Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / In recent years, emerging markets have become the main “engine of global (economic) growth” (Spence, 2011, p. 8) . Whilst the rapid diffusion of its banking and mobile telephony industries has been unprecedented and well documented in the literature (Bankole, Bankole, & Brown, 2011; Bick, Brown, & Abratt, 2004; Brahima, 2012; Kalba, 2008), the dearth of empirically based evidence on CRM implementation in emerging markets in general, and Nigeria and South Africa (SA) in particular, remains undisputed (Kumar, Sunder, & Ramaseshan, 2011; Sheth, 2011).
Consequently, the problem this research addresses is the lack of adaptation of CRM strategies to the emerging market context and the lack of understanding of contingency factors that may inhibit or enable the effectiveness of CRM implementation in companies. To provide further insights into this issue, sixty six (66), one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with CRM strategy developers, implementers and those fulfilling both roles in four companies across the banking and mobile telephony sectors of Nigeria and South Africa. Secondary data were also collected and triangulated with the findings derived from the primary research to enhance the rigour of this research process; and most importantly, to strengthen the reliability and validity of the research findings. The collected data was recorded, transcribed and analysed using a contact summary form and MAXQDA analysis, a qualitative data analysis software package.
The research findings illustrate that whilst some of the factors for CRM effectiveness in Nigeria and South Africa may be consistent with those in high income, industrialized markets, the peculiarities of Nigeria and South Africa require that companies adapt their CRM strategies to the local context. The contingency factors that can either impede on or enhance effective CRM implementation in these countries include (a) multichannel integration (particularly informal channel and social media), (b) operating structure, (c) training and staff recruitment
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practices, (d) customer data storage and mining capabilities as well as (e) normative motives linked with the socio-cultural context of the country.
The similarities and differences between Nigeria and South Africa are also highlighted in this study.
The originality of this study lies in it clearly defining the peculiarities of CRM in emerging markets, thereby establishing that these markets are different from high income, industrialized markets.
In addition, this study identifies the contingency factors that can enhance or impede on CRM success in these markets and puts forward a set of research propositions as well as a conceptual model for CRM implementation in emerging markets as a contribution to the body of knowledge. This CRM conceptual model can be tested in future research.
Building on these findings, the study makes suggestions on how the strategy of CRM can be adapted to the emerging market context. It proposes that companies assess their CRM readiness through the application of a newly developed heat map that takes into consideration the company lifestage and its industry saturation level. This heat map is a useful tool for organisations to ascertain whether or not they are ready to embark upon the CRM programme, to better understand the required efforts needed to deliver on a successful CRM programme as well as the expected timelines for true benefits realisation. Moreover, another contribution of this research is the development of a CRM index, a composite index of 16 indicators that measures CRM success across three dimensions; namely organisational, institutional and customer data.
Furthermore, the novelty of this research can also be found in the triangulation of theories such as the contingency, institutional, and Hofstede’s fifth national value dimensions of culture that focuses on a short vs. long-term orientation of cultures and companies, are integrated into a single study.
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This study has theoretical, managerial, conceptual, methodological and societal implications. Future research could include other geographies, industries, a longitudinal study and quantitative studies based on the testing of the proposed CRM conceptual model and index.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/13914 |
| Date | 21 February 2014 |
| Creators | Chinje, Nathalie Beatrice |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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