Motivations and results for CRM adoption in large companies in Portugal

There are several motivations for CRM systems adoption, some of them aligned with the results of CRM implementation. This paper presents the main findings of a study undertaken among a sample of Portuguese large enterprises, identifying and discussing the main motivations and results of the adoption of CRM systems. It was possible to conclude that the main results of CRM adoption reflect the main motivations as, for instance, improvement of quality of information or process improvement. The findings of this study allow the academic and professional community to better understand the main motivations of large companies for adopting CRM systems, as well as their obtained results, and also allow CRM systems vendors and consultants to better address the needs of their potential clients

Main motivations for CRM adoption by large portuguese companies: a principal component analysis

The motivations for an organization to adopt Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can be very varied, which brings an additional complexity to the adoption decision. It is important to understand the main drivers of CRM adoption so that companies can better target their investment efforts. This paper presents and discusses the main findings of a study undertaken among a sample of large Portuguese companies, identifying and discussing the main motivations for CRM systems adoption. A survey was carried out for data collection, and a Principal Component Analysis was made to identify the main motivations. The study concludes that the main motivations for adopting CRM systems are related to cost reduction, improving overall customer satisfaction, improving processes, achieving competitive advantages and improving information quality. The findings of this study can help the academic and professional community to better understand the main motivations of companies for adopting CRM systems, and also for CRM systems vendors and consultants to better address the needs of their potential clients

Implementation of CRM systems in portuguese municipalities

Customer relationship management is a business strategy which dynamically integrates a set of services with the purpose of creating value for the organisation and for their customers. In Portugal, the 2009/2010 edition of ‘Simplex for Municipalities’, the action plan carried by the Portuguese government through the Secretary’s Office of State for Administrative Modernisation, makes a commitment to promote a set of initiatives in order to help citizens using the public services. This process intends to reduce costs of context which burden the economic activities, making way for the modernisation of administration. Customer relationship management assumes a central role in this context. This paper presents the main results of a survey that was carried out with Portuguese municipalities, aiming a general characterisation of the adoption of customer relationship management systems, covering several aspects, fromthe motivations for CRMadoption to the obtained results. The improvement of the relationship with citizens and a higher information quality are some of the most important results obtained by municipalities

Information technologies in social entrepreneurship

Social organizations are usually subject to a high number of requests. In addition, it deals with a variety of problems to which an answer is needed. In this context, it is important to understand how these organizations can better support their process activity: Can technologies help to solve the problems of social orga- nizations in a more efficient way, bringing greater benefits to the community? This paper presents a study on the use of information technologies in Portuguese social organizations to meet the needs of these organizations in responding to current challenges.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Business intelligence and contribution of entrepreneurial information architecture

We are witnessing the need for a quick and intelligent reaction from organizations to the level and speed of change in business processes. The arising problems can be: from wrong lasting information; systems not fully used or explored; slow reaction to change; etc. This requires two main confluent action methods: people to synchronize their visions, ideas and strategies in the whole organization; and, in that context, select the information that strictly answers to the performance factors at the right moment. The proposed methodology turns to the potential of approach to the entrepreneurial architecture as well as to the potential of the information system in order to integrate the data and resources needed for that performance. The modeling of an information architecture of the company and its business helps in the identification of critical information, the one which is according to the mission, prospects and business success factors

Cause-related marketing: do managers understand and use this tool?

Design - We relied on data obtained from in-depth interviews with managers. Data categorization allowed the application of the main constructs of the UTAUT model and the unveiling of the level of acceptance of Cause-Related Marketing (CrM) campaigns by managers and its use as a marketing strategy. Purpose – Most of the research on CrM emphasizes the benefits of these campaigns for charities and donors. The purpose of this study is to decode what managers think about CrM campaigns and try to discern and understand the principal motivations, benefits, and inherent risks to implement these campaigns. Findings - Managers recognize CrM benefits mainly relating them with an increase in reputation and image of the company, making it possible to differentiate and increase its notoriety. However, the social nature of this tool is what weights in the most on the decision of managers, since they recognize that being socially responsible is a competitive factor. The greatest constraints identified have to do with the effort on the implementation of the campaign and with the consumer’s scepticism, especially in transactional campaigns. Originality - With this research we were able to realize that there is a misunderstanding between the CrM concept and purely philanthropic marketing, which can somehow inhibit managers from recognizing the potential of this tool. Regarding CrM use, the position of managers shows a clear concern about the importance of harmonizing values between the company and the cause, betting on long-term campaigns with transparent communication and investing in the process of planning, implementing, and monitoring campaigns to improve their performance. This needs to be taken into account in future assessments of CrM campaigns.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SImplE: A Framework for the Successful Implantation of Enterprise IT Applications in Small and Medium Enterprises

Most information processing needs in small and medium enterprise (SME) related to standard enterprise activities are nowadays addressed through commercial-off-the-shelf software (COTS) products. This enables SMEs to reduce costs, save time, and diminish the risk of failure. Obtaining an enterprise IT application (EITA), shifted from a software development process to an EITA implantation process. Key aspects of this process, besides installing, configuring and making available the EITA, include dealing with the inevitable change of the enterprise’s structure, redefining the work and altering communication patterns among employees. Although implanting EITA processes are nowadays common, the research literature is scarce in what concerns their systematic description and characterization. This article provides a perspective of the EITA implantation processes in SMEs that encompasses three components: actors involved, process model, and influence factors. It was developed through a research process that included an exploratory case study and a series of forty-eight interviews with different actors participating in EITA implantation processes in SMEs. The result – the SImplE Framework – aims to contribute to a better understanding of the process and to support SME seeking the benefits of IT

Critical information as a success factor in organizations: objective and methodological approach

We are witnessing the need for a quick and intelligent reaction from organizations to the level and speed of change in business processes. These imperatives are very often associated to the emerging of new information systems and technologies, sometimes bursting change and other times being burst, which bring more challenges to organizations. The arising problems can be: from wrong information that lasts; systems not fully used or explored; too much staff; slow reaction to change; etc. This can be summarized in a governance problem that requires two main confluent action methods: people to synchronize their visions, ideas and strategies in the whole organization; and, in that context, select the information that strictly answers to the performance factors at the right moment. The proposed methodology is adequate here, once it turns to the potential of approach to the entrepreneurial architecture as well as to the potential of the information system in order to iteratively select and integrate the data and resources needed for that performance. The modeling of an information architecture of the company and its business helps in the identification of critical information, that is, of the one which is according to the mission, prospects and critical factors of business success at the required moment

Research in progress: Understanding the process of implantation IT Enterprise Applications in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

This research deals with the implantation of IT enterprise applications in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It comprises two main phases. The first phase aims at deepening the existing understanding of the process of adoption and implantation of IT Enterprise applications in SMEs. Besides a literature review this phase includes the realization of case studies and interviews of the different players in the adoption and implantation process. The second phase aims at producing models and methods to guide SME in implantation of IT enterprise applications. This phase follows is being carried out under the Design Science Research (DSR) paradigm. This document presents the advances and results obtained in understanding the problem and determines the work to be done soon. The main findings to date are: Government regulations are the main motivations for implanting IT enterprise applications in SMEs, the cost is not the main selection parameter for SMEs with previous experience in applications, it is necessary a person inside the company that knows the core of the business, to save costs it is not necessary to migrate all the data of previous solutionsThis work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013, the Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Ecuador (SENESCYT) and the Universidad Técnica del Norte – Ecuador