Factors Favoring Electronic Customer Relationship Management (E-CRM)

Abstract

In the light of present globalization and world economic cooperation, competitive pressures by customer demands for banking products and services are intensifying. Banks should increase investment in technology applications, build and develop modern infrastructure to deliver innovative banking products and services. It is expected that the successful implementation of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (eCRM) solutions will provide banks with the optimal solution that will enhance the ability to understand customers in a better way, thus increasing the competitiveness of the bank. The successful implementation rate of eCRM is, however, not high in both world and Sri Lanka. Banks that have implemented eCRM have often failed to meet expected success. This study was undertaken to identify and quantify the factors affecting the success of commercial banks' eCRM implementation in Sri Lanka. This study also proposes solutions that will help banks implement eCRM solutions successfully in order to enhance the competitive competence of commercial banks. In addition to eight in-depth interviews with senior managers, experts and head of the eCRM project, a sample of 187 managers in the middle and senior management level at different licensed commercial banks articipated in the study. The study aimed to identify if there is an impact on the relationship between effective implementation of e-CRM and factors such as e-CRM strategy, IT infrastructure, data quality, banking culture. The study findings add value to the banking sector and provide statistical results that are essential for bank managers and CRM solution providers to improve e-CRM strategy, IT infrastructure, data quality, and banking culture.The result shows that the implementation of e-CRM has a statistically significant and positive relationship between the factors identified and will enable managers in this sector to implement e-CRM in the best possible way.