eCRM capabilities of SMEs: a model and its relationships

International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 2010

Organizations today have a diversity of applications available to support the management of customer relationships, namely electronic-customer relationship management (eCRM) applications. Despite the growing need of understanding eCRM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), eCRM research is largely focused on large organizations. Building on the theory of dynamic capabilities, this paper examines the relationships among use of the internet infrastructure, eCRM capabilities, and their resulting benefits through a survey across 286 SMEs in Ireland. Findings present significant theoretical and practical contributions. It is posited that the ICT infrastructure strongly impacts eCRM capabilities of SME's. Further, it is posited that the level of ICT use impacts on eCRM capabilities. Ultimately, the more proficient the eCRM capabilities, the higher the levels of benefits recorded for SME's. Our eCRM focused study provides a valuable theoretical contribution and also aims to inspire further research in the SME context of this important area.

2008

Organizations today have a diversity of applications available to support the management of customer relationships, namely electronic-customer relationship management (eCRM) applications. Despite the growing need of understanding eCRM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), eCRM research is largely focused on large organizations. Building on the theory of dynamic capabilities, this paper examines the relationships among use of the internet infrastructure, eCRM capabilities, and their resulting benefits through a survey across 286 SMEs in Ireland. Findings present significant theoretical and practical contributions. It is posited that the ICT infrastructure strongly impacts eCRM capabilities of SME's. Further, it is posited that the level of ICT use impacts on eCRM capabilities. Ultimately, the more proficient the eCRM capabilities, the higher the levels of benefits recorded for SME's. Our eCRM focused study provides a valuable theoretical contribution and also aims to inspire further research in the SME context of this important area.

This research aims to investigate electronic-Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland. The nature and role of e-CRM is compared between firms serving international markets and firms with a solely domestic focus. As a peripheral economy, Ireland has much need to embrace the Internet as a means for competitive advantage. The strategies behind e-CRM in SMEs are analysed as are the ensuing benefits and challenges. Prior Work: Relationship marketing principles have seldom been applied to the SME. This paper seeks to develop what is a striking link by investigating the role of Internet technologies in the customer relationship management activities of SMEs. This research fits neatly beside studies into general electronic-business (e-business) in SMEs. Specifically, it is a comparative study investigating e-CRM in international and domestic firms. Approach: The study has an exploratory outlook and a quantitative approach to data collection is adopted. This approach facilitated broad classification in an under researched area. A self-completion questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 1445 SMEs in Ireland. A response rate of twenty per cent was obtained, providing 286 usable responses. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed. Results: The findings of this study confirm that SMEs are implementing fundamental e-CRM practices. Those firms serving international markets tend to place greater emphasis on e-CRM and are reaping greater benefits. Benefits range from enhanced customer service, reduced business cost, increased sales and improved profitability. Challenges are few, but centre on a preference for face-to-face relationships and a lack of Government support. Implications: It is hoped that this exploratory research has laid the foundation for further examination of e-CRM in the SME context. Future research will add explanation through in-depth qualitative methods, while the potential exists to replicate the study in other countries. The authors conclude that e-CRM can and must move on to a more strategic and integrated level if SMEs in Ireland are to compete both locally and globally. Value: This research has shed light on the marginalised subject of e-CRM in SMEs. For SMEs operating in a peripheral economy such as Ireland the benefits to be gained from e-CRM are lucrative. SMEs viewing their market beyond national borders are using e-CRM to achieve a range of business benefits. The quantitative methodology adopted has provided an exploratory, yet solid, insight into an important area for academics and practitioners.

Journal of Global Information Management, 2021

The banking industry has been forced to restructure its processes to get adapted to a more technological environment as a consequence of the changes experienced in the market. Academic literature has paid special attention to the most critical relationship at firms, customers. Customer relationship management (CRM) offers good opportunities to increase efficiencies in this relationship. For this reason, this research analyses to what extent the implementation of CRM systems in the banking industry has offered good results in terms of dynamic capabilities. For that, some dynamic capabilities have been identified after CRMs implementation process has taken place. A theoretical model has been built and empirically validated by means of a representative sample of banking firms applying structural equation model analysis (SEM). Results show how firms, by properly implementing CRM systems, can reach dynamic capabilities. As main practical implications for firms, it is interesting to orien...

Journal of Marketing Management, 2011

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital components of our economies, but many struggle to perform the marketing prescribed theoretically for large organisations. In practice, marketing is performed in SMEs through an intrinsic customer orientation, which exhibits striking resemblances to customer relationship management (CRM) theory. A quantitative approach was adopted to provide broad understanding and classification to the under-researched area of e-CRM in SMEs. Exploratory factor analysis uncovered eight distinct yet interrelated factors underpinning the practices and processes of e-CRM in SMEs. Findings show that SMEs are performing e-CRM to varying extents, reaping a range of performance benefits and facing a range of challenges. It is true that SMEs are not adopting e-CRM per se, as described in the large organisation-biased literature, but they are adopting relatively simple IBTs to improve their customer communication and information management capabilities and thus to create competitive advantage in their own strategic way. From a theoretical perspective, this study has shed significant light on what is driving SMEs' e-CRM activities, thus providing long-awaited theoretical support for a practical reality. From a managerial perspective, the study has delineated eight principal issues that require attention if e-CRM is to be implemented successfully in SMEs.

This study, based on the traditional 4P framework, proposed a construct, dynamic marketing capability, which reflects the extent to which a firm can dynamically adjust its marketing activities and resources in response to changing environments. The construct is hypothesized to mediate the effect of a firm's information technology (IT) support for CRM on firm performance. With a survey of the 500 largest manufacturing and service firms in Taiwan, the study shows that the dynamic marketing capability of the firm is indeed a significant mediator between IT support for CRM and firm performance in our model. With its presence, the direct effect of IT support for CRM on firm performance fails to be significant, making dynamic marketing capability a full mediator. The implications of the result are provided.

Vikalpa

There is a growing body of academic and practitioner literature on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), most of the research in this field being conducted in the Western context. In the emerging countries of Asia, the difference is not only about the level of technology adoption and infrastructure, but also about the way decisions are made the and technology is used to form relations, and the deeply-rooted values of employees and customers who drive the competitive performance of CRM. These contextual peculiarities of CRM have got important implications for the sources of competitive performance in the process of CRM. It has been well accepted that CRM is a strategic initiative. But, surprisingly, the CRM literature is largely silent on the issue of competitive reaction in dynamic markets of emerging Asian economies. In such markets, the domain of CRM is characterized by lots of changes. Managers cannot rely on only static firm's resources that they have assembled to take CRM...

Journal of economics, management and trade, 2022

This study looked into the consequences of customer relationship management by creating empirical evidence grounded in relationship marketing theory and dynamic capability theory. The study proposed a direct as well as an indirect relationship between customer relationship management and firm performance, recognizing technological environment as the interacting variables of customer relationship management that influences the performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), suggesting that technology environment as a moderator in the customer relationship management model. The study explained the theoretical and practical contributions of the model in our understanding of customer relationship management practices and the intervening role of innovation capability. Technological environment was also discussed especially from the perspective of SMEs.

International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, 2018

The purpose of this study is to test the influence of electronics customer relationship management (e-CRM) and co-information sharing on product competitiveness and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance marketing in Indonesia. The samples in this research were 350 respondents as the owners or managers of SMEs in Indonesia. The analysis in this study was structural equation modelling (SME). Amos 21 version was used in processing the data. In this research, e-CRM is one of the important stimulating factors for increasing co-information sharing activity. The increase of co-information sharing activity will influence the increase of product competitiveness and SMEs marketing performance. One of the contributions of this research is that the companies' ability to relate to their customers by e-CRM will influence the intensity and the quality of co-information sharing activity. The managerial contribution in this research is that choosing appropriate media can make the interaction easier between the SMEs and the customers.

Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2003

In this contribution, we study companies engaging in B2C-E-Commerce and their ability to manage the rela- tionship with their customers. We refer to this as compa- nies' ECCRM-capability and examine its determinants and the impact that all of these factors have on corporate success in E-Business. We construct a covariance structure- (or LISREL-) model for testing our research hypotheses on