in 15 four- and five-star hotels in Tunisia. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – The results show that a consumer-centric managerial system positively affects CRM technology. Managerial system contributes to have an efficient CRM technology implemented that provides sales force with customer information, competitor information, leads for cross-sell/up-sell opportunities, tracks product availability and measures customer loyalty. These dimensions are negatively affected by a consumer-centric organizational culture. CRM technology once implemented with an adapted consumer-centric vision will enhance the CRM performance. Moreover, the use of CRM technology by employees leads to higher performance. CRM performance can improve when different CRM components are used and supported by employee. Exchange of relevant information that provides technology can improve in regaining lost customers, in acquiring customers and in improving the total return per customer and reducing customer migration. Practical implications – The findings help managers to consider adopting a customer-oriented CRM strategy that considers all the variables that may affect the performance of this technology (initiation, maintenance and retention). Companies will be able to reconsider some notions related to CRM strategies: restructuring the human factor, disseminating information, changing hotel culture and training of users. Originality/value – This study is the first to explain CRM performance in Tunisian hotels. It helps to highlight the importance of the visitors’ behavior in hotels, which explains, among other things, the difficulty of maintaining long-lasting relationship with hotel guests, despite a good system management and a good customer-centric culture.

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