Adoption of Electronic Payment Services by Iranian Customers

The objective of this paper is to investigate customers’ adoption of Electronic payment services. This study contributes to existing e-payment and adoption research by presenting a detailed description of factors that enhance and inhibit electronic payment adoption. The proposed conceptual model has been developed based on TAM, diffusion of innovation and PCI models, and adding the factors of security, cost, perceived risk, culture, trust, service quality and network externalities. The model has been examined by using a questionnaire within the Iran context. Based on obtained results, practical implications and suggestions for Iran banks and financial institutions are discussed.

Customer Relationship Management through Communication Strategy

Changes in today’s organisations are often necessary for survival due to the world becoming smaller and the threat from foreign imports becoming more apparent to businesses. Often the most damaging element of this foreign threat is the low costs at which they can operate. Many factors, including inexpensive labour, exchange rates and economies, make production more efficient and reduce the overall costs significantly to enable a significant competitive edge. For example, Fibres is a polyester manufacturer who faces this threat and has realised the need for change towards more speciality products with differentials other than price. However, this will involve major changes in production, including the production methods and the adoption of TQM to ensure that the differential of quality is utilized. This paper examines communication as an enabler for change and studies the current communication methods within the company against the desired improvement processes from groups within those companies, culminating in a targeted internal marketing strategy to aid future business changes.

CRM in the Context of Airline Industry

The airline industry is known as high-tech industry that leads other business sectors, serving as a technological role-model. This paper proposes a conceptual model for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementation in the airline industry, using a case study of a Mexican airline. The authors provide new theoretical grounds for studying the CRM. This study is an empirical assessment of the CRM model and also assesses the basic phases of the CRM implementation which are 1) Information Phase, 2) Trust Phase and 3) Objectives Phase.

Consumer Demand in the Egyptian Market of University Education

This study explores consumer demands in the Egyptian market of university education. Three aspects discussed are the value of university education in Egyptian culture, consumer perceptions regarding the quality of university education, and consumer preferences regarding the university education service. Results of the empirical investigation indicate that university education is highly regarded in Egyptian culture, however, consumer’s perception of its quality is moderate. Consumers prefer university studies in courses taught in the English language, universities in a nearby geographical location, governmental universities, and top class faculties. The study focuses on university education in Egypt and the authors hope to shed light on higher education in countries that share the same cultural characteristics. Many studies investigated higher education in different cultures, yet relatively few have considered it in an emerging nation. The present study addresses this gap.

Media Richness Theory and the Intention to Use Online Stores

Although media richness theory has received considerable empirical support in explaining individual channel use and could provide important insights into the explanation of e-consumer behavior, no studies have validated this theory in explaining consumers’ intentions to use online stores. Therefore, the objective of this study was to empirically test media richness theory in explaining consumers’ intentions to use online stores in their purchase process. An online survey was carried out and data from 749 consumers was collected and analyzed using structural equation models. The results open up a new way of explaining consumers’ intentions to use online stores, as they provide empirical support for media richness theory in a commercial context and link it with the theory of planned behavior.

Can Firms Develop a Service-Dominant Organisational Culture to Improve CRM?

CRM is more than the tactical application of technology solutions; it is a broader strategic approach to managing customer relationships (Payne and Frow, 2005) in order to create value. This article will review the challenges of creating the right organisational context to manage the value exchange, in order to create the right level of value for the customer in the application of CRM.One of the reasons CRM initiatives have failed in the past has been a focus only on the value that the firm can gain from a relationship, without consideration of the benefits in terms of customer experience and their perception of value. With recognition that the customer plays an active role in service models and subsequently the work triumphed by Lusch and Vargo (2004; 2006a; 2008) around the importance of a service-dominant logic (S-DL) for marketing, it has been increasingly recognised that the customer’s perception of value-in-use is facilitated by relationships with customers. However, traditionally managers have been trained to think from a product-dominated perspective and to create value offerings for (not with) the market. If application of service-dominant logic is to lead to firms developing competitive advantage through more effective co-creation of customer-perceived value, then firms need to attempt to ‘manage’ their organisational climate in order to support delivery of effective CRM solutions with a culture that enables and encourages staff to work to develop relationships that create value with customers that encourage those customers to stay in those relationships. Relevant literature across a number of research paradigms is reviewed and an agenda for future research is discussed.

Effective Implementation of Sales-Based CRM Systems

Interest in sales technology (ST) and sales-based CRM systems has been increasing in recent years. Indeed, companies spend a great deal of their budgets in implementing CRM systems into their sales organizations. In spite of these investments, however, evidence has been accumulated suggesting a high failure rate of these implementations. Although a number of research studies have been published in this area, there has been no systematic attempt to integrate and synthesize the extant literature. Against this backdrop, this article seeks to increase knowledge in the area by offering a synthesis of prior work into (a) what companies need to consider to effectively implement a CRM system into the sales force, (b) how CRM’s impact on a sales force’s performance can be assessed, and (c) what key performance indicators (KPIs) might be incorporated into the system in order to aid managerial decision making processes. The authors’ framework addresses issues of relevance not only for scholars but also for practicing managers by drawing on the authors’ practical experience in this important area. As such, the article adds layers of knowledge for both theory and practice.

Global Account Management (GAM)

Global account management (GAM) has become a critical issue for many multinational corporations that compete in a fast changing global market environment. In this article, we approach GAM from a benchlearning perspective, synthesize selected literature and examine an award winning case study in order to underline the importance of multilevel relationships in strategic business-to-business relationships. The purpose of this study is to address various issues related to multilevel relationships in strategic partnerships (e.g. the recruitment of the global account manager and his supporting team, turf wars and compensation) and suggest organisational solutions based on best-practice examples.

Determinants and Antecedents of Relationship Marketing Orientation

This study investigates the extent of Relationship Marketing Orientation (RMO) in the banking sector of Egypt. The need to deliver a superior value to bank customers has assumed paramount importance as competition intensifies at a fast pace and local consumers become more demanding. This study attempts to answer whether the bank’s ownership style will influence the extent of the bank’s relationship marketing orientation. This empirical study of 32 Egyptian banks is based on the antecedents and determinants of RMO elected from the literature. Findings suggest that different ownership of a bank may exert a different emphasis on RMO. The study reports that RMO is determined by ten antecedents of relationship marketing.

Applications of Customer Relationship Marketing in the UK Hospitality Industry

This paper aims to research the hospitality industry to gauge dimensions of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that resonate with guests and employees. An uncovering of perceptual differences of hotel guests and employees was sought to assess its application within the London hotel industry and to investigate CRM as an emerging concept. The global hotel market contains many brands and partnerships, and CRM is significant, because differentiation becomes easier for those with potential to develop long-term customer relationships. Despite being differentiated by star ratings, most hotels in London offer similar core products and services. In this regard, development of relationships with customers can be considered emphatic to the London hotel industry. Methodologically, triangulation of data and theories was used in this paper to investigate staff and customers. A standardised questionnaire gauged elements regarded as being part CRM with the objective to assess differential CRM perceptions and their relevancy to the hotel industry in contemporary terms. Findings suggest CRM become an integral part of a hotel’s offerings and operations.