Toward a conceptual model for examining the role of social media on social customer relationship management (SCRM) system

YesOrganizations worldwide are becoming more interested in utilizing social media applications to enhance their marketing capabilities. One of the main fruits of integrating social media applications into the marketing, information technology and information systems areas is social customer relationship management (SCRM). SCRM has been the focus of attention for both marketing academics and practitioners. However, as this area is quite new, there is a need to propose a theoretical foundation explaining how using social media platforms for SCRM systems could predict customer engagement and customer relationship performance. Three main factors, i.e. social media use, a customer-centric management system, and relationship marketing orientation, are considered as key predictors of SCRM. SCRM is proposed as a key determinant of customer engagement, which in turn affects customer relationship performance. The proposed research methodology suggests conducting a quantitative study to validate the current study model. Further discussion regarding the research contribution and main limitations are provided in the last sections

Towards Social CRM – Scoping the Concept and Guiding Research

Web 2.0 and Social Media (SoMe) provide new opportunities for collaboration and co-value creation which supports a customer-centric management. Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) addresses these opportunities and aims at a high stakeholder engagement as a means to establish mutually beneficial relationships. At present, scholars attempt to comprehend what constitutes SCRM. This paper reviews state-of-the-art scholarly literature to provide a consolidated view on the current SCRM knowledge base. It reveals concurrent opinions, diverging perceptions and future directions for research along the dimensions SCRM definitions, objectives and approaches. We conclude that SCRM as a novel concept requires transformational efforts among all organizational parts. Approaches towards SCRM align on organizational determinants, CRM processes, the customer relationship lifecycle or develop conceptual models. We propose that research further explore this domain to progress the understanding of SCRM as basis for corresponding frameworks

From CRM to social CRM: A bibliometric review and research agenda for consumer research

Contemporary perspectives on customer relationship management and the parent concept of customer management gathered momentum in the mid-1980 s and early 1990s. The advent of digital technologies, especially social media, have prompted a further evolution of the concept. As a result, today's CRM systems must consider new measures, such as customer engagement and advocacy. Consequently, organisations’ social CRM activities and investments have consistently increased in part underpinned by the increased usage of these technologies by consumers. Through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, we identify three main themes in which research in this area has focused on: (1) CRM and impact on performance, (2) social media capabilities and CRM, and (3) CRM processes and strategic use. We also identify future research avenues in the field derived from our analysis of the literature, emphasising the implications for consumer research

The determinants of social CRM entrepreneurship : An institutional perspective

Despite a growing interest in social media adoption by corporations, there is minimal knowledge about the drivers of social customer relationship management (SCRM). This study examines the determinants of SCRM entrepreneurship from an institutional perspective and specifically from the banking sector. Data on 19 banks were obtained from 183 responses to a questionnaire. These data were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) path modeling. The findings show that organizational and technological contexts have a significant positive impact on SCRM entrepreneurship. The results also reveal a significant impact of institutional normative and coercive pressures on SCRM entrepreneurship. The findings of this study provide researchers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of how external institutional pressures and internal organizational and technological contexts can interact to create SCRM entrepreneurship. Furthermore, this study contributes to knowledge about the motivations and methods of SCRM adoption and evaluation

Investigating the antecedents to the adoption of SCRM technologies by start-up companies

Despite their fairly recent emergence, start-up companies now play an important role in the economic development of countries around the globe. These companies have fewer tangible assets and capital, and therefore, the efficient delivery of services and products is a key business priority for them. Customer relationship management (CRM) technologies, which are designed to facilitate customer engagement during the design, development and delivery of services and products may play a significant role in the success or failure of start-up companies. Developments in new communication technologies have transformed traditional CRM into electronic CRM (eCRM), mobile CRM (mCRM); and more recently, social CRM (SCRM). However, there remains very little understanding of the factors affecting SCRM adoption in start-up businesses. The relative newness of SCRM technologies, coupled with the swiftly evolving nature of start-up companies: which has made them difficult cases to study – has limited the amount of research undertaken in this area. This paper aims to close this gap by proposing a framework that depicts the factors affecting start-up companies’ intention to adopt SCRM applications, and explores the relative importance of these factors. Inspired by an extended Technological, Organisational and Environmental (TOE) framework, this paper investigates effects of technological characteristics (TC), organisational characteristics (OC), environmental characteristics (EC) and managerial characteristics (MC) on start-up companies’ intentions to adopt SCRM applications. The results outlined in this research indicate that the observability, compatibility and trialability of SCRM solutions positively affect SCRM adoption in start-up businesses. Moreover, the availability of internal financial resources has a similarly positive effect. When considering environmental characteristics, it was found that support from venture capitalists, crowd funding support, governmental support, business angels support and external pressure all positively affect the intention to adopt SCRM applications within start-up businesses

From CRM to social CRM: A bibliometric review and research agenda for consumer research

Contemporary perspectives on customer relationship management and the parent concept of customer management gathered momentum in the mid-1980 s and early 1990s. The advent of digital technologies, especially social media, have prompted a further evolution of the concept. As a result, today’s CRM systems must consider new measures, such as customer engagement and advocacy. Consequently, organisations’ social CRM activities and investments have consistently increased in part underpinned by the increased usage of these technologies by consumers. Through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, we identify three main themes in which research in this area has focused on: (1) CRM and impact on performance, (2) social media capabilities and CRM, and (3) CRM processes and strategic use. We also identify future research avenues in the field derived from our analysis of the literature, emphasising the implications for consumer research

Supply chain sustainability and resilience: The case of apparel industry in Bangladesh

This study develops a model of supply chain (SC) resilience and sustainability based on stakeholder theory and resource based view. The research uses mixed method research design where both qualitative (field study) and quantitative (large-scale survey) methods are employed. The results reveal that resilience has negative impact on SC vulnerability and positive impact on sustainability. Resilience also mediates the relationship between SC risk management and vulnerability. The findings have both theoretical and practical significance

The Identification and Ranking of Effective Indicators in Assessing Organization Readiness to Accept Social CRM Using FANP

For today's organizations, customers have become important resources and communications with them have been considered as valuable assets and investments. Therefore, the effective management of customer relationship has become a preferred task and an approach for managing in many organizations. The dilemma, the organizations are faced with is that they go ahead directly toward the preparation and implementation of new technologies, especially the technology without determining their level of readiness and this causes that they fail at the implementation stage or they do not benefit from the investment and spending they have done. This study wants to investigate the indicators involved in successful acceptance of this product and the degree of importance of these indicators compared to other indicators. After identifying these indicators, according to the research background and internal experts' opinion, the status of these indicators has been assessed and they were ranked using multi-criteria decision-making model known as fuzzy analytic network process in Iran's Mellat Bank. Finally, by examining the fuzzy average of the studied organization data, a general consensus has been achieved about the importance of each indicator as well as their ranking based on the weight of each indicator compared to other indicators in assessing Iranian organization readiness to accept social customer relationship management. It is worth mentioning that this research paid more attention to negotiations and meetings with chief technology officers, customer relationship experts, strategic managers, project managers and human resource managers

Customer Relationship Management in the E-Retailing Environment

Small business enterprise (SBE) managers often lack resources, expertise, and impact when selling in an online environment. SBEs can overcome increased competition by adopting customer relationship management (CRM) into their business model for survival and longevity. Using the conceptual framework technology, organization, environment (TOE), this multiple case study explored effective marketing strategies that small store retail managers use to successfully sell apparel and accessories in online markets. The study population included leaders from independent small online retail enterprises with brick-and-mortar stores located in the Central, Tri-Cities, or Southside areas in Virginia. The data collection process included semistructured, on-site interviews of 4 SBE owners or managers and reviewing organizational documents and online postings from those 4 organizations. Using topic coding, the data were organized into nodes grounded in the context of TOE. The thematic analysis yielded 5 themes: social media engagement, price congruency, organizational knowledge benefit, customer satisfaction, and customer engagement. The study findings revealed that a significant strategy for SBEs operating in online markets was social CRM, an inexpensive and critical tool for CRM. Further, CRM tools such as social media required consistent monitoring and the devotion of financial and human resources to deliver constant customer engagement. The implication for social change includes the potential to improve the life cycle of SBEs in smaller communities, which improves community entrepreneurial and startup success. Entrepreneurship contributes to community vitality and economic prosperity by providing employment, skill development, and job training

Examining SCRM approach and its role in facilitating tacit knowledge sharing & creation, and exploring its integration effects

Tacit knowledge resides in a person's mind, which is highly personal and very difficult to interpret & transfer. It can be transferred if individuals reside in the same environment for an extended period of time i.e. through shared experiences. Therefore, finding the right method to acquire tacit knowledge has always been difficult for organizations, as face-to-face interactions or sharing experiences in the same environment is not achievable all the time (due to geographic constraints, lack of mobility, etc.). Over and above that, tacit knowledge sharing through Information Technology (IT) and IT tools is extremely limited or totally impossible. But with the rise of the social web (online collaboration tools, social media, discussion forums, interactive blogs, etc.), tacit knowledge can be created and shared frequently. The main objective of this research is to investigate Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) approach and its role in facilitating tacit knowledge sharing & creation and the modification it brings about, due to the integration of social media activities. Based on literature review, in-depth interviews (qualitative approach) and data analysis, this research revisits and explains the concept of SCRM approach, and examines the key enablers required for SCRM approach to exist. Following the above starting point, this research explores if SCRM approach facilitates tacit knowledge creation and if yes, how. To do so, this research adopts Nonaka's 'Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Conversion & Creation' and investigates if SCRM approach facilitates all the four modes – Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization – in the SECI model (Micro-Level Analysis) and if yes, how. This study also examines online collaborative platforms or 'online spaces' implemented under SCRM approach that facilitate tacit knowledge sharing and creation. Simultaneously, this study explores the relationship of online spaces with BA', the shared context for knowledge creation (Micro-Level Analysis). This research adopts 'Mechanism of Co-ordination' to examine the effects of social media on R&D department's structure. It also describes new processes that are integrated within the New Product Development (NPD) process (Meso-Level Analysis). The integration of SECI model of knowledge creation and BA' in an SCRM setting is useful both to academia and practitioners. This research adds to the existing literature, which believes social media can facilitate tacit knowledge sharing and creation, and also helps practitioners understand the importance of generating customer knowledge through social media rather than relying on historical and transactional data