Customer Relationship Management and Marketing as a Potential Discipline

Introduction

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a combination of information systems and

strategic management, aimed at providing better customer service. The ultimate goal of CRM is

to align departmental capabilities - the core competencies of all departments affected by CRM

CRM is a business strategy that focuses on optimizing customer experience and maximizing

service or product value (Nykamp, 2001), combinations of information systems and strategic

management, aimed at providing better customer service.

Thus, Shani and Chalasani (1992) have defined relationship marketing as “an integrated

effort to identify, maintain, and build up a network with individual consumers and to

continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of both sides, through interactive,

individualized and value added contacts over a long period of time” (p. 44).

An ultimate goal of CRM is to align departmental capabilities, core competencies of all

departments affected, in order to increase customer retention and loyalty, as well as revenues.

Describe the author's strategy or criteria for selecting works to be reviewed.

These author’s researched 68 authors of books, journals, and articles, Parvatiyar & Sheth,

2001 desire to develop a framework, which understands the various aspects of CRM strategy and

its implementation. Further, synthesizing the existing knowledge of CRM, which integrates

diverse explorations accomplished in a disciplined inquiry design.

The author’s strategy in selecting detailed prior research here, is to provide foundations in

social behavior research that coexist in customer relationship management and customer

relationship marketing; drawing upon the literature, which correlates in customer relationship

management, and relationship marketing, indistinguishable from each other in the marketing

literature (Parvatiyar & Sheth, 2000)

Explain how the author organized the presentation of the works reviewed (for example, by time, by focus, or by methodology).

Qualitative research differs from experimental/quantitative research in several key

respects. There is a deliberate attempt to collect data in the form of descriptions and meanings,

especially in a way that is phenomenological sensitive, honoring the experiential component of

all knowledge, participation and observation.

Ethnography traditionally refers to a practice in sociology, where researchers spend long

periods living within a culture in order to study it. The term has been adopted within qualitative

market research to describe occasions where researchers spend time - hours, days or weeks -

observing and/or interacting with participants or organizations. This contrasts with interview-

based research to which interaction with respondents is limited to a conventional interview or

group discussion format, limited in time, and often takes place outside the participant's own

environment.

The argument the author’s make here is, “all human knowledge and scientific research,

follows a set of procedures, which must begin within a group of assumptions, set of beliefs, a

paradigm. However, there is a clear need to articulate the planning, carrying out, and reporting of

research findings of components in paradigms. This establishes principal components in a

generalized model of grounded theory, “Disciplined Inquiry”.

The levels of analysis used in describing the research (individual, group, organization, or industry).

As observed by Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995b), developing customer relationships has

historical antecedents going back into the pre-industrial era. (Hiles, 1999) hypothesizes there is

no explicit distinction in this model between quantitative and qualitative research.

In the figure below, is an illustration of modern view of a disciplined inquiry.

Figure 1:  Conventional model of research. (Hiles, 1999)

Hiles, 1999 model offers distinctions between four aspects of the research process:

 Paradigms (assumptions adopted towards truth, reality, knowledge, and how knowledge

is to be used)

Strategies (choices with respect to how disciplined inquiry is to proceed)

Methods (procedures for the collection of data)

Analysis (techniques for the analysis of data).

Figure 2: A model of disciplined inquiry. (Hiles, 1999)

Therefore, the authors’ concerns lay with paradigm implementations to relationship

marketing to CRM. Inevitably this parallel is subservient to constructivist view in a disciplined

inquiry. Characterized in the behaviors their proponents respond to either, ontological (nature of

reality), epistemological (nature, sources and limits of knowledge), or methodological (the

process of conducting inquiry) questions (Guba, 1990).

This paradigmatically forms the starting points or fundamentals of an action researcher’s

theory inform practice, practice refines its theory, through a continuous transformational

discipline. People’s actions are based on their implicitly held assumptions, theories and

hypotheses, and with every observed result, theoretical knowledge would be enhanced.

The author-identified limitations, implications, and recommendations.

Qualitative research studies are frequently criticized for their methodology results

without any deliberation of the paradigm within which may fall. (Parvatiyar & Sheth, 2001)

These two are intertwined aspects of a single change process. It is up to the researchers

to make unequivocal theoretical justifications (unbiased) for resulted actions, but question the

basis of those justifications. Values and other biasing or any confounding factors must be

extrapolated from influencing the outcomes; and questions and/or hypotheses should be

empirically tested through rigorous methodology (Guba, 1990).

Emphatically separating this method of research from traditional practices, is daily

problem solving, the emphasis in a scientific research, and “The researcher studies the problem

systematically and ensures the intervention is cognizant to theoretical considerations”.

Congruently, ensuing practical applications are subjected to further analysis, in a

transformative cycle, which continuously alternating emphasis between theory and practice. This

may lead to inconsistent data translation, and repetitive research.

Recommendations for disciplined inquiry in paradigms to be adopted, this control must

adequately categorize the knowledge researched in the form of time, contexture free

generalizations. Values and other biasing or confounding factors must be excluded from

influencing the outcomes; and questions and/or hypotheses should be empirically tested through

rigorous methodology (Guba, 1990).

Conclusion

Despite a growing call for businesses to be more customer-oriented and customer

educated, there is concern that, in general, the metrics used by companies to measure and

monitor their CRM performance, are not well developed or well communicated.

An important question is whether CRM and relationship marketing will become a well-

respected, freestanding, and distinct discipline in customer relationship management?

References:

Guba, E. G. (1990) “The Alternative Paradigm Dialog.” In E. G. Guba (Ed.), The Paradigm

Dialog (p. 17-27). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Hiles, D. (1999, July 26-29). Paradigms lost - paradigms regained. 18th international human

science research conference, Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Shani, D. & Chalasani, S (1992) “Exploiting Niches Using Relationship Marketing.” Journal of

Consumer Marketing , 9 (3), 33-42.

Sheth, J. & Parvatiyar, A. (1995b) “The Evolution of Relationship Marketing.” International

Business Review, 4 (4), 397-418.

Sheth, J. & Parvatiyar, A. (2001). Customer relationship management: Emerging practice,

process, and discipline. Journal of Economic and Social Research, 3(2), 1-34. Retrieved

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