Customer Relationship Management (customer + relationship_management)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


How Critical is Employee Orientation for Customer Relationship Management?

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 2 2008
Insights from a Case Study
abstract This paper explores the interface of employee orientation and the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) process based on an in-depth case study of a leading firm in the UK automotive services sector. Employee orientation is embedded in the Organizational Culture (OC) of the firm and manifested through its key elements, notably assumptions, values, behaviours and artefacts. CRM consists of four organizational activities: strategic planning, information, value creation, and performance measurement sub-processes. Based on the case study evidence, the widely postulated link between CRM success and employee orientation is empirically supported and the mechanisms underlying this association elucidated. [source]


Customer Learning Processes, Strategy Selection, and Performance in Business-to-Business Service Firms,

DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2004
Debra Zahay
ABSTRACT 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. [source]


End-user access to multiple sources: incorporating knowledge discovery into knowledge management

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2002
Katharina Morik
The End-User Access to Multiple Sources,Eams system,integrates given information sources into a knowledge management system. It relates the world of documents with the database world using an ontology. The focus of developing the Eams system is on the acquisition and maintenance of knowledge. Hence, in both worlds, machine learning is applied. In the document world, a learning search engine adapts to user behaviour by analysing the click-through-data. This eases the personalization of selecting appropriate documents for users and does not require further maintenance. In the database world, knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) bridges the gap between the ,ne granularity of relational databases and the actual information needs of users. KDD extracts knowledge from data and, therefore, allows the knowledge management system to make good use of already existing company data,without further acquisition or maintenance. A graphical user interface provides users with a uniform access to document collections on the Internet (Intranet) as well as to relational databases. Since the ontology generates the items in the user interface, a change in the ontology automatically changes the user interface without further efforts. The Eams system has been applied to customer relationship management in the insurance domain. Questions to be answered by the system concern customer acquisition (e.g. direct marketing), customer up- and cross-selling (e.g. which products sell well together), and customer retention (here, which customers are likely to leave the insurance company or ask for a return of a capital life insurance). Documents about other insurance companies and demographic data published on the Internet contribute to the answers, as do the results of data analysis of the company's contracts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Empowering salespeople: Personal, managerial, and organizational perspectives

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 2 2006
Rolph E. Anderson
The traditional seven steps of personal selling have remained virtually unchanged since the early 1900s. Meanwhile, the actual roles and duties of salespeople have pushed far into customer relationship management (CRM). Psychologically and professionally, salespeople need greater empowerment for their expanding CRM responsibilities. However, empowerment is a complex process requiring several individual, managerial, and organizational changes for successful implementation. As part of the empowerment process for its salespeople, companies need to provide supporting structures, processes, and incentives for customer-oriented behavior. At the same time, the Internet and other telecommunications advances in the macroenvironment are accelerating empowerment changes in personal selling,mainly on the customer side of the exchange. To effectively and efficiently carry out their growing yet still poorly defined CRM roles, salespeople need to be comprehensively empowered, trained, motivated, and rewarded. Companies that most effectively empower their salespeople should reap substantial rewards in profitability and loyalty from both their salespeople and customers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Critical Success Factors of CRM Technological Initiatives

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 1 2003
Anne-Marie Croteau
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. Résumé Évoluant 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). [source]