Impact of CRM Practices on Customers' Behaviors

Abstract

In recent era customers have become more sophisticated and they are enjoying more alternative options of brands. Thus satisfying and retaining such customers is increasingly becoming more difficult for the organizations. Customer satisfaction can only be attained by continuously sensing the changing needs and preferences of customers, and by providing them with solutions that can better fulfill their need. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is regarded as one among the best approaches in achieving goals of customer satisfaction and loyalty. However contemporary literature and publications on the subject of CRM may portrait it as a strategy that can bring fruitful results in any context. There are contradicting views of researchers; in literature about the effectiveness of CRM practices and policies. Unfortunately, very little empirical data is there to prove the effectiveness of CRM practices in different industries. Therefore it becomes crucial for practitioners to clearly understand that how changes in the level of CRM practices and their effectiveness influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. Purpose of this research is to check how CRM affects customer behavior, in the industries where switching cost is very low, like hotels and restaurants. A well-structured self-administered questionnaire has been used for data collection. For the data analysis, and testing of hypothesis Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has been employed. Data was collected from 400 customers of two major fast food chains in two different cities. Results indicate that CRM has only indirect impact on customer loyalty and word of mouth. No relationship was found between CRM and customer loyalty and between CRM and word of mouth. CRM have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer experience, which have impact on customer loyalty. Customer loyalty has a direct impact on word of mouth. It was found that customer experience also have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Although, CRM don't have direct impact on Word of Mouth (WOM), it is a very influential contributor in convincing the satisfied and loyal customers to guarantee WOM.

Full text

International Journal of Business and Management Invention
ISSN (Online): 2319 – 8028, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 801X
www.ijbmi.org Volume 2 Issue 7ǁ July. 2013ǁ PP.79-88
www.ijbmi.org 79 | P a g e
Impact of CRM Practices on Customers’ Behaviors
1,Rameeza Ejaz, 2,Mirza Ashfaq Ahmed3,Zahoor Ahmad
1,2,Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences, University of Gujrat
3,Department of Statistics, University of Gujrat
ABSTRACT : In recent era customers have become more sophisticated and they are enjoying more alternative
options of brands. Thus satisfying and retaining such customers is increasingly becoming more difficult for the
organizations. Customer satisfaction can only be attained by continuously sensing the changing needs and
preferences of customers, and by providing them with solutions that can better fulfill their need. Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) is regarded as one among the best approaches in achieving goals of customer
satisfaction and loyalty. However contemporary literature and publications on the subject of CRM may portrait
it as a strategy that can bring fruitful results in any context. There are contradicting views of researchers; in
literature about the effectiveness of CRM practices and policies. Unfortunately, very little empirical data is
there to prove the effectiveness of CRM practices in different industries. Therefore it becomes crucial for
practitioners to clearly understand that how changes in the level of CRM practices and their effectiveness
influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. Purpose of this research is to check how CRM affects customer
behavior, in the industries where switching cost is very low, like hotels and restaurants. A well-structured self-
administered questionnaire has been used for data collection. For the data analysis, and testing of hypothesis
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has been employed. Data was collected from 400 customers of two major
fast food chains in two different cities. Results indicate that CRM has only indirect impact on customer loyalty
and word of mouth. No relationship was found between CRM and customer loyalty and between CRM and word
of mouth. CRM have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer experience, which have impact on
customer loyalty. Customer loyalty has a direct impact on word of mouth. It was found that customer experience
also have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Although, CRM don’t have direct impact on Word of Mouth
(WOM), it is a very influential contributor in convincing the satisfied and loyal customers to guarantee WOM.
KEY WORDS: Customer Relationship management, Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Customer
experience, Word of mouth, Fast food restaurants.
I. INTRODUCTION
After air and water, food is the third most essential element for life. It has been critical contributor to
health, a determinant of pleasure or stress and the greatest category for spending money, across the world
(Rozin, et al 1999). Increasingly, today’s complex food system, from production-to-consumption has made food
more safe, delicious, healthy, varied, convenient and more readily available (John et al, 2010). According a
report by La Trobe University (2009),food sector is one of the biggest sectors as compared to the traditional
industries. Food industry is as big as to cater the activities form growing and cultivation of food to proceed and
cooked food retailers like restaurants (Report by La Trobe University,2009). Pakistan is the world’s eighth
largest country for food consumption, where people spend 42% of their income on food. Within the country,
food is found to be the second biggest industry, contribute 16% of employment in production (Express Tribune,
2012). A number of researches conduced in different countries, including Pakistan have reported remarkable
changes in food consumption patterns and that there is an increasing trend of fast food, and dining out in
restaurants,(Bahaduran et al, 2012, Baig at el. 2012, Banwell et al 2010, Sa et al 2012).Not only adults are the
customers of these restaurants but children also want to celebrate their memorable events out in restaurants
(Shamoon et al, 2012). So the target market of these restaurants is young people and children from the age of 6
to 35. Out of 170 million of population 104 million people are estimated to be below the age of 30. In the 58
years of time span, urban population has increased seven-fold.Per capita real income has also grown 1% more in
2011-12 than the previous year i.e. 2.3%, where consumers spend almost half of their expenditure on food and
beverage. It is also reported that middle class is growing and is 25% of the total population. Food inflation in
country has decreased to 11.1 % in the current year compare to 18.8% in previous year (Economic Survey of
Pakistan, 2011-12). All these facts collectively have created a golden opportunity for all fast food restaurants to
expand their business in Pakistan.

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Consequently, demand for restaurant food is increasing1, but as consumers are getting more educated in
terms of nutrition and quality, they compare prices menus quality and serves available. It is hard for restaurants
chains, with the limited funds available, to compete through mass advertisement, public relations or through
low-cost strategy. However, they can get sustainable growth through differentiation in their marketing strategies
(Yang et al, 2011). All these aforementioned challenges highlight the Importance of CRM. CRM is basically a
business philosophy, that emphasis that customer is everything to business. It focuses on retaining existing
customers than to winning new ones (Gilaninia et al, 2011). It is the combination of information technology
tools and customer service strategies. It organizes the information technology and marketing together in such a
way to generate useful information. CRM enables business to identify most profitable customers and to maintain
such relationship with them that can turn them into loyal customers. In order to increase customer satisfaction,
businesses needed to articulate a system that could establish long lasting relationships with customers.
Consequently, CRM was introduced in US in 1990s (Zamil, 2011). The success of CRM projects that were
initiated in 1990s gave it a status of popular business tool, (Sudhakar&Ravindran, 2012). Eventually CRM has
become a topic of interest for the academic researchers and practitioner as well. It has evolved into a basic
component of the overall business strategy. And as, increasingly, businesses are incorporating CRM, customer
expectations toward services and support activities are also increasing. CRM is regarded as one of the best
approaches in achieving goals of customer satisfaction and loyalty (Gilaninia et al, 2011). However there are
conflicting views in literature about the effectiveness of CRM practices (Saxena&Khandelwal, 2011). Critics are
of the view that CRM is hard to implement in some industries, and its cost benefit value is very low (Zamil,
2011). In past two decades. Several researches have also reported some CRM projects as a failure (Nargesi et
al).
A research on customers’ attitude toward CRM practices in five star hotels proved positive attitude of
customers toward these practices (Hashem, 2011). But little is known about the satisfaction level, and attitude of
customers toward CRM practices in Restaurants of emerging markets. It is crucial for practitioners to clearly
understand how changes in the level of CRM practices and their effectiveness influence customer satisfaction
and loyalty, and its ultimate effect on Word of mouth. Purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of
CRM practices in customer purchase behavior, and WOM, especially in the industries where switching cost is
very low. For this purpose data is collected, from customers of two popular restaurants, (Macdonald’sand
KFC2). II. LITERATURE REVIEW
“Customer Relationship Management (CRM) means developing a comprehensive picture of customer
needs, expectations and behaviors and managing those factors to affect business performance”. CRM is also
defined as, “A system that focuses on managing the relationship between a company and its current and
prospective customer base, as a key to success, (Gebert, 2003). CRM activates help in building long lasting
relationships and these relationships give company joy of retained customers. Relationship marketing is a way
to obtain trust and satisfaction, which in turn ensures sustainable success of an organization, (Lo, 2012).It is so
also regarded as part of sales function, as sales department study buying habits and trends of customers and try
to match service level. The purpose is to minimize number of sales, and to design a system to retain customers.
The whole process is aided through computer programs, (Hoots, 2005). CRM has two basic types, Analytical
CRM and Behavioral CRM. Analytical CRM collects and analyzes available customer information to increase
firm’s value. Behavioral CRM focuses upon psychological underpinning of service interaction and managerial
structures and make use of experiments or surveys for effective CRM, (Kamakura et al, 2005).CRM capabilities
of an organization influence its performance, (Wang, 2012).CRM practices lead an organization towards profits.
It provide firm with greater knowledge of customer values, and firms change their strategies according to this
knowledge. These changes results in better firm performance. A simple analysis of customer value is always
critical in enhancing the firm's performance, (Ryals, 2005). For each relationship, scale of success is ultimately
financial performance. So, for organizations implementing CRM, there must be a system in place to check
performance of customer relationship management, (Lambert, 2009)..CRM practices have a good capacity for
increasing customer base. It is a good tool for obtaining information, for formulating strategies regarding new
products. Customers rate banks services superior, which practice CRM, than those who don’t practice. It means
that CRM practices entail some very positive and favorable results like increased customer base, information
about the customer preferences and favorable rating and a lot more yet to explore, (Chaubey at el,
2010).However,Implementation of CRM can only be successful when, there is good integration
between knowledge management abilities and information technology.The success of CRM system lies in the
1 Research conducted by Nelson, Pakistan for MPOC
2 Research conducted by Nelson, Pakistan for MPOC

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effective management and implementation of gained customer knowledge. so, CRM and knowledge
management are related to each other, and if knowledge management is process oriented, it will support CRM
system.There is consensus upon the fact that CRM cannot be implemented effectively without committed
involvement of senior management. It was also found that CRM is not a solution to problems; it is basically a
strategy that, if implemented effectively, gives practicing firm a number of competitive advantages, (kotorov,
2003).A positive and strong relationship exists between CRM and market performance, customer commitment,
satisfaction and confidence. However research fails to find any relationship between CRM and customer loyalty,
(). A clear and positive relationship exists between CRM and customer satisfaction, (Yao &Khong, 2011). CRM
application leads organization towards greater knowledge of customers, and this customer knowledge and
integration has a mediating role between CRM practices and customer satisfaction. Effective CRM practices
have a positive impact on customer satisfaction, (Mithas et al, 2005). Five dimensions of Customer satisfaction
effectiveness has been identified, namely, organizational commitment, customer experience, process approach,
reliability and technology-orientation. Three dimensions, organizational commitment, customer experience and
reliability have direct and Zali&Heydarian, 2012positive relationship with customer satisfaction, while only
reliability has positive relationship with customer loyalty. It was also found that customer loyalty and customer
satisfaction are related to cross-buying, (Padmavathy, 2012). CRM practices also have an impact on sales
growth. Four dimensions of CRM practices have been identified, that are, and “focusing on key customers,
incorporating CRM based technology, managing knowledge and Organizing around CRM”. Focusing on
technological component is not the crux of the CRM. Managers must have to integrate all four dimensions into
CRM system, that will enhance the customer satisfaction and retention, which ultimately increases sales. (Yim
et al, 2004).
Customer relationship practices have a direct and positive relationship with customers’ loyalty. Better
the CRM practices more will be the loyalty. Customer loyalty forms the basis for retained and profitable
customers, (Khandekar&. Deshmukh, 2012).Loyalty is the most desirable outcome for any firm, as it ensures
continuous inflows of customers and ultimately of profits. Since popularity of CRM practices is growing
rapidly, different researches have been conducted to check the impact of CRM on loyalty. Similarly empathy,
perceived conflict handling; trust, perceived value, and commitment are all the outcomes of CRM, which in turn
are the predictors of customer loyalty. The analysis of the data showed that all the predictors have positive
correlation to customer loyalty. (Jumaev, at el. 2012).It means that if firms and specially the service sector firms
are to increase customer loyalty, they must have to strive to practice good CRM practices. And this phenomenon
is predicted to be even stronger in restaurant industry, which is increasing facing more intense competition than
the banking sector and where switching is more easy. For hotel industry, service quality and the service features
are more influential in predicting customer satisfaction. Customer needs must be fully understood and customers
must be provided with courteous services. The hotels should also strive for providing personalized services to
customer, (Abbasi at el,2010). CRM practices have a strong and direct impact on customer satisfaction, and the
customer satisfaction has in turn a direct impact on customer loyalty. Although customer loyalty is affected by
many other factors, depending on the industry and type of product, customer satisfaction has the most direct
impact on loyalty, (Rezvani et al 2011). If a business is to enhance its performance, it must have to realize
importance of considering customer value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. When the products have
little difference in terms of features and quality and variety, then customer satisfaction and customer loyalty will
play a vital role in increasing the rating of firm. Increased customer satisfaction has a very strong and positive
impact on customer loyalty, (Tsai, et al, 2010).
Customer value, customer satisfaction and switching barriers have positive impact on repurchase
intentions and attitudinal loyalty. Satisfied customers are more inclined towards repurchase and they also
recommend the product to other potential customers. (Qian et al, 2011).Experience has a direct impact on future
purchase behavior. Positive experience is directly related to repeat purchase behavior, and negative experience
is directly related to switching. So, it is crucial for the service sector to make the customer experience more
satisfying. (Alshurideh et al, 2012). Service quality, whether technical or functional, has a direct and positive
impact on customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction in turn has a positive impact on behavioral intentions,
i.e. retention, word of mouth. Similarly, service quality also has a direct and positive relation with behavioral
intention, (Choy et al, 2012). Today for most of the organizations, one of the most important challenge and goal
is customer retention. A research in hotel industry, practicing CRM has revealed that, most of the hotels in
sample were practicing CRM, but those who were graded higher had more complicated system in place.
Moreover,
very few hotels had a regular system of investigating customer complaints and tracking them. Most of
the hotels were capturing considerable customer data, but very few were analyzing data to minimize guest
failures, and thus repeating the dame mistake. None was extensively mining data to identify most profitable
customers. However, most of the hotels practicing effective CRM are successful in retaining customers. It

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means that CRM practices also have a direct relation with the customer retention, (Lo et al, 2012).“Sharing of
information from one person to another person or groups has risen in past decades, through human
communication such as face-to-face contact, telephone, correspondence (letters, e-mail, text messaging) or
social media”, (Gombesk et al, 2011).Increasingly customers heavily rely on word of mouth, for purchase of
virtually everything. Power of word of mouth becomes more critical with the fact that negative word of mouth
tend to spread more rapidly than positive WOM, (Aslam et al, 2011). In this age of micro media, where there is
wide use of internet and mobiles, word of mouth has gained the popularity of determining success factor
marketing. The changing life styles have impacted consumer behavior and purchasing patterns. Power of WOM
is increasing rapidly, as it was reported to have 61.3% influence on purchase decision which reached to 76% in
2007. It means marketers cannot avoid the power of WOM now. In this competitive age, CRM if practiced
effectively, can have the power to generate positive word of mouth, while, if not managed properly, it can also
have adverse effects and can result in negative word of mouth, (Kokokusha co., Ltd, 2007). It also has great
impact on customer decision making. So, organizations must have to keep a track of word of mouth spread by
its existing customers, as they will ensure new loyal customers. Satisfied and delighted customers are a source
of positive word of mouth, (Heriyati&Siek, 2011).
One prominent aspect of CRM is to deal each customer differently, based on the idea that each
customer has different needs. Moreover, CRM involves identifying the most profitable customers and
maintaining good relationship with them. But if overly used and misused, it can pose a threat for the firm.
Different treatment with different customers may harm customers’ trust and they may perceive it as
discrimination. So, in implementing CRM, firms must have to address this issue in order to avoid
dissatisfaction, (Nguyen &Mutum, 2012). Customers that possess relational satisfaction are more likely to be
involved in the activities of positive word of mouth. Customers that identify themselves with the organization
are also retained customers, (Akm, et al, 2011). Service quality has a direct and positive impact on customer
satisfaction. Satisfied customers are less, price sensitive and are more likely to tell other people about their
favorite experience. Customer satisfaction also affects customer loyalty. Further service quality also has a direct
impact on customer loyalty. So the service quality is related to repeat purchases, and positive word of mouth,
(Chotivanich, 2012). It is generally believed that effectiveness of CRM should be measured in terms of
customer’s behaviors. Some researchers have checked the effectiveness of CRM in terms of firm profitably, but
profitability in a particular period of time may be the result of combination of some factors. Although researches
have been conducted to check impact of CRM practices on customer satisfaction and loyalty, customer
satisfaction and customer loyalty are intangible reactions or perceptions of customers. But for companies
applying CRM, tangible actions of customers are more important. So CRM applying firms must give importance
to customer retention and word of mouth, and repurchase that are the tangible outcomes of CRM, (Wang et al,
2004).
Figure 1: Conceptual Model Customer Relationship Management
III. HYPOTHESIS
H1: CRM practices have a significant positive relationship with customer satisfaction
H2: CRM practices have a significant positive relationship with customer experience
H3: Ccustomer experience has a significant positive relationship customer satisfaction
H4: CRM satisfaction has a significant positive relationship customer loyalty
H5: Customer experience has a significant positive relationship with customer loyalty

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H6: Customer loyalty has a significant positive relationship with word of mouth
H7: CRM practices have a significant positive relationship with word of mouth
H8: CRM practices have a significant positive relationship with customer loyalty
H9:Customer experience has a significant positive relationship with word of mouth
H10:Customer satisfaction have a significant positive relationship with word of mouth
3.1.Research Methodology
The study is intended to investigate how customer relationship management practices affect different
behaviors of customers. These behaviors include customer satisfaction, customer behaviors, customer loyalty
and word of mouth.
3.2.Population:
Population for this study is customers of Fast Food Restaurant. Target population is Fast Food customers of six
different outlets of two well reputed fast food chains in two major cities i.e. Lahore and Islamabad.
3.3.Study Design:
It is a cross sectional analytical study. Data have been collected from sample of 370, at a defined date
and time. It is providing an overview about the perceptions and behaviors of respondents about CRM practices.
Associations between different variables have been checked through hypothesis, which has made it an analytical
study.
3.4.Data Collection Technique:
Data were gathered through a field survey. A well-structured questionnaire was developed to collect
the data. The questionnaire best suited to the current research, as the study involved a big sample size and a big
geographic area. Moreover as the research includes people who were out for dinning out, we could not disturb
them, and questionnaire is the only data collection instrument that generally does not make people apprehensive.
Questions were grouped into different constructs. This questionnaire included five construct, containing a total
of 29items. There were three parts of it, first to obtain personal information, second to estimate number of visits
and third to measure the constructs. Five point Likert scale (1for strongly disagree and 5 for strongly
disagree),was used, as it is the most useful method for measuring opinions attitudes and behavioral tendencies.
These responses can easily be quantified, and thus get equipped for any mathematical analysis. Data was
evaluated through the help of SPSS and statistica. After conducting CFA, in SPSS, SEM was conducted on data
through Statistica.
3.5.Sampling Technique:
As it was not possible to prepare population frame, individual customers have been approached to fill
out the questionnaire on convenience based. Two major cities, Lahore and Islamabad were selected to gather
data, as customer traffic to fast food restaurants in these cities is good enough to obtain specified sample
response. Questionnaire has been distributed among customers who were present there for dinning. Out of 370
questionnaires 350 were received back, 316 were actually useable, creating a response rate of 85%. A response
rate is considered to be minimum acceptable response rate, depending on nature of the survey. Surveys inquiring
upon views preferences and beliefs require a higher response rate. The present study has generated a response
rate of 85%, and that is a good rate. The reason is that management of the restaurants allowed to distribute and
collect back questionnaire while respondents were dinning. Otherwise it might not be possible to get such a
good response rate.
3.6.Sample Size:
As exact population size was not possible to determine, subject to variable ratio has been used to
deicide the appropriate sample size. According to theory of subject-to-variable ratio, 7 to 20 cases per variable
create an appropriate sample size, in case exact population size cannot be determined. There are total 29 items in
the scale used for this research. And a total of316 cases have been taken for research that makes a ratio of 10:1.
According to literature, for SEM, a subject to variable ratio of 10:1 is a good ratio (Hair, 2007).
3.7.Statistical Techniques:
For data analysis, and testing of hypothesis SEM (structural equation modeling) has been used that is a
very powerful statistical technique for multivariate analysis. Normally behavioral and social sciences researches
include complex multivariate data sets, and SEM suits best to such complex casual modeling. It includes a
number of standard multivariate analysis methods like regression, factor analysis and analysis of variance.
Gerbing and Anderson, 1988 states that SEM helps in analyzing the relationships between multiple dependent
and independent variables simultaneously. Also in SEM latent variables are free from random error, as it is

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estimated and removed here. For data analysis Statistica7 has been employed, that is a comprehensive analytic,
research, and business intelligence tool.
IV. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1.Reliability of Scale:
As the scale used for data collection is a Licktert scale, so, in order to check its reliability, high quality
reliability test is required. Normally, an index of reliability, alpha is used, for this purpose. It is a measure of
internal consistency. Reliability estimates and ranges from 0 to 1. Higher the score of the index higher the
reliability of the instrument designed. Alpha below 0.59 is not reliable. If alpha have a value of 0.6 it is not very
much reliable, however a value of 0.7 or above is considered to be sufficiently reliable. The present research
has used five constructs and the questionnaire is having a five point Likert scale, so alpha has been used to
check the internal consistency reliability. The measurement scale for this study is showing a very good value of
alpha, that is 0.898. This means that the developed scaled is 89.8% reliable in measuring the constructs.
4.2.Descriptive statistics: Table 1: Percentages of Demographic Variables
Gender
Male
Female
61.7
38.3
Marital Status
Married
Single
36.1
63.9
Education
Under metric
Metric
Intermediate
Graduation
Masters
MPhil
PhD
1.9
5.4
14.9
39.9
35.8
1.3
.3
Residential Area
Rural
Urban
12.7
87.3
Descriptive statistics showed that majority of these fast food restaurant customers is male, that is
61.1%. Females are only 38.3% of total customers. Similarly 63.9% of total customers are unmarried and
remaining are married. Majority of the customers have, or are currently persuading either graduation or masters
degree, i.e. 39.9% and 35.8% respectively. However 14.9% of customers have an intermediate degree. Further it
was also found that most of the customers of these restaurants are residents of urban areas. Only 12.7%
customers came there, belonged to rural areas and remaining 87.3 were the residents of cities. So, the main
market of these restaurants is residents of those cities, and most of them single, came with friends for
enjoyment. Majority of the customers are male, but females are also a good part of customer’s pool.
4.3.Confirmatory Factor Analysis:
Initially there were 9 questions in the scale for Customer Relationship Management. Through CFA, 3
questions were identified those were confirmed in factor analysis but as per there very low values, were not
much important in measuring the construct of CRM. So, 6 items were finalized to measure the construct of
CRM. Out of these 6 itmes, 3 items, namely, Variety of items in Manu, Quality of food, and Reason of priority,
with the values of 0.804, 0.754 and 0.715 respectively are most important items. In the construct of Customer
Satisfaction, six items were included, which all were confirmed by CFA. 3415 however items namely Quality of
food, satisfaction with the overall services, level of customer comfort and meeting customer expectations,(
0.822, 0.787, 0.729, 0.715 respectively) are the most important contributors of customer satisfaction. Next, in
measuring Customer Loyalty, all seven items were confirmed by CFI. First priority (0.866), View about next
visit (0.730), and Reason of priority, (0.755), are most strongly affecting the customer loyalty. Similarly in
measuring WOM, items namely, frequently tell friends about excellent services and I recommend this restaurant
to my friends and family, having values of 0.918 and 0.725 are more important than others. Initially there were
five items in this construct but one item due to having very low value was excluded from the scale.
4.4.Parameter Estimates:
Structural equation modeling is a multivariate statistical technique that helps to understand interactions
between different variables simultaneously. As it checks the all relationships simultaneously it is considered to
be the best in testing mediation mechanism.Goodness of fit between various variables and model is tested
through a number of fit indices. There is a general believe that a single measure of goodness should not be used

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to make decisions about the goodness of fit. Present study has used GFI (Goodness of Fit Index), AGFI
(Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index), Root Mean Square Error Aproximation. RMSEA and chi-square/ d.f. Values
of GFI and AGFI should be closer to 9. Higher values indicate a good fit. Value of RMSEA less than 0.08 is
good. The value of χ2/d.f should be less than 3. Lesser the value, better the fit. p≤0.001 indicates a good value.
The table below shows values of GFI, AGFI, RMSEA and /chi square of all five constructs. All the constructs
are showing very strong values for all four parameters of model fit. Thus it means that model is a good fit.
Table 2: Goodness of Fit Values
Customer Relationship Management
GFI
0.972
AGFI
0.934
RMSEA
0.081
Chi-square/d.f=27.9682/9=3.1075
Customer Satisfaction
GFI
0.972
AGFI
0.935
RMSEA
0.080
Chi-square/d.f=27.7166/9=3.06
Customer Loyalty
GFI
0.965
AGFI
0.929
RMSEA
0.077
Chi-square/d.f=43.7177/14=3.12
Word of Mouth
GFI
0.997
AGFI
0.987
RMSEA
0.000
Chi-square/d.f= 1.62029/2=0.81
Customer Experience
GFI
0.988
AGFI
0.963
RMSEA
0.055
Chi-square/d.f= 9.48724/5=1.89
Table 3: Path Analysis
Structural Relation
Parameter
Estimates
Standard Error
T-Statistic
Prob.Level
(CRM)-57->(CS)
0.208
0.063
3.326
0.001
(CRM)-58->(CE)
0.629
0.052
12.004
0.000
(CE)-61->(CS)
0.568
0.087
6.512
0.000
(CS)-62->(CL)
0.782
0.145
5.392
0.000
(CE)-64->(CL)
0.293
0.126
2.329
0.020
(CL)-66->(WOM)
0.430
0.207
2.081
0.037
Path 1: CRM*CS*CL*WOM = 0.28*0.78*0.430 = 0.093912
Path 2: CRM*CE*CS*CL*WOM = 0.629*0.568*0.78*0.430=0.1198
Path 3: CRM*CE*CL*WOM= 0.629*0.293*0.430=0.07924
Thus most strong path to affect word of mouth is Path 2 i.e. CRM practices, customer experience, customer
loyalty and word of mouth.

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V. RESULTS
Results of the study are based on cross sectional data. This type of study is best where hypothesis
generation and attestation is involved. It helps in finding out association between different variables; however it
is not suitable when objective is to find the cause of a problem. So to get better understanding of the
mechanism, and for broad generalization and validation of the study, a longitudinal research must be conducted.
Before conducting the actual research, the instrument was pilot tested on a sample of 32 customers. The
reliability results show a cronbatch alpha of .898, which shows a very strong value. For standard questionnaire
alpha’s value above 0.7 is considered to be good. However for newly developed questionnaire a value above 0.5
is also acceptable. It was found that CRM has a direct relationship with customer satisfaction and customer
expectation. Customer expectation is found to have associations with customer satisfaction and customer
loyalty. However customer expectation has no direct relationship with word of mouth. It means that good
customer experience doesn’t make customers talk positively about the organization instantly. The continuous
experience lead them to develop positive perceptions about the organization and they feel satisfied while using
that product. Customers do not bother one time good experience, they use the product over time and after a
number of positive exposures, they get satisfied and loyal to the organization. Another relationship that initially
seemed rational and logical, but that was not found to be present later in this model is between customer
satisfaction and word of mouth. It was found that out of four variables, three variables, i.e. CRM, Customer
satisfaction and customer experience don’t have any direct relationship with word of mouth. Final model
revealed a direct relationship between customer loyalty and word of mouth. This model reveals that CRM
practices don’t directly lead customers toward word of mouth, it just affect customer satisfaction and enhance
the value of customer experience. Customer experience also has effect on satisfaction and both construct have
the direct relationship with customer loyalty. Customer loyalty in turn affects word of mouth.
VI. CONCLUSION
Findings of this research provide insights into the mechanism that impact the customer behavior.
Research has investigated the impact of CRM practices on different customer attitudes and behaviors. The
empirical results of the study proved that CRM does not have any direct impact on customer loyalty. These
results are consistent with the results of previous researches, (Zali&Heydarian, 2012). Similarly no direct
relation was found between CRM and word of mouth. Research has failed to find any relationship of Customer
satisfaction and customer experience with CRM. However CRM does have a direct and positive relationship
with customer satisfaction and customer experience. Customer experience also has a positive relationship with
customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction and experience affects the customer loyalty and loyalty in turn
results in word of mouth. As majority customers of these restaurants are the urban citizens, dinning out
frequently has become a part of their life style. It is not a luxurious thing anymore. So the CRM practices neither
make these customers loyal nor get them to speak for these restaurants. However these practices provide them a
good and memorable experience and get them satisfied. This satisfaction and good experience, in turn,
positively impact the customer loyalty. Customer loyalty however has an impact on WOM.
VII. IMPLICATIONS
Results indicate that in the context of Pakistan, it is hard to make customers loyal. However certain
steps can be taken to improve the satisfaction and loyalty of customers. Increasingly, dining out is becoming the
part of the life style of urban population. People have number of option open to try for. So, they talk less about
the good experience of a restaurant , and try more. However, bad experiences have long lasting impact. That is
why research has failed to find any relationship between CRM practices and word of mouth. So, CRM practices
are less likely to generate any PWOM, if they are not delivering a good experience and not satisfy customers.
So, it becomes crucial for the managers of these restaurants to design such practices and policies to
createexceptionally good experience and get customers satisfy. The customer satisfaction and good experience
will lead customer to loyalty and they will choose the same restaurant every time they plan to dine out.The
restaurant managements must have to reexamine their relation building activities. They should focus on
behavioral aspect of CRM rather than analytical aspect. They should understand the psychological underpinning
of service interaction and response quickly. There are some other factors that affect customer satisfaction, that
include variety of menu and cleanliness. These restaurants should conduct regular customer survey and response
to the suggestion, in order to get a loyal customer base.
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Figure 2: Proposed Model of Customer Relationship Management
Figure 3: Fitted Model of Customer Relationship Management
CRM
Practices
Customer
Experience
Customer
Satisfaction
Customer
Loyalty
Word of
Mouth
Customer
Experience
Customer
Satisfaction
Word of
Mouth
Customer
Loyalty
CRM
Practices