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The impact of technological and organizational implementation of CRM on customer acquisition, maintenance, and retention
Abstract
In recent years, customer relationship management (CRM) has been a topic of the utmost importance for scholars and managers. Despite the evidence provided by numerous empirical studies, many companies that have implemented CRM systems report unsatisfactory levels of improvement. This study analyzes what influence companies can expect CRM implementation to have on performance and how they can leverage its impact. The authors propose a conceptual model that investigates the link between technological and organizational implementations, as well as the implementations' interactions with management and employee support and CRM process-related performance. By measuring CRM performance in terms of the initiation, maintenance, and retention of customer relationships, the study provides a detailed picture of what CRM implementations are capable of achieving. The results of the empirical study, conducted across four industries and ten European countries, indicate that CRM implementation does not impact performance equally for different aspects of the CRM process, and that it has an impact only if adequately supported by the appropriate company stakeholders.
... CRM also facilitates instant market research and it gives us a direct reaction to consumer relationships with our goods, services and results, even better than 296 any market analysis, by opening contact lines with your consumers. Good CRM also helps grow business and leads clients stay longer; customer churning reduces as new customers are referred to more satisfied clients; fire-fighting and problem shooting staff reduces demand, organization service flows are reduced and teams work more efficiently and happier (Becker et al., 2009). The happiness of the consumer is a significant CRM attribute, which cannot be circumvented. ...
... According to Greve (2006), consumer growth, market engagement and customer maintenance are basically CRM's rewards services. According to Becker et al. (2009), a repeated buying and engagement of the consumer is an essential consequence of reward initiatives through creating strong partnerships. Loyalist schemes, because they are perceived to be less price-sensitive, expend a lot of time and promote constructive WOM, have often proven successful because of the decreased costs of servicing loyal clients. ...
... Loyalist schemes, because they are perceived to be less price-sensitive, expend a lot of time and promote constructive WOM, have often proven successful because of the decreased costs of servicing loyal clients. This is evidently valid in the hotel sector, as well as in other associated sectors such as aeronautical firms, hotels, shopping and merchandising (Becker et al., 2009). Several researchers have observed a proliferation of reward schemes. ...
The relationship between the organization and its clients is the life of every enterprise, whether it is a multinational corporation of several billion employees and a multi-million-deposit business or sole traders with a handful of daily customers. The relationship between the organization and its traditions is the key concern. Between these two cases, consumer relationship management (CRM) is the same in theory and may differ significantly. Both the company and consumers have some factors to meet, such as the desires and expectations of all sides, before forming a contract. We need to earn a profit to succeed and to improve clients expect excellent support, better goods and reasonable pricing. The implementation of a CRM program will impact consumer service and customer knowledge for various purposes. Likewise, adopting a CRM strategy would definitely affect consumer loyalty and awareness. CRM guarantees that consumers are happy and strengthens ties between the company and its clients. Such practices improve the partnership between customers and sales representatives. The study carried out the quantitative approach in the delivery of the questionnaire to more than 100 bank customers. In concise and inferential statistics, the data were handled using the SPSS statistical method. Data indicates that the strong relationship between consumer loyalty and customer happiness of CRM technologies occurs and the stronger the overall customer satisfaction score, the larger the volume of CRM technology deployed.. by the authors; license Growing Science, Canada 1 202 ©
... CRM also facilitates instant market research and it gives us a direct reaction to consumer relationships with our goods, services and results, even better than 296 any market analysis, by opening contact lines with your consumers. Good CRM also helps grow business and leads clients stay longer; customer churning reduces as new customers are referred to more satisfied clients; fire-fighting and problem shooting staff reduces demand, organization service flows are reduced and teams work more efficiently and happier (Becker et al., 2009). The happiness of the consumer is a significant CRM attribute, which cannot be circumvented. ...
... According to Greve (2006), consumer growth, market engagement and customer maintenance are basically CRM's rewards services. According to Becker et al. (2009), a repeated buying and engagement of the consumer is an essential consequence of reward initiatives through creating strong partnerships. Loyalist schemes, because they are perceived to be less price-sensitive, expend a lot of time and promote constructive WOM, have often proven successful because of the decreased costs of servicing loyal clients. ...
... Loyalist schemes, because they are perceived to be less price-sensitive, expend a lot of time and promote constructive WOM, have often proven successful because of the decreased costs of servicing loyal clients. This is evidently valid in the hotel sector, as well as in other associated sectors such as aeronautical firms, hotels, shopping and merchandising (Becker et al., 2009). Several researchers have observed a proliferation of reward schemes. ...
The relationship between the organization and its clients is the life of every enterprise, whetherit is a multinational corporation of several billion employees and a multi-million-deposit businessor sole traders with a handful of daily customers. The relationship between the organization andits traditions is the key concern. Between these two cases, consumer relationship management(CRM) is the same in theory and may differ significantly. Both the company and consumers havesome factors to meet, such as the desires and expectations of all sides, before forming a contract.We need to earn a profit to succeed and to improve clients expect excellent support, better goodsand reasonable pricing. The implementation of a CRM program will impact consumer serviceand customer knowledge for various purposes. Likewise, adopting a CRM strategy woulddefinitely affect consumer loyalty and awareness. CRM guarantees that consumers are happyand strengthens ties between the company and its clients. Such practices improve the partnershipbetween customers and sales representatives. The study carried out the quantitative approach inthe delivery of the questionnaire to more than 100 bank customers. In concise and inferentialstatistics, the data were handled using the SPSS statistical method. Data indicates that the strongrelationship between consumer loyalty and customer happiness of CRM technologies occurs andthe stronger the overall customer satisfaction score, the larger the volume of CRM technologydeployed.
... CRM also facilitates instant market research and it gives us a direct reaction to consumer relationships with our goods, services and results, even better than 296 any market analysis, by opening contact lines with your consumers. Good CRM also helps grow business and leads clients stay longer; customer churning reduces as new customers are referred to more satisfied clients; fire-fighting and problem shooting staff reduces demand, organization service flows are reduced and teams work more efficiently and happier (Becker et al., 2009). The happiness of the consumer is a significant CRM attribute, which cannot be circumvented. ...
... According to Greve (2006), consumer growth, market engagement and customer maintenance are basically CRM's rewards services. According to Becker et al. (2009), a repeated buying and engagement of the consumer is an essential consequence of reward initiatives through creating strong partnerships. Loyalist schemes, because they are perceived to be less price-sensitive, expend a lot of time and promote constructive WOM, have often proven successful because of the decreased costs of servicing loyal clients. ...
... Loyalist schemes, because they are perceived to be less price-sensitive, expend a lot of time and promote constructive WOM, have often proven successful because of the decreased costs of servicing loyal clients. This is evidently valid in the hotel sector, as well as in other associated sectors such as aeronautical firms, hotels, shopping and merchandising (Becker et al., 2009). Several researchers have observed a proliferation of reward schemes. ...
The relationship between the organization and its clients is the life of every enterprise, whether it is a multinational corporation of several billion employees and a multi-million-deposit business or sole traders with a handful of daily customers. The relationship between the organization and its traditions is the key concern. Between these two cases, consumer relationship management (CRM) is the same in theory and may differ significantly. Both the company and consumers have some factors to meet, such as the desires and expectations of all sides, before forming a contract. We need to earn a profit to succeed and to improve clients expect excellent support, better goods and reasonable pricing. The implementation of a CRM program will impact consumer service and customer knowledge for various purposes. Likewise, adopting a CRM strategy would definitely affect consumer loyalty and awareness. CRM guarantees that consumers are happy and strengthens ties between the company and its clients. Such practices improve the partnership between customers and sales representatives. The study carried out the quantitative approach in the delivery of the questionnaire to more than 100 bank customers. In concise and inferential statistics, the data were handled using the SPSS statistical method. Data indicates that the strong relationship between consumer loyalty and customer happiness of CRM technologies occurs and the stronger the overall customer satisfaction score, the larger the volume of CRM technology deployed.
... Nevertheless, the actual level of integration between CRM projects and organizational systems was far below expectation [3]. Researchers argue that with focus on the technical aspect, CRM cannot solve people and organizational issues empirically [4]. Significantly, it has been mentioned that about 60% of CRM efforts have ended up in failures [5]. ...
... Initially, previous studies argue that the market environment may have an influence on the strategy adoption by firms thus business performance through strategy's impact 4 Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing in different countries [37]. Secondly, reference [7] employed an informant approach to collect their first-hand data. ...
This study employs the CRM measurement model to the context of customer relationship management (CRM). It is aimed at indirectly examining the relationships between various resources of CRM and business performance. Additionally, this study is aimed at contributing to marketing research by placing an emphasis on CRM technology and their impact on performance. Through collecting secondary data, the direct and indirect effects of CRM resources and capabilities on business performance are examined within a sample of 6 case companies in the UK grocery market during 2015~2017. Additional measure of CRM capability is aggregated into the firm level to examine its relationship with their corporate performance. Furthermore, capability is categorized through defining the intention of initiating CRM programme. The results find a positive relationship between both CRM resources and their capabilities and performance. Besides, interactive capability is most essential for companies to enhance their CRM. Lastly, the interaction between technology and other resource is significantly associated with business performance. Managers may improve their CRM programs and eliminate side effects more effectively by concentrating on one type of resource to strengthen their most common CRM capability. This paper bridges significant gaps in the current literature through combining RBV and DC perspective, meanwhile, taking a capability view of CRM. Under a contemporary CRM measurement model, it examines how the possession of important CRM resource influences business performance in UK supermarket.
... Organisations use a variety of techniques to actually address customers' demands, including customer/consumer-oriented initiatives (Becker et al., 2009). CRM allows for the development of a tight relationship with new and existing customers to establish a long-term partnership (Bahri-Ammari & Soliman, 2016). ...
... It is indeed a technique that controls customers' expectations in order to maintain long-term connections and meet their changing needs. The end goal is to enhance new customer acquisition while also retaining existing customers (Becker et al., 2009). CRM implementation can have a substantial impact on a firm's profitability (Reinartz & Kumar, 2000). ...
The aim of this study is to investigate the mediating mechanism of customer satisfaction (CS) on customer relationship management (CRM) and customer loyalty (CL) among Nigerian consolidated banks. This paper used a survey research design, and the study unit of analysis consists of selected customers among Nigerian consolidated banks. This study used a purposive sampling technique whereby structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 750 customers of the 5 focused banks in Kano State, Nigeria. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to evaluate the study hypotheses. The outcome of the study revealed that CRM has a significant effect on CL while CS partially mediates CRM and CL relationship. This paper provides substantial results to practitioners to realize the role of developing a CRM strategy in the Nigerian banking industry. In line with that, the management of the banks should build sound CRM components such as process fit, customer information quality and information system support to deliver sound services in order to operate and compete in the banking ecosystem effectively. This paper has made a substantial contribution to the body of knowledge in the CS, CL, and CRM literature by operationalizing it within the Nigerian banking industry.
... However, CRM systems must provide a transparent view of all customer data from the front-and back-office data sources to coordinate cross-functional customer processes where interdependencies exist between users and business functions (Jones et al., 2002;Speier and Venkatesh, 2002). CRM systems are therefore inherently cross-functional and user-intensive, suggesting that consultants must simultaneously work: to integrate CRM with other enterprise systems and technologies (such as social media applications, marketing automation technologies, as well as artificial intelligence and big data and, more generally, knowledge management systems) to access all customer data (technological implementation) and to modify CRM system design to address the requirements of different users and user groups (organizational implementation) (Becker et al., 2009;Chen and Popovich, 2003;Ghazaleh and Abdelrahim, 2020;Matthyssens and Johnston, 2006;Migdadi, 2021;Moore et al., 2015;Wilson et al., 2002). ...
... Time since system rollout is also controlled for because financial returns from IT systems may be appropriated over time through learning and optimization (Aral and Weill, 2007;Hendricks et al., 2007;Hitt et al., 2002;Karimi et al., 2007a). Finally, the industry may have an impact on CRM outcomes and is therefore included in the study (Becker et al., 2009;Mithas et al., 2005;Reinartz et al., 2004) (Figure 1 (control variables box)). ...
Purpose
The current research aims to answer the following question: To what extent and under what conditions does hiring consultants to implement a customer relationship management (CRM) system produce performance gains for companies? To answer this question, this research delves into the critical interdependent roles of CRM consultant resources (CR) and user involvement (UI) in overcoming CRM’s technological and organizational implementation challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative field study methodology was used to empirically test the research hypotheses. Cross-sectional data ( N = 126) were collected from large client companies using CRM technology. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used to estimate the significance levels of the structural model.
Findings
The findings indicate that the extent to which CRM consultants improve CRM system quality (SQ) and, ultimately, firm performance, largely depends on UI, which acts as the key facilitating mechanism to cope with application complexity (APP) and requirements uncertainty (REQ).
Originality/value
This research probes into the largely unexplored interactions between CRM CR, UI, APP and REQ. Using these parameters, this model successfully predicts CRM SQ and firm performance.
... These are the operations carried out by telecommunications companies from building a database, communicating services, and conducting studies to identify the characteristics and needs of their current and potential customers through acquiring new customers, maintaining existing customers electronically and expanding electronically, and they have been measured through the questionnaire statements from (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). ...
... The first sub hypothesis was tested using multiple regression as follows: The analysis of multiple regression variance shown in Table ( 4) indicates the value of (F) of (7.492) and that the value of significance (sig = .001). This indicates the ability to rely on the multiple regression model to explain the change that occurs by changing reputation management in terms of managing the customer's electronic relationship. ...
The study aims to measure the impact of the application of electronic customer relationship
management on reputation management in telecommunications companies in Jordan. The study population
consists of the three telecom companies (Orange, Zain, Umniah) in Jordan. As for the random study sample, it is
made up of managers and heads of departments who work in the information technology departments in the
three companies, a total of (40). According to the statistical tables, the sampling unit reached (36), two were
excluded because they were not valid and (34) remained. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from
Sampling unit, and its validity and reliability were tested. The study used the descriptive analytical research
method to test the results of the study in terms of describing its variables and the level of its existence using
descriptive statistics methods. As for the study hypotheses, it was done using inferential statistics methods such
as simple and multiple regression. The study reached the following prominent results
1. The application of the electronic customer relationship management achieved high levels with all its
components (acquisition, retention and expansion) in telecommunications companies in Jordan, the highest of
which came to retain and the lowest for acquisition.
2. The reputation management has achieved high levels with all its components (emotional attraction, products
and services, physical work environment, financial performance, leadership and vision, and social
responsibility) in telecommunications companies in Jordan. The highest was for social responsibility and the
lowest for financial performance.
3. The average impact of applying the electronic customer relationship management (with its combined
components) on reputation management (with its combined components) in telecommunications companies in
Jordan, where the correlation coefficient was (63.6%)
4. There is an outcome of retaining customer relationships electronically on emotional attraction with
telecommunications companies in Jordan, which indicates the need for emotional attraction to retain customers
with telecommunications companies as a useful basis for successful competition between them in the long term
and the importance of customers as a supportive basis for survival and achieving profitability.
5. There is a significant impact of the expansion of customers electronically on the financial performance of
telecommunications companies in Jordan. This indicates companies' eagerness to expand with more customers
electronically because it is hoped to increase the market share and their reflection on the financial performance
of competing companies.
6. There is no impact of the application of electronic customer relationship management on social responsibility
in telecommunications companies in Jordan, the impact may be attributed to other factors that were not
discussed in the study, despite the apparent interest of telecommunications companies in social responsibility.
Based on the results of the study, it recommends the following:
1. Communications companies continue to implement electronic customer relationship management and to
continuously enhance their levels and strategies to keep abreast of developments in knowledge management and
information technology developments.ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020
3085
2. Reinforcement of telecom companies to manage reputation due to their clear reflection of strategic marketing
directions and keeping abreast of modern marketing concepts.
3. Give leadership and vision the importance they deserve to achieve better levels of excellence in reputation
management in the aforementioned companies
4. Activating the customer retention process for its apparent impact on reputation management in telecom
companies, as it is one of the components of its intellectual capital
5. Continue to acquire more customers electronically because of its apparent impact on reputation management
financially in the research companies
... It also explained the vital role of marketing capabilities in mediating the relationship between CRM and performance. Becker, Greve, and Albers (2009) found that if supported by stakeholders, the CRM implementation impacts performance. ...
This study examined CRM’s effect on marketing performance and customer focus strategies. It also investigates the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in the relationship between CRM and customer focus on marketing performance. A quantitative research approach was used with a sample of the service industry in two countries, Indonesia and Thailand. The analysis unit was the manager responsible for customer relations. The number of examined surveys amounted to 406, with a distribution of 200 respondents from Thailand and 206 — from Indonesia. The purposive sampling approach was used. The study results indicated that CRM had a positive effect on marketing performance and customer focus. The latter positively affected marketing performance. The study also found that environmental uncertainty strengthened the relationship between CRM and the customer focus on marketing.
... The second and third sections of the questionnaire contained questions and statements that are related to the existing organizational structure that is responsible to carry out social media activities and organizational practices used in managing social media activities. These questions were adopted from several studies (Linke and Zerfass, 2012;Becker et al., 2009;Jucan et al. 2013;Trainor et al., 2014;Buss and Begorgis, 2015). The fourth section of the questionnaire included statements to measure the social media relationship marketing related competencies and they were borrowed from the Buss and Begorgis (2015), Marzouk (2016) and Gartner (2010) studies. ...
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media marketing engagement efforts mediate the relationships between CRM and the business performance. We argue that social media marketing engagement efforts used by the companies will enhance the positive influence of CRM on business performance. We used Hunt and Morgan’s (1995) resource–advantage theory (R-A theory) as the theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between CRM and business performance mediated by online social media marketing efforts. Data for the study is collected using face-to-face personal surveys conducted with n=152 top management team members of randomly selected companies across a broad spectrum of industries located in Turkey. The study findings indicate that traditional CRM approach had positive effect on firm performance, but the relationship was partially mediated by the social media marketing engagement (SCRM) activities. The strength of the relationship along with the explained variance improved when SCRM was introduced into the structural model. This study provides additional empirical support for the role of the SCRM in modern organizations. It fills the gap in the literature in shedding light to the value of SCRM in the context of an emerging market environment to realize the full benefits of CRM.
... As a result, one percent of all CRM programs failed significantly. Recently, organizations have become increasingly dissatisfied with various CRM systems due to the systematic deterioration of standards and failed implementations (Becker et al., 2009). (Kotorov, 2003. ...
Purpose-Adopting a qualitative approach, this study inquired into the implementation of Customer relationship management (CRM) within the banking sector. The aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of how and why the banking sector implements CRM in the workplace. Methodology-Interviews were carried out with top management within the banking sector in three major cities of Sindh province. Data were subjected to thematic analysis, resulting in the development of three categories including empirical themes, theoretical concepts and theoretical dimensions. Findings-This research sought to investigate and expand basic understanding of CRM, contributing to the literature by augmenting our knowledge of the subject while examining closely linked issues. Originality-The findings of the study are of relevance to the banking sector. A good CRM program may help companies to gain unforeseen yet significant benefits in the are aimed at helping banks to develop a conducive atmosphere for implementing CRM in developing countries. The recommendations are established on top of the domino that affects the literature review.
... Also, Becker, Greve, and Albers (2009) have studied the influence of technological and organizational implementation of CRM on customer acquisition, maintenance, and retention. They have provided a conceptual model. ...
In business processes, gaining customer satisfaction is vital for online retailing. In this way, it is necessary to identify the important factors for attracting and retaining customers in online retailing. Many factors are involved in efficient customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Their efficient implementation needs a deep focus on key customers, proper organization, knowledge management, technology, market, sales, ordering, support, and many other factors. Therefore, this paper examines the effective factors (including innovation management, market knowledge, competitive intelligence, entrepreneurship management, stakeholder management, project management, and business project management) on the efficiency of the CRM systems for online retailing. The data were collected from Digikala employees in Iran. Based on Morgan's table (Table A2 (Appendix)), 248 samples were randomly selected, and questionnaires were sent to employees, where 234 were fully answered. Research data and assumptions were evaluated using SPSS and PLS software. Research findings showed that innovation management (ß = .390, t = 6.426, p < .001), market knowledge (ß = .296, t = 4.864, p < .001), and competitive intelligence (ß = .115, t = 2.190, p < .005) directly impact the efficient CRM systems for online retailing. Stakeholder management (ß = .283, t = 9.713, p < .001), project management (ß = .229, t = 5.458, p < .001), and business project management (ß = .544, t = 11.351, p < .001) are also effective through the mediator variable of entrepreneurial management (ß = .143, t = 2.314, p < .005) on the efficient CRM systems for online retailing.
... Indeed, Wang et al. (2015) note that "market turbulence is often driven by intense competition and unpredictable timing of technological advances… making technology-related capabilities more desirable, and forcing companies to invest more in technological competencies in order to keep up with the competition" Thus, in the context of high market turbulence, by drawing more effectiveness and efficiency from technology resources, the sales function can accrue competitive advantages. Therefore, we hypothesize the following: H7a: Greater market turbulence amplifies the positive relationship between technology-enabled sales capability and a firm's financial performance Further, technology-enabled sales capability becomes critical for account management capability when there is market turbulence because firms extensively rely on technology for acquiring new customers and for developing and maintaining customer relationships (Becker, Greve, and Albers 2009;Rodriguez, Peterson, and Krishnan 2012). Additionally, technology, when used to provide on-the-job sales training (e.g., Lassk et al. 2012), can be used to help a firm be more customer-oriented and improve a firm's salesmanship skills (Román, Ruiz, and Luis Munuera 2002) especially when firms are in an industry experiencing higher market turbulence. ...
As organizations emerge from the disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming evident that the sales function has shifted irrevocably toward increased reliance on technological resources to facilitate inherent processes and activities. Integrating research from the dynamic capabilities and sales capabilities literature, this study examines why some organizations are more adept than others at harnessing and leveraging emergent technological resources to enhance sales operations. Specifically, we develop and test a theoretical framework of the antecedents and consequences of technology-enabled sales capability, a firm-level operational capability that captures the embeddedness of technology in sales processes and activities. The framework proposes that three firm-level dynamic capabilities—technology-sensing capability, vigilant market learning capability, and adaptive sales capability—are positively related to technology-enabled sales capability, which in turn is positively related to financial performance and customer relationship performance. The framework also explores the moderating effects of top management technology advocacy and two environmental variables—technological and market turbulence—on the development and deployment of technology-enabled sales capability. Based on findings from data gathered from 224 business-to-business sales managers, we extend theoretical and managerial contributions and provide directions for future research.
... The buyer-seller relationship lifecycle is an important construct in the business-to-business (B2B) marketing literature (Becker, Greve, and Albers 2009;Biyik 2017;Chavan, Chaudhuri, and Johnston 2019;Mora Cortez and Johnston 2017). Although customer acquisition and retention are both strategically important (Nijssen, Guenzi, and van der Borgh 2017), and achieving an appropriate balance between customer acquisition and retention efforts is an important managerial issue (Hussain et al. 2020;Johnson, Clark, and Barczak 2012;Reinartz, Thomas, and Kumar 2005), empirical research on the initiation phase of new business relationships (i.e., customer acquisition) is rather limited (Aaboen, Holmen, and Pedersen 2017;D'Haen and van den Poel 2013). ...
Purpose
The study investigates how different constellations of agile and plan-driven project management methods used by in- and out-suppliers, out-supplier reputation, and satisfaction with the in-supplier affect intentions to choose the out-supplier for a new professional service, and whether these effects are mediated by perceived switching costs.
Methodology
This is a survey-based study with 971 participants in Switzerland using scenarios about a new digital business solution. The data were analyzed using path analysis and analysis of variance.
Findings
The intention to choose the out-supplier is highest when the out-supplier uses agile methods while the in-supplier uses plan-driven methods. Higher out-supplier reputation leads to lower perceived switching costs and higher intentions to choose the out-supplier. Higher satisfaction with the in-supplier leads to higher perceived switching costs and lower intentions to choose the out-supplier.
Research implications
The results extend previous research by showing that the constellation of project management methods has stronger effects on perceived switching costs and intentions to choose the out-supplier than have out-supplier reputation and satisfaction with the in-supplier. While perceived switching costs depend more strongly on out-supplier reputation, intentions to choose the out-supplier depend more strongly on satisfaction with the in-supplier.
Practical implications
Out-suppliers can increase their acquisition rate by using agile methods when competing with an in-supplier using a plan-driven approach. Out-suppliers should proactively communicate the benefits of agile approaches in the business initiation stage, invest in proactive reputation management, and carefully analyze the existing business relationship between the target customer and the in-supplier. If the target customer is satisfied with the in-supplier using an agile approach, it is less likely that the out-supplier will successfully outcompete them.
Originality
This study is the first to examine the effects of different constellations of project management methods in addition to out-supplier reputation and satisfaction with the in-supplier on perceived procedural switching costs and the intention to choose the out-supplier.
... CRM has been defined as an instrument to support decisions that contribute to the success of relationship-based marketing (Konsynski and MCFarlan, 1990). The main objective is to increase new customer acquisition and retain existing ones (Becker et al., 2009) Based on these explanations, the influence of CRM on customer retention is significant. The study results were influenced by people factors where the Priority Banking Officer (PBO) and Priority Banking Manager (PBM) as BTN Priority employees were considered to master the product, master the latest financial service situation and conditions. ...
The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on customer retention mediated by customer satisfaction and customer loyalty on Priority BTN in Malang City. The population of this study is Priority BTN customers in Malang City, and the number of samples obtained is in accordance with the research criteria as many as 100 samples. The approach used in this study is a quantitative approach. The type of research based on the formulation of the problem and the purpose of the study is explanatory. The technique used in this study is probability sampling with a simple random sampling method. The research instrument used was a questionnaire analyzed using SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results showed that CRM has a direct influence on customer retention. In addition, CRM indirectly affects customer retention through mediating variable customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The next researcher can conduct further research with broader research objects, namely at the BTN Priority bank customers nationally, and can use web-based surveys to shorten the time in researching priority customers because priority customers have high mobility.
... When the organization moves from a product-focused to a customerfocused environment that results from adopting CRM [12]a major change in culture to become customer-centric is required. Managing this change becomes a critical and necessary requirement to achieve success in CRM implementations need for change should receive more attention by organizations seeking success in CRM since the human factor is the ultimate key to the whole CRM strategy [17] On the other hand, cultural change also includes changing employees' attitudes towards information and their willingness to share it with other employees or departments, influencing people's feelings, mindsets and behaviors which is a serious requirement of a customer-centric philosophy [18] Monitoring the behavior of employees can assist management in determining the proper rewards, and compensation mechanism [11] D. Process ...
Organizations of all kinds are striving to operate and function in the most effective and efficient way. Today's rapidly changing environment has created many challenges for organizations to achieve their objectives efficiently and effectively. Competitiveness, customer satisfaction, and customer retention are some of the many approaches academics and practitioners have investigated. Recently (Mobile-CRM) has received wide interest from many researchers. This paper investigates the effect of mobile CRM on employees' performance in Egypt; used a quantitative explanatory research design to test empirically the effect of mobile CRM in a call-center and banking sector in the Egyptian market. A survey questionnaire was distributed to employees from 25 companies implementing mobile CRM in their operations. The results suggest that the variables had a positive effect on employee's performance.
... It will then have the survey analysis to be validated and to have a comprehensive indulgent of the feasibility of the model. The management of customer relationships has become a priority factor for many organizations (Becker, Greve, & Albers 2009). But the factors behind CRM success and also what constitutes CRM is an issue of considerable debate (Eid, 2009;Krasnikov, Jayachandran, & Kumar 2009). ...
Customer relationship management (CRM) is used to manage and analyze customer interactions within an organization. The aim of the research is to identify and analyze CRM problems in a public entity in order to increase value from the CRM functions. The research will run through the information system Success model consisting of three influential factors namely: (a) system characteristics, (b) utility characteristics, and (c) performance. The proposed holistic approach is based on a review of factors and essential elements in order to have a clear understanding on the problems, and develop specific evaluation criteria of the three areas of
... Furthermore, confident individuals tend to overestimate market signals favoring their own intuitive judgment and underestimating fundamental information (Ali et al., 2019;Fischhoff et al., 1977;Michailova et al., 2017). Like other industries, meeting potential clients' confidence through their necessities, convenience and satisfaction can also increase insurance activity (Ball et al., 2004), yielding better results (Ball et al., 2004), income (Gupta et al., 2006), economic performance (Becker et al., 2009;Reinartz et al., 2004) and market value (Gupta et al., 2006;Hossain et al., 2021). Similarly, Felicio and Rodrigues (2015) found that customers' necessities and confidence strongly affect insurers' organizational factors that, in turn, affect their performance. ...
Purpose
Life insurance is bought with a prior belief that promise stipulated in policy will be honored when due. Discernibly, this belief is backed by the confidence that financial markets and economy will demonstrate satisfactory performance. However, individuals' confidence levels may get shaken through naïve reinforcement learning if they witness negative market or economic condition. Considering this the authors investigate the relationship between investor confidence and life insurance demand.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used bias corrected bootstrapped sample of OECD economies to examine the link between investor confidence and life insurance demand when two possible economic conditions were witnessed: 1) normal/economic expansion and 2) economic/debt impairment. The findings are robust to alternate estimation techniques and endogeneity.
Findings
The authors found that lower investor confidence, sovereign debt impairment and negative market condition will have negative repercussion on life insurance demand. On the other hand, investor confidence-life insurance demand nexus is merely influenced by market and economic condition.
Originality/value
This is a premier research explaining the nexus between investor confidence and life insurance demand in the context of life-cycle hypothesis, sovereign ratings channel and experience-confidence-belief framework. The finding will help economic policy-makers in developing pre-emptive measures to protect life insurance businesses from negative repercussions of lower confidence and negative market conditions.
... IT evaluation on the other hand dates back to the eighties starting with a more contemporary approach (Farbey et al. 1999, p. 191). As reported by earlier works, the success rate of CRM implementation projects is up to today still not satisfactory (Becker et al. 2009;Finnegan and Currie 2009). Reasons for failing the expectations of involved parties are diverse, but can be summarized under the three dimensions: people, process and technology ( Figure 1). ...
... Peculiarly, knowledge management strategies, e.g., information sharing, have a direct effect on innovation and organizational performance (Al-Hakim and Hassan, 2013, Nawab et al., 2015).Aldaihani and Ali (2018b) revealed that social CRM had a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, Becker et al. (2009) indicated that the implementation of CRM by companies has no significant effect on their performance. Nwankwo and Ajemunigbohun (2013) investigated CRM and customer retention in Nigeria's insurance industry and pointed out a significant effect of CRM on customer retention. ...
The aim of this study is to scrutinize the impact of customer relationship management (CRM) on marketing performance through innovation capability. Guided by a quantitative descriptive and predictive methodology, a questionnaire-based survey was carried out to collect data on research constructs using a randomly chosen sample consisting of 213 clients of financial small and medium enterprises in Jordan. Data analysis was conducted using a total of 194 questionnaires. The results approved the hypotheses that CRM dimensions exert significant direct effects on marketing performance and significant indirect results on the same endogenous construct through innovation capability. Therefore, managers of financial enterprises would have required a considerable effort in order to ensure that the concepts of relationship marketing theory and resource-based views are effectively and efficiently applied to induce marketing performance in terms of customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty.
The food service industry is expanding quickly and is predicted to create a large number of jobs in the coming years.Indian food service industry is dominated by family owned businesses. In the post-pandemic times, the survival and sustainability of family-owned restaurants are posing a new set of challenges. Hence, this paper tries to ascertain whether the green initiatives, social engagement practices and customer centric approach have an influence on the firm performance of familyowned restaurants when they are moderated by risking taking and creative thinking abilities of the owner.The study employed a cross-sectional design and a quantitative methodology. The data was collected from 354 restaurant owners from different districts of south Indian states viz., Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. The results revealed that green initiatives and societal engagement influenced firm performance. Customer centric approach only influenced firm performance when it was moderated by critical thinking abilities of the owner. Discussions are carried out based on the study findings and suggestions are made.
There has been an increase in customer churn over the past few years—customers decide not to continue purchasing products or services from an organization. Customers’ data lie in two categories: soft and hard. The term “hard data” refers to the records generated by various devices and programs, including but not limited to smartphones, computers, sensors, smart meters, fleet management systems, call detail records (CDRs), and consumer bank transaction data. On the other hand, information that is subject to interpretation and viewpoint is known as “soft data.” Fusing these two types of data leads to better customer behaviour analysis. This paper uses a supervised machine learning algorithm, namely a decision tree (DT), and the change mining method to model hard data. K-means clustering, an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, is also used along with the data preprocessing techniques. This paper also considers the Dempster-Shafer theory and other steps for soft data modelling. By fusing soft and hard data, the churn rate of customers compared with each other can be calculated. Besides, the customers’ banking data are leveraged for data modelling. The results show that the banking industry will gain a more dynamic and efficient customer relationship management system by using this model.
p> The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of customer knowledge and customer relationship management in the quality of services in the Sarmad insurance. The method used in this research is correlation. Therefore, in this study, all members of the community population are an insurance company Sarmad, 214 people were randomly chosen. Data collection tools include questionnaire, customer knowledge, quality of service and customer relationship management. After scoring questionnaire and data extraction with spss and the effect of customer knowledge and customer relationship management in service quality of Sarmad Insurance Company had been shown with statistical test. </p
This study examined the effect of effect of organization fairness, perceived organization support and organization commitment to organizational citizenship behavior for company. The object of this research is a pension employee of PT Krakatau Steel, which is in the province of Banten, especially in Cilegon branch. 10 branches serve as a sample with 140 questionnaires distributed, but the questionnaire which can be processed as many as 100 questionnaires. Questions questionnaire measured with a scale of 1-5. Data were analyzed by using SEM (Structural Equation Model) through SmartPLS (Partial Least Square) 1:10 version. The results of this study expressed that hypotesis from organizational fairness, perceived organization support and organization commitment is positive effect and significant to organizational citizenship behaviour for company
Business decision-making increasingly requires that the information technology (IT) and marketing functions work together. Despite their distinct objectives, marketing managers need improved access to data to drive strategy. Based on an absorptive-capacity perspective, this study examines how marketing and IT business knowledge at the executive level affect decision-making. Results indicate that IT business knowledge has a direct, positive effect on data-driven decision-making, and marketing business knowledge does not. In addition, information quality and marketing/IT cooperation have differential moderating effects.
The purpose of this article is to discover the important factors that influence the acquisition and retention of clients of Indian telecommunications carriers. The survey has been conducted to 54 respondents across Delhi NCR in line with the objective of the study has been conducted from 31 variables identified from various literature reviews. The 31 variables have been categorized into six factors such as service, support, CRM, price, network, and regulatory. Survey-based questionnaires were used to collect data for 54 respondents using Google Form. The study finds out that value added services, reliability of service factor, commitment of support factor, call rates and offers of pricing factor, network quality of network factor and telecom policy of regulatory factor significantly influencing customer acquisition and retention of Indian telecom companies. This study is of great benefit to university researchers, managers, and telecommunications practitioners.
Marketing in medium and small-scale enterprises (SMEs) is altogether very different to marketing as proposed theoretically for large organizations. This chapter is dedicated to the gathered research on the effect and impact of IBTs on the customer relationship management (CRM) activities (i.e., e-CRM) of SMEs in Gurgaon. A cocktail method approach including online in-depth interviews, online questionnaires, and projective techniques was followed. Of 286 respondents, factor analysis was carried out leading to communication with customers and management of customer information being processed as the main area within the e-CRM in SMEs. In order to provide better communication and information management abilities to varying customers, SMEs are following relatively simple IBTs. It is harder to consolidate customer information into decision making than just the communication side of it. In SMEs, e-CRM tries to be adhoc rather than strategic.
The aim of this research is to understand how the dynamics of customer relationship management system usage have changed small and medium enterprises practices, influencing their organizational performance. Theories that have been used to understand the elements of system practices include the theory of marketing relationships and the theory of resource-based visualization. In this study, customer relationship management resources are classified as customer orientation, technological system resources, knowledge management and organizational capability (established as independent variables). Organizational performance will be te dependent variable. Also, a new factor was introduced, namely the control variable (size of company, seniority and the main field of activity of the company are used in the analysis of this factor). The questions from te survey were stated using the Likert scale (with values from 1 to 7). After using statistical data and case studies through quantitative analysis, the research conducted to the current state of customer relationship management system usage. The significant effect that influences the organizational performance toward using customer relationship management system is represented by organizational capability, which had the most important influence.KeywordsSmall and medium enterprisesOrganizational performanceCustomer relationship management systemDigital technologiesTheory of marketing relationshipsRomanian companies
This chapter develops a framework for the Customer Value Management (CVM) function within the marketing practice of firms with a large customer base. A one-to-one marketing campaign involving a data set of 60,000 mobile customers from the Business Intelligence (BI) system of a mobile operator in Nigeria was experimented. The data was prepared along customer value, lifetime, and other variables. Marketing campaigns were developed, deployed, and experimented on below-the-line (BTL) digital channels. The experiment explored the effectiveness of these digital channels in driving CVM campaign activities within a large customer base. The results show that while all the experimented channels performed well under the CVM framework with respect to customer adoption and incremental revenue, the digital tag notification performance was exceptional. The implication is that the digital tag notification channel can be well-positioned as an integral channel of CVM operations in large consumer firms with a real-time one-to-one marketing capability. This study demonstrates the value and ease of a CVM framework application in a large customer base in driving business revenue. It also shows customers’ practical responses to offerings across digital channels, which has implications for the effective optimization of digital channels of firms with a large customer base.
Customers are the target of effective Marketing Campaign growth. The retention of customers is of value for the measurement of profits of different organizations. The effectiveness of the CRM process depends on the active participation of all managers and employees in the banking sector, a special 'connection' exists between the bank and the customer. But due to various factors and apprehensions such as financial pressures, danger of failure, marketing inertia, etc., many banks still adopt conventional marketing practices, whereas only a limited number of banks try to adjust CRM. The provision of services to customers has been established as being the banks' primary responsibility. Banks have their own way of handling customer relations. However, consumers' understanding of banking CRM activities should also be taken into account. CRM activities respond to customers' needs without hesitation, banks are able to raise customer awareness and can vary substantially build a customer database.
E-commerce is a new business model in the world; it has triggered a major change in the mode of production of the whole world. With the rapid development of enterprise information technology and Internet technology, e-commerce has become a key means of modern enterprise competition. Faced with increasingly severe limit of resource and increasingly prosperous environment of e-commerce, a variety of business model innovation which spawned out by E-commerce has become a hot market competition. Currently the idea of SMEs to reduce costs and improve efficiency awareness through business model innovation increased significantly. Entrepreneurs are the main promoters of e-commerce and business model innovation, the government's encouragement and support are the political guarantees of e-commerce and business model innovation. E-commerce and business model innovation are important for enterprise development and promoting economic restructuring and upgrading. Based on this, the paper analyzes the impact of e-commerce environment for enterprise traditional business model. The economic basis of business model innovation, the dynamic mechanism and the thought of business model innovation.
Customer relationship management is a difficult and dynamic activity that involves changes in the organization. In order to gain sustainable competitive advantages over competitors, more and more companies are starting to adopt CRM. Many do not, however, achieve or eventually miss scheduled outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine the critical success factors that influence the success of the deployment of customer relationship management and how these critical success factors can be implemented to help implementation effectively. Another topic is that during the implementation process for various organizations, these main success factors can play a different role. Consequently, for individual firms, these crucial performance factors should be handled differently.
E-commerce has evolved as a versatile tool to serve consumers with internet purchases and marketing integration. While an integrated self-service solution for consumers, e-CRM systems are not based on meeting each customer's needs effectively. The aim of this thesis is to discuss the idea of e-CRM and its various techniques in the creation of customer relations through literature reviews. The research has strong implications in defining the strategic role of e-Customer Relation Management (e-CRM) in delivering personalized customer service.
In recent years, the number of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementations has risen significantly. However, there is no academic analysis of the problems relevant to the application of the definition. This book chapter provides a small contribution by reviewing a case study of a CRM implementation in a manufacturing business. The case study shows that CRM is a dynamic and holistic concept, structured around business processes and information technology integration. The study also highlights the need for successful leadership, procurement, targeting and assessment methods to incorporate CRM.
In Ancient days, the day break was started with worships but the trend has changed, now the day break starts with Social networking sites for the youth. Social networking sites like Myspace and Face book have seen tremendous growth over the past few years by attracting youngsters. In recent years social networking sites are playing vital role in youngster’s life. The main objective of this study is aimed to know the Impact of social Networking sites on Young Consumer Buying Behaviour. The present study is empirical in nature .A Stratified sample of 380 respondents was taken for data collection. For Data analysis, Correlation analysis, Mean, Chi-square test are constituted.
Marketing ist im Gesundheitswesen eine relativ junge Erscheinung. Noch in den 1960er-Jahren und 1970er-Jahren wurde einer Kundenorientierung im Gesundheitswesen wenig Bedeutung geschenkt, da die Nachfrage ohnehin das Angebot überstieg und die Anbieter im Gesundheitswesen eher mit einer Ausweitung ihrer Kapazitäten beschäftigt waren. Als Reaktion auf die ersten Kostendämpfungsmaßnahmen und der damit einhergehenden Verknappung der Ressourcen bzw. dem entstehenden Wettbewerb unter den Anbietern in den USA, wurde Ende der 1970er-Jahre das ≫Health Care Marketing≪ geboren, das einige Jahre später auch in Deutschland Einzug hielt.
Despite awareness of academics and managers of the impact that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can have on firm’s performance, contributions on methods to measure CRM performance, other than economic and financial one, are neither well developed nor well communicated. Academics and practitioners call for new empirical models and performance metrics to testify and measure the overall contribution of a CRM project to firm performance, as traditional methods of evaluating the return on investment do not capture the multifunctional and complex nature of CRM. Thus, this study aims to develop a CRM performance evaluation method that helps companies to evaluate the organizational and strategic impacts of CRM. To this end, first, based on an in-depth review of the literature and experts’ opinions, we develop an original method that overcomes the prevalent shortcomings of previous studies. Second, we validate its accuracy and meaningfulness. Third, we test its feasibility and utility within a sample of companies. The proposed method is based on multiple perspectives and conditional factors and includes objective and perceptual measures, accounting for the opinion of key informants and CRM users. The method monitors the organizational and strategic performance of CRM over time, thus allowing for a clearer decision-making process and an orientation towards the future.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a key factor in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and an important concept in segmenting, selecting and retaining customers, and using appropriate strategies for customers based on CLV can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing efforts. The purpose of this study is to identify and rank the influential factors on CLV in Shiraz airline agencies. Based on the proposed framework, first the influential factors on CLV were extracted according to the previous studies and opinions of the experts in this field. Then, the questionnaire was designed and distributed on the basis of these factors. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were investigated and confirmed by using factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. Then, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that study data are normal. The correlation of the variables was demonstrated by Pearson's test and the relationship of variables and CLV confirmed by using the Structural Equations Modelling (SEM). Finally, the ranking of the influential factors on CLV was performed by Fuzzy hierarchical analysis method. Based on the ranking, it was found that respectively, satisfaction, commitment, trust, service quality, brand image, and CRM, have influence on CLV. At the end, there were also some recommendations to improve and enhance CLV in all service industries, including airline agencies.
Customer life cycle value is an essential factor for customer relationship management and an important concept in segmentation
And customer retention and the application of appropriate strategies for customers based on the value of the customer life cycle can cause
Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing measures. The purpose of this study is to identify and rank the factors affecting
The value of the customer life cycle in Shiraz airline agencies. In the framework of the proposed method, first the factors affecting the value
The customer life cycle was extracted according to previous research and the opinion of experts in this field. Then based on the questionnaire
These factors were designed and distributed. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha
Confirmed. Then, using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, it was found that the data are normal and the correlation between the factors
Demonstrated by Pearson test and using structural equations, the relationships between factors and customer life cycle value were confirmed
Took. Finally, the ranking of factors affecting the value of the customer life cycle was done by fuzzy hierarchical analysis. On
Satisfaction based on satisfaction, commitment, commitment, trust, service quality, brand image and management, respectively
Customer relationship affects the value of the customer life cycle. Finally, solutions to improve and increase value
The customer life cycle was presented in all service industries, including airline agencies.
The last decade has seen the emergence of Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) as a technique to underpin organizational performance improvement in
improving customer retention, customer satisfaction, and customer value. However,
evidence suggests that many CRM initiatives fail to achieve desired results.
Furthermore, empirical research is still scarce.In recent years, CRM has been the
favored theme for numerous studies and reports. It has also been considered as a way
of capturing comparative advantages in the face of the growing competition.
However, despite many studies conducted on CRM in various industries in the past
20 years, there is still significant disagreement about its definition and meaning, and
the framework for the effective implementation and evaluation of CRM practice.
Moreover, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the success
factors of the CRM performance, and its impact on organizational performance. To
address these issues, this study examines the degree of CRM performance of hoteliers
as well as the relationship between CRM performance and organizational
performance. Furthermore, this research also investigated the influence of
organizational and technological factors on CRM performance. In this quantitative
study, a total of 98 Jordanian hotels participated by voluntarily completing the survey
questionnaire, constituting an overall 49% response rate. From the analysis
undertaken, it was found that the CRM performance of the respondents were at
moderate degree. The research results indicated that CRM performance has a positive
influence on organizational performance. Four major factors were found to have
significant influence on CRM performance namely top management, customer data,
customer information processing, and CRM functionality. On the other hand, factors
such as customer orientation, training orientation, and data integration were not
significantly related to CRM performance. Theoretical implications and managerial
implications of these findings are discussed
Building on contingency theory and the input–process–output model, this paper investigates the relationships between customer relationship management (CRM) technology adoption, customization capability, CRM effectiveness, and strategic alignment. By surveying senior managers of customized service projects from 288 information technology service firms in Taiwan, we find that CRM technology adoption has a positive relationship with customization capacity, which is, in turn, positively correlated with CRM effectiveness with the correlation being moderated by strategic alignment. This study suggests that CRM marketing and operational technologies can enhance CRM effectiveness via customization capability. This study also uncovers approaches to achieving enhancement.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is about providing a holistic and transparent a view of the customer as possible, and optimizing a business relationship which is intended to be developed over time. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a concept for increasing companies’ profitability by enabling them to identify and
concentrate on their profitable customers. Good CRM helps organizations to improve sales and sustainable business from the customer. CRM does not focus only on acquiring the customer but it’s also focus on How to retain and expand customer base. Company can get better results if the company knows how to plan, justify, evaluate, implement, and
improve CRM. In this paper we have tried to understand the present practices of selected
insurance companies that are working in Anand-Vidyanagar Area. The basic purpose of this paper is to get an idea how insurance companies managing their relationship with customers.
People are in need of products and service for comfortable living, products may transfer one place to another. But, the service could move one to another place. People have to travel to get the service benefits of institutions, societies, hospitals, hotels and etc. People may spent more than a day to reach their designation, for business / to meet their relatives. Management primary motive is to earn profits, they use to find the satisfaction level of their existing customers. Some time customers may not disclose their satisfaction level, hotels facilities are influence the satisfaction level. Customer's expectations are different from one another, management duty is to fulfill the customers expectation and make them satisfy. The following are the objectives of the study. (i) to present the socio economic factors of the sample respondents ; (ii) to find the variables which influence the level of satisfaction and (iii) to gives suggestions to the hotel management. The researcher has chosen Madurai, it has lot of industries, educational institution, hospitals and tourist places. The researcher selected only 4 star hotel for this study to measure their level of satisfaction. The researcher issued 220 questionnaire to the respondents, they given adequate time to fill their details, finally 193 questionnaire were collected back, entire 193 questionnaire were used for analysis. the researcher concluded that the management should think in different angle from traditional method of getting customers and satisfying them. The technological update must to face the new generation customers, new generation complete their entire work over smart phone, they having smart mobile and application to spread the information and issues. The management could use the same technology for hotel development. Our Heritage
Purpose
The study aims to explore the themes responsible for employee orientation and further their role in building strong customer relationships in telecom and organized retail outlets in emerging markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing the qualitative approach, a total of 31 in-depth interviews with customer relationship management (CRM) officers of telecom and organized outlets were carried out. Data were analysed using NVIVO-12 plus and ATLAS tools.
Findings
The analysis extracted 13 unique themes namely training and development, communication skills, convincing skills, interpersonal skills, knowledge management, grievance handling, organisation's culture development, service climate, adaptive behaviour, customer retention skills, customer profiling, trust and commitment, and suitability of employees. The results claimed that these themes can assist in building strong customer relationships. However, the extent of the significance of themes may vary for telecom and organized retail outlets.
Research limitations/implications
The findings have vital implications for frontline employees to drive customer value as they directly involve with customers. Findings further suggest that hiring of employees according to their location and catchment area of outlets are utmost important.
Originality/value
Employee orientation is an indispensable determinant in building a sustainable relationship with customers through uniqueness and consistency in meeting customers' expectations. This is a first attempt to explore the various unique themes responsible for employee orientation and the imperative role of such themes in maintaining long-lasting customer relationships.
O presente estudo tem como objetivo identificar como é feita a incrementação da proposta de valor a partir da utilização da ferramenta de CRM em empresas exportadoras. Para tanto foi conduzido um levantamento teórico a respeito de ambos os temas, e foram observadas em 5 organizações como são percebidos o valor pelos clientes e como é gerada a relação das empresas com os clientes internacionais. Os resultados indicam que não são todas as empresas que adotam estratégias e ferramentas de gestão de relacionamento com seus clientes. Porém, todas prezam pela melhor relação com os clientes internacionais por meio de ações intrínsecas aos seus processos comerciais cotidianos. Em sua grande maioria, as respostas foram parecidas, mostrando que o bom relacionamento com os clientes e a manutenção dos mesmos – ainda que muitas vezes não se utilize o software de CRM - é sim fundamental para a incrementação da proposta de valor frente ao seu produto e/ou serviço, bem como para o sucesso de uma operação internacional.
With advanced digitalisation, we can observe a massive increase of user-generated content on the web that provides opinions of people on different subjects. Sentiment analysis is the computational study of analysing people's feelings and opinions for an entity. The field of sentiment analysis has been the topic of extensive research in the past decades. In this paper, we present the results of a tertiary study, which aims to investigate the current state of the research in this field by synthesizing the results of published secondary studies (i.e., systematic literature review and systematic mapping study) on sentiment analysis. This tertiary study follows the guidelines of systematic literature reviews (SLR) and covers only secondary studies. The outcome of this tertiary study provides a comprehensive overview of the key topics and the different approaches for a variety of tasks in sentiment analysis. Different features, algorithms, and datasets used in sentiment analysis models are mapped. Challenges and open problems are identified that can help to identify points that require research efforts in sentiment analysis. In addition to the tertiary study, we also identified recent 112 deep learning-based sentiment analysis papers and categorized them based on the applied deep learning algorithms. According to this analysis, LSTM and CNN algorithms are the most used deep learning algorithms for sentiment analysis.
Purpose: This paper aims to examine the interaction effect of customers relationship management (CRM) on the competitive advantage (CA) of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Yemen. Research design, data and methodology: This study applied a quantitative approach in dealing with the interaction effect of CRM dimensions and SMEs' competitive advantage in Yemen. The research uses a sample of 247 manufacturing SMEs surveyed in Yemen. Results: The results indicate that only three dimensions of CRM, namely (TCM), (KM) and (CRMO), have a significant effect on SMEs' competitive advantage, but not that between (KCF) and SMEs' competitive advantage. Conclusions: The findings of this study offer important insights for owners and managers of SMEs, researchers and policymakers to further understand the effects of CRM on SMEs' competitive advantage. SMEs should also be encouraged to develop their CRM to improve their competitive advantage. Lastly, this study makes several contributions to the literature, the first of which is the provision of evidence concerning the major role of CRM as a dependent variable and competitive advantage as an independent variable. The second contribution pertains to its pioneering status in examining the direct relationship between CRM dimensions and the competitive advantage of SMEs in a Middle Eastern country.
Provides a nontechnical introduction to the partial least squares (PLS) approach. As a logical base for comparison, the PLS approach for structural path estimation is contrasted to the covariance-based approach. In so doing, a set of considerations are then provided with the goal of helping the reader understand the conditions under which it might be reasonable or even more appropriate to employ this technique. This chapter builds up from various simple 2 latent variable models to a more complex one. The formal PLS model is provided along with a discussion of the properties of its estimates. An empirical example is provided as a basis for highlighting the various analytic considerations when using PLS and the set of tests that one can employ is assessing the validity of a PLS-based model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Adverse selection is an important problem for marketers. To reduce the chances of acquiring an unprofitable customer, companies may screen prospects who respond to a marketing offer. Prospects who respond are often not approved. At the same time, prospects who are likely to be approved are unlikely to respond to a given marketing offer. Using data from a firm's customer relationship management system, the authors show how to target prospects who are likely to respond and be approved. This approach increases the number of customers who are approved and reduces the number of applicants who may defect after being turned down. This method can be extended to new customer acquisition and more effective targeting of costly promotions to migrate customers to higher levels of lifetime value.
The Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm suggests that assets, and their effective management, should be associated with achieving and maintaining competitive advantage. As the RBV has developed, it has moved toward the idea that difficult-to-imitate learning processes may be the only true source of competitive advantage to the firm. This paper empirically examines the relationship between a business unit's strategy, its ability to manage customer information, an intangible asset associated with firm learning, and achieving competitive advantage. Learning about customers takes place through having relevant dialogues with them, which is also known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). As relationships develop, information about the customer is gathered in the firm's Customer Information Systems (CIS), the content of , and processes and assets associated with, gathering and moving customer information throughout the firm. CIS management capabilities as used here are based on learning organization theory and measured by the ability to get, store, move and use information throughout the business unit. This study of 209 business services firms finds that generic positioning (Low-Cost and Differentiation) and marketing strategies (Personalization and Customization) are related to Customer Information Systems development. CIS development in turn is associated with higher levels of Customer-Based Performance, which in turn is associated with increased Business Growth. However, strategy selection (and particularly Differentiation) has a greater impact on Customer-Based Performance than CIS management abilities. Whereas a good strategy makes up for deficiencies in CIS, a strong CIS alone without a clear strategy may only in a more limited case lead to a performance advantage. Managers are cautioned that the collection of masses of data without a clear strategic intent for their use may not be the wisest (or most profitable) course of action. Customization and Personalization themselves are not directly associated with performance. By far the greatest contributor to Customer-Based Performance is strategy selection. The greater long-term benefits of the knowledge gained from the CIS may be in the ability to assist in measuring Customer-Based Performance, rather than in the ability to immediately contribute to performance. These results suggest that Customization and Personalization may not be required for every firm's marketing strategy.
An understanding of how to manage relationships with customers effectively has become an important topic for both academicians and practitioners in recent years. However, the existing academic literature and the practical applications of customer relationship management (CRM) strategies do not provide a clear indication of what specifically constitutes CRM processes. In this study, the authors (1) conceptualize a construct of the CRM process and its dimensions, (2) operationalize and validate the construct, and (3) empirically investigate the organizational performance consequences of implementing CRM processes. Their research questions are addressed in two cross-sectional studies across four different industries and three countries. The first key outcome is a theoretically sound CRM process measure that outlines three key stages: initiation, maintenance, and termination. The second key result is that the implementation of CRM processes has a moderately positive association with both perceptual and objective company performance.
Conceptually, customer relationship management (CRM) has been widely embraced by businesses. In practice, however, examples of success contrast with anecdotes where the diffusion of CRM into organizations continues to be a slow process and/or where CRM implementation outcomes have fallen short of expectations. Successful implementation depends on a number of factors such as fit between of a firm’s CRM strategy and programs and its broader marketing strategy, and intraorganizational and interorganizational cooperation and coordination among entities involved in implementation. Building on the results of a survey of the CRM-implementation-related experiences of 101 U.S.-based firms, in this article the authors identify factors associated with successful CRM implementation and advance directions for future research.
The concept of customer centricity and its benefits have been discussed for more than 50 years. Despite this fact, many firms are still struggling to fully align themselves to the customer-centric paradigm. This article identifies fundamental issues and challenges that typically deter a firm from becoming customer-centric. These are mainly related to the organizational culture, structure, processes, and financial metrics of the firm. To overcome these barriers, the article suggests a path to customer centricity that is driven by a strong leadership commitment, organizational realignment, systems and process support, and revised financial metrics. The article concludes with directions for further research.
In a study of telecommunications services, the authors examine the effects of customer satisfaction, affective com- mitment, and calculative commitment on retention. The study further examines the potential for situational and reactional trigger conditions to moderate the satisfaction-retention relationship. The results support consistent effects of customer satisfaction, calculative commitment, and prior churn on retention. Prior churn also moderates the satisfaction-retention relationship. The results have implications for both customer relationship managers and researchers who use satisfaction surveys to predict behavior.
Four fundamental issues serve to establish the identity of the field of marketing, distinguish it from other fields and disciplines, and compel further research inquiry. These issues ask: 1. How do customers and consumers really behave? 2. How do markets function and evolve? 3. How do firms relate to their markets? 4. What are the contributions of marketing to organizational performance and societal welfare? Although the questions posed by these fundamental issues are durable, new answers will need to be sought to accommodate the following trends and disruptions that are shaping the direction of marketing: 1. the connected knowledge economy; 2. globalizing, converging, and consolidating industries; 3. fragmenting and frictionless markets; 4. empowered customers and consumers; and 5. adaptive organizations. These new directions challenge academic marketing to provide meaningful measures, inferences, and calibration; understand functional interfaces; and rethink the role of theory.
Relationship marketing-establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges-constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. After conceptualizing relationship marketing and discussing its ten forms, the authors (1) theorize that successful relationship marketing requires relationship commitment and trust, (2) model relationship commitment and trust as key mediating variables, (3) test this key mediating variable model using data from automobile tire retailers, and (4) compare their model with a rival that does not allow relationship commitment and trust to function as mediating variables. Given the favorable test results for the key mediating variable model, suggestions for further explicating and testing it are offered.
Studies of the relationship between purchase intentions and purchase behavior have ignored the possibility that the very act of measurement may inflate the association between intentions and behavior, a phenomenon called "self-generated validity." In this research, the authors develop a latent model of the reactive effects of measurement that is applicable to intentions, attitude, or satisfaction data, and they show that this model can be estimated with a two-stage procedure. In the first stage, the authors use data from surveyed consumers to predict the presurvey latent purchase intentions of both surveyed and nonsurveyed consumers. In the second stage, they compare the strength of the association between the presurvey latent intentions and the postsurvey behavior across both groups. The authors find large and reliable self-generated validity effects across three diverse large-scale field studies. On average, the correlation between latent intentions and purchase behavior is 58% greater among surveyed consumers than it is among similar nonsurveyed consumers. One study also shows that the reactive effect of the measurement of purchase intentions is entirely mediated by self-generated validity and not by social norms, intention modification, or other measurement effects that are independent of presurvey latent intentions.
Effective organizations are configurations of management practices that facilitate the development of the knowledge that becomes the basis for competitive advantage. A market orientation, complemented by an entrepreneurial drive, provides the cultural foundation for organizational learning. However, as important as market orientation and entrepreneurship are, they must be complemented by an appropriate climate to produce a ''learning organization''. The authors describe the processes through which organizations develop and use new knowledge to improve performance. They propose a set of organizational elements that comprise the learning organization and conclude with recommendations for research to contribute to the understanding of learning organizations.
The authors demonstrate how item response theory can be applied for cost effective measurement of consumer attitudes with multi-item scales. The measurement technique they discuss and illustrate is tailored to each respondent so that each is asked only the scale items most informative of his or her attitude level. This approach yields attitude estimates from only a fraction of the total number of items in the attitude scale, with a measurable and controllable increase in the standard error of measurement. Potential cost-saving implications are discussed.
The article reviews the evolution from brand-centered marketing to customer-centered marketing and the beginnings of a focus on viewing the customer as an asset. It illustrates the practice by describing the use of a loyalty program to identify and respond to high-potential customers in the market for business-class hotels. Next, it considers seven challenges that impede wider adoption of customer equity management and concludes with a schematic model of customer-centered marketing management.
For both academics and practitioners, the dominant focus of customer relationship management has been customer retention. The authors assert that customer winback should also be an important part of a cus-tomer relationship management strategy. Customer winback focuses on the reinitiation and management of relationships with customers who have lapsed or defected from a firm. In some cases, firms engage in extensive efforts to reacquire lapsed customers or defectors, and a com-mon tactic is lowering the price to reacquire a customer. This investiga-tion goes beyond the reacquisition pricing strategy and also examines the optimal pricing strategy when the customer has decided to reinitiate the relationship. By simultaneously modeling reacquisition and duration of the second tenure with the firm, the authors determine that the optimal pricing strategy for their application involves a low reacquisition price and higher prices when customers have been reacquired. In addition to pric-ing strategy, they also discuss the implications of their findings for target-ing lapsed customers for reacquisition.
The goal of this preface is to describe how the special section on customer relationship management (CRM) was developed. In May 2003, Richard Staelin, Executive Director of the Teradata Center for Customer Relationship Management at Duke University, proposed that Journal of Marketing (JM) publish a special section. The proposal included activities that were designed to promote interactions among marketing academics and practitioners; the goal was to stimulate dialogue and new research on CRM. I found the proposal attractive because CRM is a broad-based topic that interests many marketers. After extensive discussion, the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Teradata Center formally agreed to cosponsor the special section. Subsequently, there was a con-ference on Relationship Marketing and Customer Relationship Management (cochaired by Michael Ehret, Wesley Johnston, Michael Kleinaltenkamp, and Lou Pelton) that took place at Freie Universität Berlin in the summer of 2003; 1 a conference on Customer Management (cosponsored by the Marketing Science Institute and the Teradata Center) that was held at Duke University in March 2004; and two special sessions on CRM that were featured at the AMA Winter Educators' Conference held in San Antonio, Tex., in February 2005. The conferences provided many opportunities for dialogue, and the response from marketers who attended these events was enthusiastic. I also invited Richard Staelin and William Boulding (Executive Codirector of the Teradata Center) to work with me as consulting editors for the special section, and they agreed. A call for papers requested that authors submit their manuscripts to JM by May 2004. The consulting editors and I evaluated every submission with the assistance of an expert panel that included. All submissions underwent JM's standard double-blind review process, and members of JM's editorial review board served as reviewers. I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who participated in the development of the special section. The culmination of our work together is a set of nine articles and two essays that advance the science and practice of CRM. I hope that these articles stim-ulate new intellectual discoveries. —Ruth N. Bolton William Boulding is a professor and Associate Dean (e-mail: BB1@duke. edu), and Richard Staelin is Edward and Rose Donnell Professor of Busi-ness Administration (e-mail: rstaelin@duke.edu), Fuqua School of Busi-ness, Duke University. Michael Ehret is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Freie Universität Berlin (e-mail: michael.ehret@wiwiss.fu-berlin.de). Wesley J. Johnston is CBIM Roundtable Professor of Marketing, Depart-ment of Marketing, Georgia State University (e-mail: Wesley@gsu.edu). The authors thank Ruth Bolton for her insights, guidance, and support in shaping this article and the special section and the authors of the articles in the special section for their contributions.
Drawing on the relationship marketing and market information processing literature streams, the authors conceptualize and measure relational information processes, or organizational routines that are critical for customer relationship management (CRM). The authors examine the key drivers and outcome of relational information processes and the role of technology in implementing CRM using data collected from a diverse sample of firms. The results show that relational information processes play a vital role in enhancing an organization's customer relationship performance. By moderating the influence of relational information processes on customer relationship performance, technology used for CRM performs an important and supportive role. The study provides insights into why the use of CRM technology might not always deliver the expected customer relationship performance outcome.
This research evaluates the effect of customer relationship management (CRM) on customer knowledge and customer satisfaction. An analysis of archival data for a cross-section of U.S. firms shows that the use of CRM applications is positively associated with improved customer knowledge and improved customer satisfaction. This article also shows that gains in customer knowledge are enhanced when firms share their customer-related information with their supply chain partners.
We examine the controversial practice of using parcels of items as manifest variables in structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures. After detailing arguments pro and con, we conclude that the unconsidered use of parcels is never warranted, while, at the same time, the considered use of parcels cannot be dismissed out of hand. In large part, the decision to parcel or not depends on one's philosophical stance regard- ing scientific inquiry (e.g., empiricist vs. pragmatist) and the substantive goal of a study (e.g., to understand the structure of a set of items or to examine the nature of a set of constructs). Prior to creating parcels, however, we recommend strongly that in- vestigators acquire a thorough understanding of the nature and dimensionality of the items to be parceled. With this knowledge in hand, various techniques for creating parcels can be utilized to minimize potential pitfalls and to optimize the measure- ment structure of constructs in SEM procedures. A number of parceling techniques are described, noting their strengths and weaknesses.
We provide a fully personalized model for optimizing multiple marketing interventions in intermediate-term customer relationship management (CRM). We derive theoretically based propositions on the moderating effects of past customer behavior and conduct a longitudinal validation test to compare the performance of our model with that of commonly used segmentation models in predicting intermediate-term, customer-specific gross profit change. Our findings show that response to marketing interventions is highly heterogeneous, that heterogeneity of response varies across different marketing interventions, and that the heterogeneity of response to marketing interventions may be partially explained by customer-specific variables related to customer characteristics and the customer’s past interactions with the company. One important result from these moderating effects is that relationship-oriented interventions are more effective with loyal customers, while action-oriented interventions are more effective with nonloyal customers. We show that our proposed model outperformed models based on demographics, recency-frequency-monetary value (RFM), or finite mixture segmentation in predicting the effectiveness of intermediate-term CRM. The empirical results project a significant increase in intermediate-term profitability over all of the competing segmentation approaches and a significant increase in intermediate-term profitability over current practice.
Cross-sectional studies of attitude-behavior relationships are vulnerable to the inflation of correlations by common method variance (CMV). Here, a model is presented that allows partial correlation analysis to adjust the observed correlations for CMV contamination and determine if conclusions about the statistical and practical significance of a predictor have been influenced by the presence of CMV. This method also suggests procedures for designing questionnaires to increase the precision of this adjustment.
Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.
The author develops a probabilistic model that converts stated purchase intents into purchase probabilities. The model allows heterogeneity between nonintenders and intenders with respect to their probability to switch to a new "true" purchase intent after the survey, thereby capturing the typical discrepancy between overall mean purchase intent and subsequent proportion of buyers (bias). When the probability to switch of intenders is larger (smaller) than that of nonintenders, the overall mean purchase intent overestimates (underestimates) the proportion of buyers. As special cases, the author derives upper and lower bounds on proportions of buyers from purchase intents data and shows the consistency of those bounds with observed behavior, except in predictable cases such as new products and business markets. However, a straightforward modification of the model deals with new product purchase forecasts.
Goals play an essential role in the purposive behavior of consumers, but scholars only recently have begun to examine the motivation for goals, their selection and modification, and their pursuit and attainment. One purpose of this article is to outline a conceptual framework for thinking about how goals emerge, influence decision making, and guide consumer choice and action. Another purpose is to integrate classic ideas proposed by consumer researchers with emerging concepts and models proposed by cognitive psychologists, social psychologists, and other social scientists. Finally, the authors' aim is to present several new ideas on goal setting and goal striving and point out how they can enrich the study and practice of consumer behavior.
With an estimated investment of over 1 trillion dollars to date on information technology (IT) products and applications, one would hope that there exists a corresponding improvement in organizational performance and productivity. The level of IT usage has widely been accepted as an important indicator of IT success within organizations. This research synthesizes and validates the construct of IT usage using a meta-analysis. It accomplishes that by analyzing the empirical results of various studies over a period of time covering a broad scope of characteristics of both users and information systems (IS), and it examines the relation between these characteristics and the level of IT usage within organizations. In general, the results of this meta-analysis lead to the conclusion that there exists a strong and significant positive relation between the perception of ease of use and the perceived usefulness of an IT system to the actual amount of usage. Another factor that indicates a high level of IT usage is the organizational support of IT within an enterprise. Although the factors of education level, training level, and professional level were found to have a substantial effect on IT usage, the magnitude of these effects were lower than those of the perceptions of the user and organizational support. Managers and IT professionals may have a better chance of avoiding IT system ineffectiveness and even failure by paying attention to the results of this research, especially in view of the fact that it synthesized and validated the results of a significant number of empirical studies published in some of the best IS journals. Rarely do single research experiments provide definitive answers on which to base policy decisions.
Despite the dominant role of replacement purchases in many durable categories, previous research has not emphasized modeling replacement behavior. In this paper, we develop a descriptive model for replacement intentions based on variables associated with product and household characteristics, and empirically estimate this model with cross sectional data for a set of home appliances. Results indicate that the perceived condition of the currently owned unit and its age are significantly related to replacement intentions. Whether or not a spouse is working and expected future household financial situation are also significant explanatory variables. Implications and directions for future research are also discussed.
Construct definition, Object classification, Attribute classification, Rater identification, Scale formation, and Enumeration and reporting (C-OAR-SE) is proposed as a new procedure for the development of scales to measure marketing constructs. C-OAR-SE is based on content validity, established by expert agreement after pre-interviews with target raters. In C-OAR-SE, constructs are defined in terms of Object, Attribute, and Rater Entity. The Object classification and Attribute classification steps in C-OAR-SE produce a framework (six types of scales) indicating when to use single-item vs. multiple-item scales and, for multiple-item scales, when to use an index of essential items rather than selecting unidimensional items with a high coefficient alpha. The Rater Entity type largely determines reliability, which is a precision-of-score estimate for a particular application of the scale.
In January 2002, Donald R. Lehmann, Executive Director of the Marketing Science Institute, submitted a proposal for a JM Special Section, “Linking Marketing to Financial Performance and Firm Value.” The proposal included activities to promote interactions among marketing academics and practitioners, designed to advance research on this topic. I was excited about the opportunity to stimulate and publish new research, and after extensive discussions, the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Science Institute formally agreed to cosponsor the Special Section. Authors submitted their manuscripts through a paper competition as well as directly through JM. Donald R. Lehmann, the Consulting Editor, and a panel of distinguished scholars reviewed every submission. The panel included Tim Ambler, Gregory S. Carpenter, Robert Jacobson, V. Kumar, Roland T. Rust, and Rajendra K. Srivastava. All submissions underwent JM’s standard double-blind review process under my editorship, and members of JM’s E...
Sales force automation technologies are increasingly used to support customer relationship management strategies; however, commentary in the practitioner press suggests high failure rates. The authors use identity theory as a lens to better understand salesperson perceptions associated with technology rejection. They collected survey data from 454 salespeople across two firms that had implemented sales force automation tools. The results indicate that immediately after training, salespeople had positive perceptions of the technology. However, six months after implementation, the technology had been widely rejected, and salesperson absenteeism and voluntary turnover had significantly increased. There were also significant decreases in perceptions of organizational commitment, job satisfaction, person-organization fit, and person-job fit across both firms. Finally, salespeople with stronger professional commitment indicated more negative job-related perceptions as experience with the technology increased.
This article provides an introduction to and overview of this special issue on “Managing Customers for Value.” The field of customer management has grown rapidly in recent years, with significant research examining approaches with which firms can manage customers as key assets. Starting with the notion that firms seek to maximize customer lifetime value and customer equity, the authors identify eight key challenges that firms and researchers face in understanding, managing, and implementing successful customer management strategies. The authors then present an organizing framework and use it to offer an overview of the rest of the special issue, outlining how each of the remaining articles in the special issue (each addressing one of the key challenges) fits into the framework. Based on a synthesis of the overall insights from the articles, the authors conclude with a research agenda that highlights potentially fruitful avenues for further investigation.
Having estimated a linear regression with p coefficients, one may wish to test whether m additional observations belong to the same regression. This paper presents systematically the tests involved, relates the prediction interval (for m = 1) and the analysis of covariance (for m > p) within the framework of general linear hypothesis (for any m), and extends the results to testing the equality between subsets of coefficients.
The benefits of retaining customers have led companies to search for means of profiling their customers individually and tracking their retention and defection behaviors. To this end, the main issues addressed in customer base analysis are identification of customer active/inactive status and prediction of future purchase levels. We compare the predictive performance of Pareto/NBD and BG/NBD models from the customer base analysis literature — in terms of repeat purchase levels and active status — using grocery retail transaction data. We also modify the BG/NBD model to incorporate zero repeat purchasers. All models capture the main characteristics of the purchase and dropout process of individual customers and produce similar forecasts. There are some deviations in the cumulative purchase estimates of the models, which may be due to the characteristics of grocery purchasing.
The benefits of developing customer relationships are well established. However, a well-intentioned relationship marketing
strategy may fail because of poor implementation. In this study, the authors look at the effects of implementing a customer
relationship strategy. Specifically, they examine the implementation of a personal-banker strategy as a means to developing
customer relationships in the retail banking industry. The authors show that an “excellent” personal banker can increase overall
customer satisfaction and loyalty compared to customers who do not have a personal banker. However, a poorly performing personal
banker can result in lower overall customer satisfaction and loyalty than if no personal banker had been available. Moreover,
the effects seem to be asymmetric, with the negative effects of a poor relationship strategy exceeding the positive benefits
ofan “excellent” strategy.
To function, a marketing channel must have a certain amount of consensus and coordinated decision making among its members. Marketing channel theory has emphasized the "internal" mechanisms of achieving integrated actions. However, channels consist of exchanging organizations that are affected not only by their collective interests, but also by forces "external" to the relationship. Internal coordination mechanisms are likely to be less effective to the extent channel members are faced with uncertainties emanating from external sources. The authors examine the external or environmental factors affecting decision-making uncertainty in channels. The findings indicate that four dimensions-diversity among consumers, dynamism, concentration, and capacity-should be included in future research on the effects of environments on intrachannel variables.
This research addresses three questions: (1) Why are some organizations more market-oriented than others? (2) What effect does a market orientation have on employees and business performance? (3) Does the linkage between a market orientation and business performance depend on the environmental context? The findings from two national samples suggest that a market orientation is related to top management emphasis on the orientation, risk aversion of top managers, interdepartmental conflict and connectedness, centralization, and reward system orientation. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a market orientation is related to overall (judgmental) business performance (but not market share), employees' organizational commitment, and esprit de corps. Finally, the linkage between a market orientation and performance appears to be robust across environmental contexts that are characterized by varying degrees of market turbulence, competitive intensity, and technological turbulence.
The authors outline an updated paradigm for scale development that incorporates confirmatory factor analysis for the assessment of unidimensionality. Under this paradigm, item-total correlations and exploratory factor analysis are used to provide preliminary scales. The unidimensionality of each scale then is assessed simultaneously with confirmatory factor analysis. After unidimensional measurement has been acceptably achieved, the reliability of each scale is assessed. Additional evidence for construct validity beyond the establishment of unidimensionality then can be provided by embedding the unidimensional sets of indicators within a nomological network defined by the complete structural model.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a new type of market-based performance measure for firms, industries, economic sectors, and national economies. The authors discuss the nature and purpose of ACSI and explain the theory underlying the ACSI model, the nation-wide survey methodology used to collect the data, and the econometric approach employed to estimate the indices. They also illustrate the use of ACSI in conducting benchmarking studies, both cross-sectionally and over time. The authors find customer satisfaction to be greater for goods than for services and, in turn, greater for services than for government agencies, as well as find cause for concern in the observation that customer satisfaction in the United States is declining, primarily because of decreasing satisfaction with services. The authors estimate the model for the seven major economic sectors for which data are collected. Highlights of the findings include that (1) customization is more important than reliability in determining customer satisfaction, (2) customer expectations play a greater role in sectors in which variance in production and consumption is relatively low, and (3) customer satisfaction is more quality-driven than value-or price-driven. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of ACSI for public policymakers, managers, consumers, and marketing in general.
Current competitive challenges induced by globalization and advances in information technology have forced companies to focus on managing customer relationships, and in particular customer satisfaction, in order to efficiently maximize revenues. This paper reports exploratory research based on a mail survey addressed to the largest 1,000 Greek organizations. The objectives of the research were: to investigate the extent of the usage of customer- and market-related knowledge management (KM) instruments and customer relationship management (CRM) systems by Greek organizations and their relationship with demographic and organizational variables; to investigate whether enterprises systematically carry out customer satisfaction and complaining behavior research; and to examine the impact of the type of the information system used and managers’ attitudes towards customer KM practices. In addition, a conceptual model of CRM development stages is proposed. The findings of the survey show that about half of the organizations of the sample do not adopt any CRM philosophy. The remaining organizations employ instruments to conduct customer satisfaction and other customer-related research. However, according to the proposed model, they are positioned in the first, the preliminary CRM development stage. The findings also suggest that managers hold positive attitudes towards CRM and that there is no significant relationship between the type of the transactional information system used and the extent to which customer satisfaction research is performed by the organizations. The paper concludes by discussing the survey findings and proposing future research.
Learning about customers takes place through relevant dialogues with those customers, also known as customer relationship management (CRM). As relationships develop, information about the customer is gathered in the firm's customer information systems (CIS): the content, processes, and assets associated with gathering and moving customer information throughout the firm. This research develops a measure of CIS management capabilities based on learning organization theory and measured by the ability to get, store, move, and use information throughout the business unit. This measure is then used to analyze customer learning processes and associated performance in the context of marketing strategic decision making.This study of 209 business services firms finds that generic marketing strategy positioning (low-cost and differentiation) and the marketing tactics of personalization and customization are related to CIS development. Customer information systems development in turn is associated with higher levels of customer-based performance, which in turn is associated with increased business growth.Since the strongest association with customer-based performance is strategy selection, the long-term benefits of the knowledge gained from the CIS may be in the ability to assist in measuring customer-based performance, rather than in the ability to immediately contribute to performance. Finally, for these firms, customization and personalization are not directly associated with performance and thus may not be necessary to support every firm's marketing strategy.
As an increasing number of organizations realize the importance of becoming more customer-centric in today's competitive economy, they are also discovering that they must deliver authentic customer knowledge across multiple organizational functions and at all customer touch points. This paper compiles the critical success factors of customer relationship management (CRM) technological initiatives realized by 57 large organizations in Canada. The data analysis is performed using structural equation modeling techniques such as PLS.RésuméÉvoluant dans une économie fort compétitive, un nombre croissant d'organisations réalisent l'importance de mieux comprendre leurs clients. Elles découvrent alors qu'elles peuvent gérer les connaissances acquises á leur sujet lors des contacts pris avec eux, et les intégrer adéquatement aux multiples fonctions organisationnelles. Cet article relate les facteurs critiques de succés nécessaires lors de l'implantation d'initiatives technologiques supportant la gestion de la relation client (GRC). L'analyse des résultats obtenus auprés de 57 grandes organisations canadiennes est réalisée en testant plusieurs équations structurelles à l'aide de la méthode des moindres carrés partiels (PLS).
This study explores the cognitive, demographic, and situational determinants of the preference for using self-service technologies over personnel-in-contact, with a focus on rational-experiential thinking styles [Epstein, S., Pacini, R., Denes-Raj, V., & Heier, H. (1996). Individual differences in intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational thinking styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 390-405]. After an exploratory study of how service customers view service complexity, data are collected through a survey based on face-to-face interviews of adults who use seven different services; these data are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings show that (1) rational engagement has a strong positive effect on the preference for technology-based self-services; (2) persons high in experiential style prefer interactions with service personnel; (3) differential wait times have a significant influence on preference for technology; (4) service complexity moderates the influence of cognitive styles on preference for service technology; and (5) age has a negative influence on the preference for service technology.
The integration of functionally diverse members in new product teams is a long-standing managerial challenge. This study addresses two questions to help meet this challenge: 1) how can the environment around teams be crafted to foster integration, and 2) does integration help teams to create superior or more advantageous new products? Based on a survey of 206 cross-functional new product teams, we learned that certain environmental factors (market-oriented reward system, planning process formalization, managerial encouragement to take risks, and managerial involvement in new product projects) facilitate integration in teams, which, in turn, leads to the creation of superior or more advantageous new products.
Despite the fact that most strategic orientations are initiated at the top management team (TMT) level, very little is understood about how the composition of the constituents' functional diversity influences the effectiveness of strategic orientations. We develop a contingency model that examines this relationship under varying levels of environmental turbulence and inter-functional coordination. Our central thesis is that under conditions of high environmental turbulence, functionally diverse TMTs will be less able to achieve greater strategic orientation due to their functional differences. Conversely, when equipped with inter-functional coordination, we posit that TMT functional diversity will lead to greater strategic orientations under conditions of high environmental turbulence. Using data obtained from TMT executives in the manufacturing industry, we tested our model and found support for a negative TMT functional diversity x environmental turbulence interaction and a positive TMT functional diversity x environmental turbulence x inter-functional coordination interaction on technological and entrepreneurial orientation. We discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.
Despite the conventional wisdom that relationship marketing will generate favorable financial results, extant marketing research provides inconsistent evidence for this effect. Here, we investigate this important question: Does a firm's relationship marketing truly pay off by enhancing financial outcomes? We examine the effects of relationship marketing on a buyer's concurrent person-to-firm relationship with the selling firm and his/her interpersonal relationship with the salesperson. Drawing on social judgment and attribution theories, we offer and test a theoretical model explicating (1) how a seller's social, structural, and financial relationship marketing programs affect buyer relationship quality with the salesperson and the selling firm and (2) how those relationship qualities ultimately generate seller financial outcomes. Relationship marketing programs indeed build buyer relationship quality, but whether those relationship-building effects reside with the salesperson or the selling firm depends on buyer perceptions regarding salesperson versus selling firm control of those programs. Buyer relationship quality with both salesperson and selling firm positively affect seller financial outcomes, but the effect of relationship quality with the selling firm is enhanced as perceived selling firm consistency increases. Employing triadic data from matched buyer, salesperson, and sales manager, this research presents an end-to-end empirical examination of how a seller's relationship marketing affects its financial outcomes through the buyer's relationships with the salesperson and selling firm.
In this article, the authors develop a conceptual framework for customer relationship management (CRM) that helps broaden the understanding of CRM and its role in enhancing customer value and, as a result, shareholder value. The authors explore definitional aspects of CRM, and they identify three alternative perspectives of CRM. The authors emphasize the need for a cross-functional, process-oriented approach that positions CRM at a strate-gic level. They identify five key cross-functional CRM processes: a strategy development process, a value creation process, a