• DOI:10.1057/PALGRAVE.JDM.3240001
• Corpus ID: 167359078

Editorial: The role of CRM in changing and facilitating competitive advantage

@article{Fletcher2002EditorialTR,
  title={Editorial: The role of CRM in changing and facilitating competitive advantage},
  author={Keith Fletcher},
  journal={Journal of Database Marketing \& Customer Strategy Management},
  year={2002},
  volume={9},
  pages={203-206}
}

• K. Fletcher
• Published 1 March 2002
• Business
• Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management

technology causing unexpected difficulties, or are human and organisational problems causing difficulties in planning and integration? My own research has shown that the reasons behind a positive adoption decision were conceptually different from usage, with firms’ perceptions of barriers and constraints to customer relationship management (CRM) deployment changing as they gained experience of applications. Thus a system or process which might be suitable for bringing a company to a position where it might use CRM is not necessarily the best system or process for ensuring its successful use. The effective use of a sophisticated CRM system is achieved by matching organisational capabilities and market context, rather than by uncritical adoption and development. Sophisticated CRM management is strategically oriented and integrated with a company’s competitive strategy. A general conclusion is that although organisational and strategic barriers are more important than technical barriers this is frequently not recognised by the adopting firm. Organisational barriers relate to structural issues, such as fragmentation and poor relationships and communication across departments. Strategic barriers include a lack of acceptance by senior management of the strategic benefits of CRM intervention and a lack of a clear strategy for CRM implementation. My research concluded that organisations have yet to learn that Over the past 20 years I have been studying how better information and information systems might improve business efficiency and effectiveness. Over this time our understanding of the nature of business systems has improved, as has our understanding of the nature of markets. The problems companies have when trying to implement new systems and procedures have not, however, changed. In the 1980s, there was increasing evidence that the move to the strategic use of information technology (IT) would not be as easy or successful as early writers had implied. In the 1990s, as CRM gained attention, many practitioners and IT specialists seemed to have forgotten some of these lessons. Marketing managers reported difficulty in making strategic use of information systems, partly due to inadequacies of the IT systems when matched with the special needs of marketing strategy, but also because of a lack of strategic focus in companies. In the new millennium little seems to have changed. In Journal of Database Marketing Vol. 9, No. 1, one author, Neil Woodcock, began his paper with the comment ‘Most CRM projects are likely to fail’. This was based on predictions from various studies. Why is it that despite our increased understanding the problems remain the same and the majority of applications do not seem to justify the initial investment and cannot be deemed successful? Is it poor understanding of direct marketing principles, relationship marketing