Social Customer Relationship Management in Small and Medium Enterprises: Overcoming Barriers to Success

Abstract

This study uses a blended form of multiple theories to identify three specific capabilities—proactive engagement, learning and change management, and managerial support—which when leveraged by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) may make more likely the successful implementation of social customer relationship management (SCRM). We explore how these capabilities are related to perceptions of barriers to SCRM and the impact they have on the beneficial outcomes of SCRM. Using data from a sample of 540 Australian SMEs that implemented SCRM and employing ordered probit and multivariate probit models, we find that lack of time and knowledge are important stumbling blocks to successful SCRM implementation, while security risks are not insurmountable impediments as SMEs appear able to work effectively around these particular obstacles. The results show that SMEs, even when faced with implementation barriers, are able to realise the high-value benefits from their SCRM efforts when the above three capabilities are deployed and leveraged in tandem. The novel contributions of this study lie in its provision of empirical theory-based evidence of the basic building blocks for SCRM success in SMEs.