Building a CSF framework for CRM implementation

Abstract

This study aims to identify the critical success and failure factors of customer relationship management (CRM) systems - from the project planning stage to the system's successful implementation. This aim was achieved through a quantitative analysis of 821 questionnaires and a qualitative study of 20 companies, managers and employees. Our analysis revealed an organically customer oriented organization type: this type functions as a single unit for the customer's benefit. It evolves around the customer and modifies business processes, inter alia, by introducing technology geared to implement a customer-oriented strategy. An examination of the factors reveals their intricate relationships: some factors affect and then get affected by other factors, and some change their inner properties during different stages in the CRM life cycle - technical factors were affected by organizational factors that were then reflected back to them. Organizational factors became instigating when the CRM venture was implemented; up until then, they were underlying. We also found that aggressive utilization of management support brought opposite results with regard to employees and the venture. Additional findings highlight organizational transparency as a tool for increasing success and decreasing negative aspects throughout the CRM venture. The analysis also includes a graphical mapping of the factors for the CRM life cycle. © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan.