A strategy-based process for effectively determining system requirements in eCRM development

Customer relationship management (CRM) is an important concept to maintain competitiveness at e-commerce. Thus, many organizations hastily implement eCRM and fail to achieve its goal. CRM concept consists of a number of compound components on product designs, marketing attributes, and consumer behaviors. This requires different approaches from traditional ones in developing eCRM. Requirements engineering is one of the important steps in software development. Without a well-defined requirements specification, developers do not know how to proceed with requirements analysis. This research proposes a strategy-based process for requirements elicitation. This framework contains three steps: define customer strategies, identify consumer and marketing characteristics, and determine system requirements. Prior literature lacks discussing the important role of customer strategies in eCRM development. Empirical findings reveal that this strategy-based view positively improves the performance of requirements elicitation.     

The impact of uncertainty avoidance, social norms and innovativeness on trust and ease of use in electronic customer relationship management

Social and individual factors and their relationships to trust in electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) are important topics for e-commerce designers and information systems researchers. In spite of several previous studies of online trust and consumer behavior, none has adequately examined the influences of social and individual factors on online trust in eCRM. In this paper, the relationships among uncertainty avoidance, social norms, personal innovativeness in IT, and multidimensions of online trust (integrity, benevolence, and ability) as well as perceived ease of use (PEOU) are tested, based on a PLS analysis with 209 student samples. Social norms influence all three dimensions of online trust, while uncertainty avoidance affects only the benevolence and ability dimensions. Personal innovativeness in IT affects PEOU, and PEOU influences all three dimensions of online trust. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings beneficial to our understanding of customer relationships in the electronic marketplace are discussed in the paper.     

Analyzing the Use of Web 2.0 for Brand Awareness and Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Study in the Malaysian Hospitability Industry

In developing countries such as Malaysia, citizens primarily use the internet to keep in touch with friends/family via social networking sites. Firms have realized the potential of the social web to promote their products/services. This article develops a conceptual model, grounded in Technology-Organization-Environment theory, to assess the adoption/use of Web 2.0 for branding activities and its effect on firm performance. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 104 Malaysian firms from the hospitality industry.     

Modelling electronic customer relationship management success: functional and temporal considerations

Previous information systems satisfaction research predominantly focused on generic technological attributes, failing to account for the specificity of the artefact. Furthermore, viewing satisfaction as a static evaluation state, the prevalent cross-sectional approach could not account for the dynamic nature of satisfaction. In this study, we address these gaps by following a functional approach and taking a temporal view in developing and testing a model explaining the effects of various types of electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) functions on customer satisfaction in the context of online shopping. A framework based on the transaction cycle is used to classify eCRM functions into pre-, at-, and post-purchase eCRM. Two distinct temporal phases, i.e. attraction and retention, are identified. The results of a longitudinal survey involving 670 customers of hardware retailers demonstrate the appropriateness of the functional approach in investigating eCRM success and the necessity of the temporal conceptualisation of customer satisfaction. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Generating and exploiting customer insights from social media data

Previous research has emphasized the virtues of customer insights as a key source of competitive advantage. The rise of customers’ social media use allows firms to collect customer data in an ever-increasing volume and variety. However, to date, little is known about the capabilities required of firms to turn social media data into valuable customer insights and exploit these insights to create added value for customers. Based on the dynamic capabilities perspective, in particular the concept of absorptive capacity (ACAP), the authors conducted multiple case studies of seven mid-sized and large B2C firms in Switzerland and Germany. The results provide an in-depth analysis of the underlying processes of ACAP as well as contingent factors – that is, physical, human and organizational resources that underpin the firms’ ACAP.     

A conceptual model for acceptance of social CRM systems based on a scoping study

Recent developments in information technology and Web services have increased the potential for creating more rapid and extensive social networks and business relationships. Web 2.0 technologies, commonly referred to as online social media, have become important tools within the growth of information and communication technology (ICT) in the last few years. Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, Wiki and other services, which are widely used by individuals, also have an effect on customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Consequently, social CRM (SCRM) is emerging as a new paradigm for integrating social networking in more traditional CRM systems. However, social CRM is yet to be fully utilised as a value-adding tool in improving customer relationships. This paper reports on a scoping study that explored the current situation of CRM adoption in banking industry in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that may influence businesses and customers’ adoption of social CRM. Various models have been proposed to study ICT and information systems acceptance and usage. This paper proposes an enhancement to one of these models, specifically the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), by incorporating a range of factors identified in the social networking and business relationships literature believed to influence social CRM adoption. In particular, the model proposes that familiarity, caring behaviour, sharing information and perceived trustworthiness can generate cognitive view about the relationships between employees and customers. This view besides Web 2.0 features may offer a way of analysing the potential adoption of social CRM.     

Exploring the influence of personal schema on trust transfer and switching costs in brick-and-click bookstores

Due to competition, most firms try to retain and lock in customers; this is likely to ensure a greater market profit than that gained by acquiring new customers. While many studies have investigated customer satisfaction and retention in online and offline firms, scant research exists on customer satisfaction and customer retention in the context of brick-and-click firms: i.e., those that conduct business both online and in stores. Such firms encourage trust transfer among their customers. However, most studies have failed to consider the role of personal schema in trust transfer. Based on social exchange, investment, and information integration theories, we analyzed the impact of trust transfer, switching costs, and personal schema on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions in the context of an offline bookstore that has now launched an online business. Our results indicated that trust transfer and switching costs had a small effect on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Personal schema, however, affected both customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.     

Investigating the intention to purchase digital items in social networking communities: A customer value perspective

Some social networking community service providers have earned revenue by selling digital items to their community members. We examined SNC member decisions to purchase digital items based on customer value theory. Six factors were extracted from three dimensions of customer value: functional, social, and emotional value. Our findings indicated that the effects of value on member purchase intentions were significant in terms of the emotional and social dimensions. Our results should help SNC providers by improving their sales of digital items.     

Collaborative e-product development and product innovation in a demand-driven network: the moderating role of eCRM

Customer relationships, product development, data integration and demand-driven supply chains are key concepts for companies that wish to remain competitive in today’s global economy. To address this important information management issue, the present study examines how, within a demand-driven network context, an eCRM can influence the interorganizational product development process between a manufacturer and its key customers. The theoretical model, built on research related to a technology assimilation model based on Fichman’s (2000) work, was tested on data from 104 manufacturers in the wireless equipment sector. The results show that the adoption of an eCRM does not moderate the relationship between collaborative e-product development involving a manufacturer and its key customers and product innovation within the manufacturer itself. Moderated regression analyses also demonstrate that, among the manufacturers that have adopted an eCRM, the impact of collaborative e-product development by the manufacturer and its key customers on product innovation within the company will be stronger when investments in the eCRM implementation, internal integration of the eCRM, and eCRM usage are higher than lower. Finally, the findings show that investments in the eCRM implementation, internal integration of eCRM and eCRM usage are also antecedents of product innovation within the manufacturer. This contribution, at the intersection of the CRM and product development research streams, should give academics and practitioners alike a better understanding of the role of eCRMs in the product development process.     

The effect of online social value on satisfaction and continued use of social media

Social media offers customers a unique service value proposition. Recognizing service value as a pivotal concept, this study develops an aggregate construct of online social value, whereby customers evaluate utilitarian and hedonic benefits relative to what they must sacrifice in effort and risk in deriving a value calculation of online social networking services which predicts satisfaction and continued use of online social media, such as Facebook. By empirically testing a model that explains online social value, this research contributes to information systems (IS) theory by introducing a customer value perspective in the social media context and helps service providers by identifying factors predicting satisfaction and continued use that might be employed to improve offerings to keep customers coming back.     

How does customer self-construal moderate CRM value creation chain?

Most of the existing literature on CRM value chain creation has focused on the effect of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty on customer profitability. In contrast, little has been studied about the CRM value creation chain at individual customer level and the role of self-construal (i.e., independent self-construal and interdependent self-construal) in such a chain. This research aims to construct the chain from customer value to organization value (i.e., customer satisfaction → customer loyalty → patronage behavior) and investigate the moderating effect of self-construal. To test the hypotheses suggested by our conceptual framework, we collected 846 data points from China in the context of mobile data services. The results show that customer’s self-construal can moderate the relationship chain from customer satisfaction to customer loyalty to relationship maintenance and development. This implies firms should tailor their customer strategies based on different self-construal features.     

Delivering customer services online: identifying best practices of medium-sized enterprises

Abstract. The importance of using the internet to achieve competitive advantage has been well documented. Many companies have benefited from capturing customers' interest in buying via the web. Additionally, an ever-expanding of technologies exist that enable firms to provide additional customer services online. Yet for many firms, determining which customer service applications to use can be perplexing. This study examines the practices of small- and medium-sized enterprises and analyses performance results of adopting selected customer service applications on the internet.     

Key values driving continued interaction on brand pages in social media: An examination across genders

Brand pages in social media provide companies with a competitive marketing tool to create added value for their firms and customers. Past studies suggest that understanding what customers really value in brand pages is the most vital step in promoting their continued interaction, and that the relative impacts of customer values on continued interaction are contingent on individual demographic factors such as gender. However, little research has examined the relationships between customer values and their intention to engage in continued interaction, and how these relationships are moderated by gender, in the context of brand pages. This study identified eight value factors to measure customer values on brand pages, then examined their impacts on customers' continued interaction intention, and studied gender effects on the latter relationship. Our proposed hypotheses are mostly supported by data collected from users of Sina Microblog brand pages and analyzed by partial least squares.     

Brand interactions and social media: Enhancing user loyalty through social networking sites

This paper aims to investigate how user loyalty can be achieved and maintained through social networking sites. More specifically, we intend to test the relationships between brands, user loyalty and social media. The research thus provides insights into user-brand relationships through social media and argues how loyal customers can be through social networking websites. Although there are considerable numbers of studies about loyalty; there exists very limited work studying user loyalty through social networking websites. This research presents clearly the reasons for engaging with brands online and examines user behaviors and loyalty. Research provided strong evidence that majority of the social network users follow brand fan pages via social media, even though they have different reasons to do so. The study also measures users’ behavioral and attitudinal loyalty behaviors. Their level of trust to the information they obtained about brands through social media is also established. The hypotheses tested show that brands and customer satisfaction are both positively related to users’ behavioral loyalty.     

Influence of Customer Identification on Online Usage and Purchasing Behaviors in Social Commerce

The emergence and increasing popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) have dramatically changed how people interact with one another and have paved the way for social commerce. Extant literature that examines Internet consumer behavior relies largely on cognitive-based models and thus examines the phenomenon only partially. This study offers an affective perspective to examine usage and purchasing behaviors and their relationships in a social commerce context. Extending customer identification literature, the study proposes that SNS members develop identification with the SNS. This identification further influences their usage and purchasing behaviors through customer loyalty and intention, respectively. The empirical test confirms that customer identification is an effective predictor to both behaviors and usage behavior affects purchasing behavior. Hence, it provides supportive evidence to the validity of affective perspective model and the popular “free and fee” business model in both electronic and social commerce. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and future studies are also discussed.     

基于模糊综合评价法的商洛旅游业顾客满意度研究

近几年国家不断评选旅游城市、美丽乡村、特色小镇等项目工程,目的是提高各省市旅游事业,提升城市经济收入水平,因此旅游业成为一个城市经济增长的主要途径。论文以陕西省商洛旅游业为例来研究顾客满意度,通过问卷调查搜集有关数据,构建了商洛旅游业满意度体系及因子权重值,采取模糊综合评价法从旅游价值、基础设施、服务质量、管理方法四个方面分析顾客满意度,数字化方式计算顾客满意度的价值,最终商洛旅游业得到了顾客的肯定。从顾客满意度的价值来分析,探讨了今后商洛旅游业的发展与改进方向,希望商洛旅游业的发展越来越好,城市的旅游环境、服务质量、管理水平不断提升。     

Customer benefits and value co-creation activities in corporate social networking services

Despite the growing importance of customers as value co-creators, little is known about their reasons for voluntarily participating in value co-creation activities. Based on expectancy-value theory, this paper empirically examines the specific benefits that customers anticipate from engaging in certain co-creation activities. Furthermore, it examines the manner in which interactions between customer benefits and joint activities/industry types influence customers’ intentions to continuously engage in value co-creation in the context of corporate social networking service (SNS)-based virtual customer environments (VCEs). Study data were collected from 327 corporate Facebook and Twitter VCE users through an online panel survey. Results of the main effect relationships reveal that all three customer benefits – cognitive, social integrative, and hedonic – significantly impacted customer intentions to continuously participate in value co-creation. Furthermore, the benefit–intention relationships differed depending upon the type of co-creation activities (e.g. ideation, design, testing, support, and marketing) and industry characteristics. Theoretical discussions about these results are provided, and implications for future research and practice are presented.     

K-均值聚类算法在网络商城促销中的应用

随着市场竞争的日益激烈,促销技术对于网络商城提升销售额至关重要。在对网络商城的访问日志和客户交易的历史数据分析基础上,采用K-均值聚类算法设计实现基于用户兴趣、基于用户消费偏好、基于用户价值的三种类型的促销策略,为企业提供可行的个性化促销决策支持模型。     

Web personalization for user acceptance of technology: An empirical investigation of E-government services

E-Commerce firms have adopted Web Personalization techniques extensively in the form of recommender systems for influencing user behavior for customer retention. Although there are numerous studies in this area, academic research addressing the role of Web Personalization in user acceptance of technology is very scant. Further, owing to the potential of recommender systems to attract and retain customers, most studies in web personalization have been done in E-Commerce setting. In this research, the ‘Consumer Acceptance and Use of Information Technology’ theory proposed in previous research has been extended to include web personalization as a moderator and has been tested in an E-Government context. Data collection involved conducting a laboratory experiment with the treatment group receiving personalized web forms for requesting an E-Government service. Our analyses show that personalizing the Web by self-reference and content relevance has a significant moderator role in influencing the relationship between determinants of intention to use and behavioral intention in certain cases.