In marketing research, customer relationship management (CRM) is often described as a strategy for collecting customer information through an IT- infrastructure in order to manage customer relationships (e.g. Boulding et al 2005; Keramati et al 2010; Nguyen and Mutum 2012). Most of the existing research within CRM has focused on IT-infrastructure and implementation issues rather than on how CRM can enable knowledge sharing among individuals and working teams. Difficulties regarding information and knowledge creation, as well as sharing knowledge in both formal and informal ways, are not particularly well addressed in CRM literature. Hence, this study adopts a holistic approach to CRM and aims to “Understand how a B2B-organisation organise for strategic CRM”, and “Investigate how organisational aspects can act as drivers or barriers for learning about customer relationships”. The holistic approach implies that organisational aspects (such as co-workers, organisational culture, internal processes and affordance, c.f. Finnegan and Currie 2010) should be captured and seen as integrated parts of strategic CRM together with the more tangible CRM- system. Besides that, this study attempts to answer the question, “How does a B2B-organisation work with CRM to learn about their customer relationships”. Previous research has shown that intra-organisational problems emerge when implementing and using CRM with both researchers and software providers approaching CRM from a technological perspective with a heavy emphasis on IT-infrastructure (e.g. Bohling et al 2006; Coltman et al 2011). Despite its importance, IT-infrastructure is just one aspect that managers have to consider when making decisions about implementing and organising for CRM. From previous research we can learn that organisational aspects, such as co-workers, internal processes, and organisational culture (e.g. Finnegan and Currie 2010; Jayachandran et al 2005) are important to consider when implementing and using CRM. Thus, discovering how B2B- companies organise for strategic CRM necessitates the use of a holistic approach to CRM, based on the philosophy of relationship marketing (e.g. Grönroos 2008a; Nguyen and Mutum 2012; Storbacka and Lehtinen 2000). The empirical context in this study is the accounting and auditing industry. During recent years Swedish accounting and auditing firms have faced changes in the macro environment due to changes in legislation, which hasviitransformed the industry to become more customer oriented and CRM has been brought to interest in many firms. Based on that, a third and more practitionary aimed aim for this study is to ”Identify for accounting and auditing industry relevant organisational aspects for use of CRM”.In the theory chapter I first review the philosophy of relationship marketing, highlights the differences between B2B- and B2C-contexts and shows the nature of B2B-relationships, where multiple parties often are involved in the relationship. The study then sheds light on current research streams in CRM-literature and identifies two major research streams, the technology- oriented one and an organisational-oriented one. The thesis proceeds to review information, knowledge and learning domains and integrates relevant theoretical frameworks from these research areas into CRM-literature. The theory chapter rounds off by presenting and discussing “communities of practice” as an organisational approach that enables and cultivates learning in organisations.The study adopts an explorative research approach connected to the research question and purposes and the empirical inquiry is conducted through an abductive approach and investigates a large auditing and consulting firm, a major actor in the Swedish audit- and accounting business, during the time period of 2,5 years. The empirical data is comprised of 44 meeting observations of key account teams, as well as a sales group and 31 in-depth interviews with members of the groups. Moreover, several meeting observations with members of a sales team and a responsible-advisor team were conducted in one of the auditing firm ́s local offices to provide an understanding of how CRM as an organizational strategy is adopted and used by different individuals and groups working with different types of customers.In the analysis I built on the theoretical framework and case findings to empirically identify relevant themes connected to the customer relationships, to the development and learning processes in working teams and among individuals, and to intra-organisational prerequisites and structures. The identified themes were then further analysed in order to find out how CRM as a strategic approach is used to learn about customer relationships. This study shows that managers have to integrate relevant intra- organisational aspects to be able to organise for and implement CRM with a purpose to generate learning about customer relationships in a successful way. While previous research have shown that the organizational aspects may vary depending on company-context, size and type of customers, this study suggests that managers should consider “strategic communities of practice” as an important strategy to enable knowledge sharing, and thusviiicultivate learning processes among individuals, groups and divisions. However, enabling and cultivating for strategic communities of practice is not suitable for all groups of individuals due to their work tasks, or what goals and objectives managers have with the particular group or team. This finding is important to address since CRM, when narrowly approached as an IT-infrastructure, does not capture all relevant information and results in a lot of important knowledge about customer relationships getting stuck in minds of smaller working groups - instead of being shared with colleagues in networks or communities of practice, and thus contributing to organisational learning about customer relationships. The study shows that if CRM is to act as an enabler for relationship-specific knowledge sharing, managers have to enable interactive knowledge sharing among co-workers through for example communities of practice. These interactions, along with traditional information collection are strongly needed, especially in the context of B2B-services companies. To conclude, CRM-literature have to be re-examined to further incorporate discussions regarding learning processes and knowledge sharing to target a deeper, as well as a more holistic, understanding of customer relationships.

Research Question/Purpose: Due to environmental legislation, economic influences and increasing concern about the environment among the general public, today’s businesses are becoming more committed to environmental issues. Some enterprises yet have implemented a green strategy. This thesis aims at identifying issues that determine the long-term efficiency of green marketing and how confidence and trust plays a role in order to gain competitive advantage through customer satisfaction and customer retention. The common denominator of both, CRM and green marketing is the creation of confidence, trust and value for customers. So, focus is laid on measures that lend credibility to companies’ green marketing by interviewing experts and observing their opinions about green marketing and eco-labeling. Design/Methodology/Approach: Interviews conducted with company professionals from IKEA and Konsum Gävleborg and a member of the municipality in Gävle, as well as findings from secondary sources of the company Nestlé were used to investigate the companies’ ways to respond to environmental concern and how they deal with green issues and ecological responsibility. The interviews provide valuable insights of the success of green marketing depending on the confidence between company and customer. Findings: By analyzing the results of the interviews with the literature review, the thesis reveals that environmental responsibility and ecological orientation needs to be based upon the entire business strategy of a company and implemented in its core principles in order to deal effectively and efficiently with this issue. Conclusions: Companies respond in different ways to ecological issues, through eco-labeling, cooperation with NGOs and energy-saving production processes. In conclusion, it can be said that the need for customer relationship commitment, trust, confidence and loyalty as a result of satisfaction are as important in customer relationship management as in green marketing, because competitive advantage can be achieved by environment-related activities and motivates companies to go green to promote ecologically sustainable practices. Research Limitations/Implications: There is a number of literature focusing on customer relationship management and implications of green issues for business strategy, but there are only a few on green marketing yet and the interaction between green marketing and CRM is missing attention, so far. Originality/Value: This work seeks to make a contribution towards bridging the ends of CRM and green marketing. It indicates a relationship between eco-orientation and company performance and implicates, on the basis of the theoretical and empirical findings, that integrating ecological features and good performance in a company is not impossible. Trust and confidence are as important concepts in green marketing as in CRM.

Aim: The Internet has provided a medium for word of mouth and its electronic extension, also known as viral marketing. In the hospitality and tourism industry, use of the internet has caused drastic changes. Consumers are now more used to gathering information about their destinations through online word of mouth The aim of this thesis is to achieve an understanding of the concept of viral marketing and its suitability, as well as its primary link the concept of word of mouth and its relevance to customer relations, in the hospitality and tourism industry of Sweden. Method: A qualitative research approach was used for compiling the primary data of this thesis. Semi-structured face to face interviews as well as structured email interviews were used to gather the empirical findings from two case companies. Secondary data for the theoretical study of this paper was gathered from scientific journals, books and the Internet. Result & Conclusions: The hospitality and tourism industry rely more on word of mouth advertising because of the intangible nature of their services. Therefore, they aim to exceed customer satisfaction so as to generate positive word of mouth. The concept of viral marketing is minimally utilized at the moment, but its use is more likely to be maximized in the future. Suggestions for future research: The results of this thesis were based on a small sample size of the representatives of the hospitality and tourism industry. It would be advisable in the future to conduct a quantitative or a combined qualitative and quantitative study with a bigger sample size that would also include the opinions of the customers.   Contribution of the thesis: This research delivers realistic consequences from the diverse extension of internet users in the Swedish hospitality and tourism industry and finally indicates the promising benefits from the distribution of internet technology in combination with the involvement of individuals.

Large multi-national corporations experience more and more pressure to maintain good relationships with their stakeholders, including employees. Concurrent with this, the focus of Corporate Communication management has shifted from pure communication management to relationship management. Lonmin Platinum, a mining company within the South African mining and minerals sector is no exception in this regard. In fact, due to the apartheid legacy and government regulations that are aimed at safety and equity, it is especially difficult to manage employee relationships in the mining industry. Apart from historical and environmental factors, Lonmin Platinum's task is further complicated by its diverse work-force. At the time of the study the work-force of approximately 20 000 employees consisted of literate, semiliterate and illiterate employees. In addition, the company comprised five business units, each with their own corporate identity. In order to manage relationships effectively, a company needs to understand the nature and quality of its relationships as well as which factors might influence its stakeholder relationships. Studies have already indicated that a company's corporate identity can contribute to the stakeholders' images of the company. Over time, the image impacts on the company's reputation and consequently on the stakeholders' relationships with the company. In the case of a company such as Lonmin Platinum, with an endorsed corporate identity, it can be expected that corporate identity will also play a role in the nature and quality of relationships, including employee relationships. Previous studies have investigated the link between corporate identity and relationships focussing on communication, and on behaviour elements of identity. Up until now, no examples of research of the possible influence of symbolic corporate identity elements on relationships in the South African mining industry could be traced. Against this background, the following research question was asked: What is the relationship between employees' perceptions of symbolic corporate identity elements and employer-employee relationships at Lonmin Platinum? Semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and quantitative questionnaires were applied as data collection methods. The results confirmed that Lonmin Platinum did not have a good relationship with its employees in general. The lack of trust was seen as one of the most apparent problems. It also seemed that the employees did not understand the company's endorsed corporate identity. They, for example, did not understand the company structure and identified themselves more with the symbolic corporate identity of their respective business units than with the company itself. With regard to the correlation between symbolic corporate identity and relationships, this study indicated a relationship between employees' perceptions of how effective the company reached it objectives and the quality of its employee relationships. Company objectives, such as a safe working environment, a healthy working environment, socioeconomic empowerment and accountability, as well as a company that unites its workforce and creates a family feeling amongst the employees impacted most on employee relationships. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Although little empirical evidence exists to support this contention, the extant literature suggests that firms can potentially achieve two types of benefits from developing a CRM orientation: (1) increased efficiency in the allocation of resources destined for relationship building and maintenance activities, and (2) enhanced exchange relationship outcomes through the provision of superior customer value (Zablah, Bellenger, and Johnston 2004). This effort focused on the latter of these purported benefits and sought to answer the following two fundamental questions: (1) does a CRM orientation influence the outcome of customer-provider relationships and, if so, how; and (2) does CRM technology have an effect on the relative success of CRM initiatives? In an attempt to address these questions, a conceptual model of "CRM success" was advanced and tested utilizing data from, both, customers and their providers. The conceptual model, which is based on interactive communications theory, posits that a CRM orientation has a positive effect on the quality of the product, service and planned interaction messages providers convey to their customers. The model also suggests that the quality of these messages directly influences customer-perceived relationship value which, in turn, drives other relationship attitudes, perceptions and, ultimately, customers’ behavioral intentions. Finally, the model proposes a moderating role for CRM technology: the association between CRM orientation and message quality is expected to increase (decrease) as the assimilation of CRM technology within firms increases (decreases). The model was tested utilizing (multi-level) SEM techniques. The results provide partial support for the proposed model and suggest the following: 1. As firms’ level of CRM orientation increases, customer-perceived message quality decreases. This inverse relationship between CRM orientation and message quality does not hold true across accounts of different sizes. For large accounts, message quality tends to increase as firms’ level of CRM orientation increases while the opposite holds true for small and medium-sized accounts. 2. The relationship between CRM orientation and message quality is not contingent upon the extent to which firms have assimilated CRM technology. Rather, firms’ level of CRM technology assimilation appears to exert a direct effect upon message quality. 3. Customer-perceived relationship value (CPRV) mediates the effect that product, planned and service messages exert upon customers’ relationship attitudes, perceptions and, ultimately, behavioral intentions.

Sinickas Robertas. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system: Master’s Work in IT/supervisor doc. S.Gudas; Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Informatics, Kaunas University of Technology.-Kaunas, 2005.-67 p. Research objective – customers’ order management information system. Research object – the main object is focused on the establishment of the CRM system, which is based on the organizational and objective structure analysis. In order to accomplish the tasks that have been set for this thesis, the analysis of a customer relation vision, which determines the essence of customer relation management, has been prepared. On this stage the necessity of computer based customer relation management is analyzed with the help of CRM technology: using CRM model, its methodology, system adoption problems. The comparative analysis of the means of CRM development, its control packages, and CASE system methods is also applied. Due to the latter, MS Access package is chosen to represent the mean of CRM development (ADO – for the data manipulation; VBA – programming language) because of its wide practical use in the chosen organization and the use of ProVision Workbench for the CASE system model development. According to the requirements for the information system specification in the second part there is suggested an organizational activity structural and objective analysis: hierarchic organizational activity model, business interaction model, event model, destination... [to full text]

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are widely used for effective business relations management. CRM is not software, it is business strategy, experience, knowledge. It also could be successfully applied to health care sphere. Patient relationship management system could substantialy increase effectivenes of health care process. Methods for evaluation of Patient – doctor relationships were investigated in aim to reveal most suitable ones to be used for optimization of healing process. Continious functions reflecting direct proportionality to impact factors and contrar propotionality to patients profile should be used for mathematical description of patient – doctor relationship. Optimal control of the healing process could be achieved through individualization of actions to be taken in case of every single patient. MySQL 4.1.8-nt could be used as suitable database platform for health care CRM systems. It showed high performace in tests with CRM system prototype. The prototype patient – doctor relationship management system was elaborated for usage in all possible areas of health care service.

Aim: The objective of the study was to create knowledge on how supply chain management (SCM) can generate and impact satisfaction related to dealer - original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationships. In this context, the after-sales market was investigated since it became the cash cow of the automotive industry after the financial crisis in 2008. The aims were to design comprehension of: Impact/importance of satisfaction Interrelations of SCM/relationship elements Recommendations for SCM strategies Method: The qualitative research focused on dealers and experts, who were questioned via structured interviews. Thereby relational content analysis was used to detect and categorize 15 codes, condensing the findings in a context model. Result & Conclusions: The research identified commitment, trust and communication to be substantial important within relationships. The OEM has to ensure a sustainable, transparent, adaptive and open relationship while guaranteeing satisfying experiences. The outcome is a “Relationship-Satisfaction Model”, where each element is placed in different importance groups, including adjustment recommendations. As a supporting concept for strategy adaptation, the “4S” model of SCM was deduced. Suggestions for future research: The limitations are related to the examination of a single industry sector and the derivation of theory from dealer experiences in one culture solely. Here diversification of the generated model will support and extend the findings. Contribution of the thesis: The model suggests different focus areas of SCM to improve future-orientated strategies for OEM’s. This conception can create competitive advantage in SCM, while contributing innovative knowledge to the current theories on satisfaction within dealer-OEM relationships.

The purpose of this study was to determine how organizations communicate on Facebook during a crisis, from a relationship management perspective, and how their interactivity, responsiveness, and transparency affect their Fan page's relevance, importance, and appeal. In this study, the researcher conducted a controlled experiment to examine if a strategized Facebook Fan page that contained a high level of interaction, responsiveness, and transparency contributed to long-lasting relationships with fans or helped organizations recover/prevent a crisis. The researcher created eight different conditions (Facebook Fan Pages) presenting a crisis message, and recruited 200 students (25 participants per condition) from the University of South Florida (USF) to participate in the experiment. The findings did not demonstrate exactly what the research study was designed to find. The individual hypotheses were not supported during the ANOVA tests, except Hypothesis 1a. The ANOVA tests showed that the high vs. low interactivity, high vs. low responsiveness or high vs. low transparency did not have a significant effect on a Fan page's relevance, importance, and appeal. The variables did not have an independent influence, and they did not show any significance standing alone. However, the ANOVA tests surprisingly revealed a dramatic three-way interaction effect of all three independent variables on relevance and importance.

Large multi-national corporations experience more and more pressure to maintain good relationships with their stakeholders, including employees. Concurrent with this, the focus of Corporate Communication management has shifted from pure communication management to relationship management. Lonmin Platinum, a mining company within the South African mining and minerals sector is no exception in this regard. In fact, due to the apartheid legacy and government regulations that are aimed at safety and equity, it is especially difficult to manage employee relationships in the mining industry. Apart from historical and environmental factors, Lonmin Platinum's task is further complicated by its diverse work-force. At the time of the study the work-force of approximately 20 000 employees consisted of literate, semiliterate and illiterate employees. In addition, the company comprised five business units, each with their own corporate identity. In order to manage relationships effectively, a company needs to understand the nature and quality of its relationships as well as which factors might influence its stakeholder relationships. Studies have already indicated that a company's corporate identity can contribute to the stakeholders' images of the company. Over time, the image impacts on the company's reputation and consequently on the stakeholders' relationships with the company. In the case of a company such as Lonmin Platinum, with an endorsed corporate identity, it can be expected that corporate identity will also play a role in the nature and quality of relationships, including employee relationships. Previous studies have investigated the link between corporate identity and relationships focussing on communication, and on behaviour elements of identity. Up until now, no examples of research of the possible influence of symbolic corporate identity elements on relationships in the South African mining industry could be traced. Against this background, the following research question was asked: What is the relationship between employees' perceptions of symbolic corporate identity elements and employer-employee relationships at Lonmin Platinum? Semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and quantitative questionnaires were applied as data collection methods. The results confirmed that Lonmin Platinum did not have a good relationship with its employees in general. The lack of trust was seen as one of the most apparent problems. It also seemed that the employees did not understand the company's endorsed corporate identity. They, for example, did not understand the company structure and identified themselves more with the symbolic corporate identity of their respective business units than with the company itself. With regard to the correlation between symbolic corporate identity and relationships, this study indicated a relationship between employees' perceptions of how effective the company reached it objectives and the quality of its employee relationships. Company objectives, such as a safe working environment, a healthy working environment, socioeconomic empowerment and accountability, as well as a company that unites its workforce and creates a family feeling amongst the employees impacted most on employee relationships. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.