The Value of Customer Relationship Management in the Service Industry in Egypt

Researchers have demonstrated that customer centricity strategies, including customer relationship management (CRM), contribute to 33% of the formula for organizational success. Relationship management theory was used to frame this single case study focused on the factors contributing to successful CRM strategies used by business leaders in a multinational organization in the service industry in Egypt. This company was chosen for its successful implementation of CRM strategies, as shown by online reviews, the company website, and market reputation on its effective campaing results. The population consisted of managers working in the marketing department for more than 5 years. Data collection included semistructured interviews, review of company documents, and onsite observation. Transcribed interviews, company documents, and observational notes were coded for emergent themes. Member checking was used to increase the credibility of the findings. Findings suggested 7 themes that contributed to effective the CRM strategies of this single operation: improving the customer experience, customer segmentation and targeting, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, organization, market differentiation, sophisticated technical capability, and increasing revenue and profitability. The results from this study may influence social change by helping to create a positive work culture for the employees in this company. Research has shown that customer empowering behaviours positively affect employee creativity, satisfaction, and trust, creating a positive work environment. In addition, these positive changes to the work enviornment may in turn strengthen this organization\u27s sustainability and ability to engage directly in community outreach

Investigating the deployment of electronic customer relationship management readiness and maturity models in the Iranian banking industry

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of the main priorities for almost all organisations, particularly in the banking world. However, Information technology (IT) has changed ways of interacting with customers, resulting in the appearance of the concept of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (eCRM), which has caused a shift from offline CRM to eCRM. ECRM aims to attract and retain customers (especially valuable ones), to improve customer service by creating a strong relationship with them, and to provide the required financial product at the right time. Thus, it is vital to identify readiness factors in any organisation to prevent eCRM failure. Due to the current gap in the eCRM readiness and maturity assessment area in banks, this research attempts to fill this gap by developing a conceptual framework for eCRM readiness/maturity and accordingly create a tool for banks to assess their eCRM readiness and maturity. This tool helps banks to prevent any eCRM failure before and after implementation which is an essential concern for any organisation in order to gain competitive advantages. In addition to practical implications, the present study contributed to existing literature. This study contributed to the current understanding of eCRM readiness and maturity in banks and helps decision makers to assess their eCRM. This study explores the social and technical aspects of eCRM in the Iranian banking industry. Hence, a pragmatic research approach using mixed methods with a range of stakeholders, such as employees, and managers, was employed in this research. As the purpose of this research is to identify the main eCRM readiness dimensions in Iranian banks and to assess eCRM readiness and maturity, an eCRM readiness/maturity framework was developed. The proposed framework was tested by devising and distributing a structured questionnaire and conducting a semi-structured interview in an attempt to survey a large number of bank employees, and decision makers at five different and well-known private and state banks in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. This survey provides an excellent penetrating study of the Iranian banking industry. Regarding eCRM readiness, data collected from a quantitative approach was analysed statistically using the Software Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The qualitative data was interpreted using NVivo, which is a qualitative data analysis computer software package. Findings from the triangulation of data of qualitative and quantitative approaches were evaluated in order to determine the main eCRM readiness dimensions in Iranian banks. Furthermore, from these findings, a case study bank was assessed in regarding eCRM readiness using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Regarding assessing eCRM maturity, an eCRM maturity model was developed, and a case study bank was selected. Based on the proposed eCRM maturity model, the maturity level of the selected bank was assessed using RADAR logic approach. In addition, this model was based on critical success factors (CSFs) and adapting the CRM3 maturity model. The findings of the empirical research were evaluated against the initial framework, which was generated by integrating the proposed models for eCRM readiness and maturity. This framework consists of three dimensions for eCRM readiness (Organisational culture, corporate strategy, technology) and five level of maturity. Dimensions, factors, and levels in this framework were derived from a literature review. Finally, a revised framework was generated and based on stakeholder’s perceptions, a conclusion was derived, and a recommendation to Iranian banks was made. An eCRM readiness/maturity assessment tool was created to help banks to determine whether they are ready or mature enough for the use of eCRM. The result from this assessment tool can be easily communicated amongst key members, which would help the Iranian banks to improve and promote their eCRM. In addition, this study attempts to fill the current gap in assessing banks eCRM readiness and maturity

Determinants of Financial Performance in Internet Service Providers in Kenya

Due to the increase in competition and increasing market liberalization, firms in the telecommunications industry are facing a threat to the profit sustainability. Furthermore, customers’ preferences are dangerously volatile and satisfaction of their diverse needs can prove arduous and the heightened customer awareness results in search for better alternative offerings in the market. As a result, customers may voluntarily switch from one vendor to the other. The study adopted a descriptive study design. The population was ISP firms in Kenya from which 10 large ISPs were selected. A total of 50 questionnaires were mailed to the managers of these firms. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and regression analysis. The study found that before customer make a decision to purchase or stay with a service provider, they considered service uptime, network coverage, and customer service. The regression results showed that product pricing, customer service, and service uptime had negative but insignificant effects on firm performance while parent shareholding and network coverage had positive effects on firm performance. The study concludes that the factors influencing customer staying in a provider were service uptime, customer service, and network coverage. The study also concludes that product pricing, customer service, parent shareholding, network coverage, and service uptime do not have a significant effect on firm performance. Thus the financial performance of ISPs in Kenya is not influenced by the churn factors.  The study recommends that Internet Service Providers in Kenya should ensure that they enhance the level of service uptime as this was a major factor that customers considered before making a decision to purchase an ISP product or to stay with the same ISP. The study also recommends that Internet Service Providers should have large network coverage and not just limit themselves to a small or specific area to cover. Third, the study recommends that Internet Service Providers should invest in a modern and efficient customer care service that can provide solutions to customers who have issues with their internet. This was an important purchase decision factor by customers. Keywords: Financial Performance, Internet Service Providers, Keny

An investigation of the effects of IT investment on firm performance: The role of complementarity.

The concept of complementarity has been introduced into IT-based firm performance research in order to address inconsistent magnitudes of the impacts from IT investments across studies. This dissertation seeks to understand the scope of IT investment complementarities, to examine the different ways in which different complementarities impact the payoff from an IT investment, and to empirically test the effects of complementary investments in the context of investments in SCM and CRM. The knowledge-based view of the firm (KBV) is employed in order to understand a boundary and different roles of complementarity. The KBV sees organizational capabilities from the aggregation of knowledge into capabilities and the deployment of knowledge assets in the form of capabilities. Knowledge aggregation requires individuals' specialized knowledge (human capital) and the aggregation mechanisms of structural, social, and community capital. The combination of these three forms of capital, together with human capital, constitutes organizational capabilities. Once constituted, the complementary deployment of capabilities is important. Foundational capability must be in place in order for the focal IT investment to deliver value, synergistic capability amplifies the economic benefits of the focal IT investment, and management capability is managers' organizing vision and capability to successfully deploy the focal IT investment.The research findings show that three forms of structural, community, and human capital have highly significant impacts on firm performance measured by Net Cash Flow, Gross Profit, and EBITDA. Synergistic capabilities and management capabilities are found to be highly significant in moderating between three forms of capital and firm performance measurements.The data for this study were drawn from secondary data sources: Annual Reports, Press Releases, and news articles. The dependent variables are drawn from COMPUSTAT. The data collection method for the independent variables was a keyword search. The research sampling frame is confined within a single value chain however distinctively different industry categories are represented within this value chain. This sampling strategy yielded a total of 111 firms that had invested in SCM and 45 firms that had invested in CRM

Achieving excellence in customer relationship management

This report covers the work of the Cranfield CRM Research Forum for the first year of its operation. Directed and funded by a group of organisations across many sectors, the goals of the Forum are to enable excellence in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) by defining and understanding this important management process. The work of the Forum is based upon a research programme that includes both primary and secondary research. The secondary research was used to synthesise a generic model of CRM which broadly but accurately describes the management process better than previous models. This model allows practitioners to understand and create the necessary preconditions for successful CRM in any organisation. It also makes explicit the inputs, outputs and connectivity of the four sub-processes of CRM. The primary research involved the in-depth, qualitative study of eight exemplar companies in B2B and B2C sectors, in both products and services. This phase revealed that effective CRM operates within a CRM eco-system defined by both market and organisationally based factors. Awareness of this eco-system allows organisations to avoid wasteful investment in CRM when it is not appropriate to their business situation. The primary research further revealed the evolution of the basic CRM process into five sub-species, each of which was optimally adapted to its particular place in the CRM eco-system. Understanding of this differentiation allows practitioners to define the optimal CRM process for their own situation. This report is in two parts: Firstly, a management report summarising the results of the research; secondly a manual based upon the work. The manual, including software tools, facilitates the development of a CRM process optimised for the particular market and organisational conditions of the reader

Enterprise architecture driven design of an artefact to support strategic Information Technology decision-making of Small Enterprises in Nigeria and South Africa

Information Technology (IT) is inevitably influencing the way enterprises operate, compete, and grow. The contemporary disruption has not excluded small companies. Small enterprises play a significant role in the growth of every economy but are hindered by limited skills, time, and money. The attributes of small enterprises influence the strategic and day-to-day operations. Small enterprise owners are often the managers who make the strategic decisions in order to solve specific problems. The decision style of small enterprise owner-managers limits the leveraging of IT. To ensure the sustainability of small enterprises in a contemporary business ecosystem, it is pertinent to strategise IT investment decisions. Enterprise architecture is a well-known approach to business and IT alignment. This study aimsto discover and develop how the complex enterprise architecture principles can strategise the IT decisionmaking process in small enterprises with limited resources and informal structures. The pragmatic philosophic stance was the premise for understanding the decision challenges and the development of a roadmap to intervene the problems the researcher identified. The Vaishnavi and Kuechler design science research methodology guided this study. The qualitative research approach was employed to collect verbal data with eleven small enterprise ownermanagers to understand the processes and the challenges of making IT decision in small enterprises. A thematic analysis of the findings revealed that lack of formalisation, limited information, and lack of IT skill created a critical bottleneck of IT investment decisions in small enterprises. An enterprise architecture-driven framework was developed to overcome the bounded rationality approach to IT choices in small enterprises. The framework holistically assesses organisational business-IT capabilities, constraints, and criteria to guide the decisionmaker's choice. The characteristics of small enterprises limit the successful implementation of the enterprise architecture-driven framework as a theoretical guideline for making optimal IT decisions in small enterprises. This study further developed an online IT decision-assistive tool informed by the framework. The instantiation artefact was demonstrated with six small enterprise owners from Nigeria and South Africa. The findings affirmed the prospect, potential, and relevance of an enterprise architecture-driven artefact as a tool to optimise strategic IT decisions in small manufacturing, service, and retail enterprises. The artefact developed in this study provided a practical intervention to the challenges of IT investment decisions in small enterprises

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Enterprise architecture driven design of an artefact to support strategic Information Technology decision-making of Small Enterprises in Nigeria and South Africa

Information Technology (IT) is inevitably influencing the way enterprises operate, compete, and grow. The contemporary disruption has not excluded small companies. Small enterprises play a significant role in the growth of every economy but are hindered by limited skills, time, and money. The attributes of small enterprises influence the strategic and day-to-day operations. Small enterprise owners are often the managers who make the strategic decisions in order to solve specific problems. The decision style of small enterprise owner-managers limits the leveraging of IT. To ensure the sustainability of small enterprises in a contemporary business ecosystem, it is pertinent to strategise IT investment decisions. Enterprise architecture is a well-known approach to business and IT alignment. This study aimsto discover and develop how the complex enterprise architecture principles can strategise the IT decisionmaking process in small enterprises with limited resources and informal structures. The pragmatic philosophic stance was the premise for understanding the decision challenges and the development of a roadmap to intervene the problems the researcher identified. The Vaishnavi and Kuechler design science research methodology guided this study. The qualitative research approach was employed to collect verbal data with eleven small enterprise ownermanagers to understand the processes and the challenges of making IT decision in small enterprises. A thematic analysis of the findings revealed that lack of formalisation, limited information, and lack of IT skill created a critical bottleneck of IT investment decisions in small enterprises. An enterprise architecture-driven framework was developed to overcome the bounded rationality approach to IT choices in small enterprises. The framework holistically assesses organisational business-IT capabilities, constraints, and criteria to guide the decisionmaker's choice. The characteristics of small enterprises limit the successful implementation of the enterprise architecture-driven framework as a theoretical guideline for making optimal IT decisions in small enterprises. This study further developed an online IT decision-assistive tool informed by the framework. The instantiation artefact was demonstrated with six small enterprise owners from Nigeria and South Africa. The findings affirmed the prospect, potential, and relevance of an enterprise architecture-driven artefact as a tool to optimise strategic IT decisions in small manufacturing, service, and retail enterprises. The artefact developed in this study provided a practical intervention to the challenges of IT investment decisions in small enterprises