A Study of Critical Success Factors in Implementation of ...dagda.shef.ac.uk/dispub/dissertations/2010-11/External/...critical success factors which are Top management support, CRM

A Study of Critical Success Factors in Implementation

of Customer Relationship Management System

in Banking Sector of Pakistan

A study submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Information Systems Management

at

The University Of Sheffield

By

Syed Moeid Haider

September 2011

Syed Moeid Haider – 100151921 ii

Abstract

Background

Customer Relationship Management Systems have become vital for every organization today

especially those organizations which are service oriented. It is relatively an emerging concept

on which a lot of research is being conducted and there is still a huge room for more research.

Different authors see it from different perspectives and consider it important for organizations

who want to gain advantage in globally competitive market.

Aims

The aim of this study is to explore critical success factors which play crucial role in

implementation of CRM systems. The research was conducted with respect to banking sector

of Pakistan.

Methods

An inductive approach has been selected in order to conduct the research study. This study is

based on case-study analysis. A banking organization within Pakistan was selected as case-

study. Those employees who were part of CRM implementation team in the selected

organization were interviewed. Thematic analysis coupled with concept map was used to

analyze the gathered data.

Results

Analysis of the data showed that some factors are critically important for organization in

order to achieve success in CRM system implementation. Results showed that are eight main

critical success factors which are Top management support, CRM Strategy, Organizational

Culture, CRM Implementation Team, Resources and Capabilities, Implementation Planning,

Selection of Vendor and Software and Training. The more company will concentrate on these

factors, the more it will be able to accomplish its objectives perfectly.

Conclusions

It is concluded that CSFs mentioned above are important for successful execution of CRM

initiative. Moreover, these factors should be considered from holistic point of view due to

dependency and relationships between them.

Syed Moeid Haider – 100151921 iii

Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to thank Allah, the most high and all knowing, for providing me with the

opportunity to learn and acquire knowledge.

I express my deepest gratitude to my parents and my family for their constant support and

guidance. Without their support it wouldn‟t have been possible for me to reach this point and

write this dissertation. I would like to thank my uncle and his wife, friends and cousins for

their valuable and timely advices.

I am really grateful to my supervisor Dr. Miguel Baptista Nunes who has been a guiding

light and a constant source of inspiration for me throughout the Masters programme. I would

like to thank him for his guidance, encouragement and criticism during all stages of this

research study.

I am thankful to the employees of the bank which I used as a case study and who gave their

precious time for interviews.

Lastly, I would like to thank Mr. Khawaja Khalil Shah for his unending support and constant

backing.

Syed Moeid Haider – 100151921 iv

Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iii

1. Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1

1.1. Background of Study ................................................................................................. 1

1.2. The Research Problem ............................................................................................... 2

1.3. Research Question and Objectives ............................................................................. 3

1.3.1. Research Question ............................................................................................. 3

1.3.2. Research Objectives ........................................................................................... 3

1.3.3. Research Methodology ...................................................................................... 4

1.3.4. Structure of the Dissertation .............................................................................. 4

2. Chapter Two: Literature Review........................................................................................ 5

2.1. Introduction to Customer Relationship Management ................................................ 5

2.2. What is CRM?............................................................................................................ 6

2.2.1. Evolution of CRM .............................................................................................. 6

2.2.2. Different perspectives on CRM ......................................................................... 7

2.2.3. Technology factor in CRM ................................................................................ 9

2.2.4. Classification of CRM Functionalities ............................................................... 9

2.3. Model for CRM Market ........................................................................................... 13

2.4. CRM in Financial Sector ......................................................................................... 14

2.5. Issues and Hurdles in Implementation of CRM Systems ......................................... 16

3. Chapter Three: Research Methodology ........................................................................... 24

3.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 24

3.2. Critical Success Factors (CSFs) ............................................................................... 24

3.3. Research Approach .................................................................................................. 28

3.3.1. Inductive Approach .......................................................................................... 29

3.3.2. Case Study Analysis ........................................................................................ 30

3.4. Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 33

3.4.1. Interviews ......................................................................................................... 33

3.5. Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 35

3.5.1. Thematic Analysis ........................................................................................... 35

3.5.2. Concept Maps .................................................................................................. 37

3.6. Limitations ............................................................................................................... 38

3.7. Ethical Issues ........................................................................................................... 38

4. Chapter Four: Findings .................................................................................................... 39

4.1. List of Themes ......................................................................................................... 39

Syed Moeid Haider – 100151921 v

4.1.1. Theme 1 – Support from Top Management ..................................................... 39

4.1.2. Theme 2 – Culture of the organization ............................................................ 42

4.1.3. Theme 3 – CRM Strategy ................................................................................ 44

4.1.4. Theme 4 – Resources and Capabilities ............................................................ 46

4.1.5. Theme 5 – CRM Implementation Team .......................................................... 48

4.1.6. Theme 6 – Selection of Vendor and Software ................................................. 50

4.1.7. Theme 7 – Training to End users ..................................................................... 52

4.1.8. Theme 8 – Implementation Schedule ............................................................... 54

4.2. Concept Map ............................................................................................................ 56

5. Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion ....................................................................... 58

5.1. Discussion ................................................................................................................ 58

5.1.1. Strategic Factors ............................................................................................... 59

5.1.2. Operational Factors .......................................................................................... 59

5.1.3. Relationships between factors .......................................................................... 59

5.2. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 65

5.3. Future Recommendations ........................................................................................ 66

References ................................................................................................................................ 67

Appendix „A‟ ........................................................................................................................... 75

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Model for CRM Market (Butler Group, 2001) ......................................................... 13

Figure 2: Effective Implementation of CRM: An overview of Key Elements - Bohling et al.

(2006) ....................................................................................................................................... 22

Figure 3: From Corporate View Point (Bullen and Rockart, 1981) ......................................... 27

Figure 4: The CSFs Hierarchy (Bullen and Rockart, 1981) ..................................................... 28

Figure 5: Research Processes (Kovács and Spens, 2005) ........................................................ 30

Figure 6: Five Stages of Thematic Analysis (Peng and Nunes, 2010) ..................................... 36

Figure 7: Research Framework ................................................................................................ 37

Syed Moeid Haider – 100151921 1

1. Chapter One: Introduction

This introduction chapter presents the background of the study, the research problem, scope

of research, research questions and objectives.

1.1. Background of Study

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an essential part of our lives

today. It has significantly transformed the ways and methods of doing routine tasks. Many

tasks which we perform on daily basis are in one way or another dependent on usage of ICT

e.g. using internet and internet based facilities, mobile phones, automated teller machines,

credit / debit cards, etc. All these ICT based facilities help the companies to provide best

possible services to their customers so as to retain them and increase their customer base.

Economists introduced a term called “value maximization” nearly two decades ago. It means

maximization of profits by the companies and maximization of utilities by customers

(Boulding et al., 2005). Concept of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is almost

the same as the concept of value maximization. It can be defined as integration of people,

processes and technology through which company is in a better position to understand a

company‟s consumers (Chen and Popovich, 2003). Customer Relationship Management is

the outcome of the continuing evolution and combination of marketing ideas and newly

available data, technologies, and organizational reforms (Boulding et al., 2005). CRM‟s

main focus is to manage relationships in order to achieve two objectives i.e. customer

retention and relationship development. Today, companies are competing with each other to

gain maximum market share which ultimately results in increased profit margins by

achieving economies of scale. On the other hand, customers are very well-informed today

and have become increasingly demanding. Due to their ever-demanding nature, companies

are making every effort to provide best possible services to their customers. This is done

through efficient implementation of customer relationship management system (CRMS).

Many businesses today have realized the importance of customer relationship management

systems. It helps the businesses in achieving advantage over their competitors and sustaining

that competitive advantage (Peppard, 2000).

During the last decade, financial sector has gone through enormous change globally.

According to Lehmann (2000), financial sector is in the middle of structural changes. There

are many reasons for these changes in financial sector like high competition, changing

customers‟ needs; but most important factor which has laid enormous impact is the

technology advancement (Wessels and Drennan, 2010). It is worth mentioning here that this


factor has not only laid impact on financial sector but it has also resulted in significant

transformation of business processes of each and every other sector or industry. Main reason

behind usage of ICTs in businesses as well as in government is the increased usage of

internet and mobile technologies by people (Edrmann and Behrendt, 2003).

Banking sector is also making best use of ICTs to cater the needs of their customers and

providing them with customized / personalized services. It is one of those sectors where use

of CRMS is quite noticeable. In this sector, quality of services is therefore very important in

order to retain and attract new customers as it does not only increase the revenue but also

reduces the cost thereby leading to increased customer loyalty (Eroke, 2008). Today,

deploying an efficient CRMS is one of the most important parts of banks‟ strategy so that

banks are able to gain competitive advantage.

1.2. The Research Problem

Main objective of any business is to “create and maintain customers” (Levitt, 1960). Today,

CRM systems are being implemented in order to achieve this objective. Although, benefits

provided by CRMS cannot be denied; nevertheless, implementation of CRM system has

become a trend which will help the banks to gain competitive advantage and survive in

increasingly competitive banking sector (Versleijen-Pradham, 2000).

According to Mendoza et al. (2007), CRM systems have become popular but the rate of

failure in their implementation is high. In research study conducted by Dickie (2000), a

survey of 202 CRM projects was conducted and it was concluded that only 30.7% of the

companies were able to improve their business processes with the help of implemented

CRMS. Another survey estimated the failure rate around 70% (Giga, 2001). The survey also

revealed that this failure is usually due to three main reasons i.e. difficulty and complexity

involved in CRM system implementation is misjudged, unclear objectives and insufficient

investment for CRM project implementation. According to Mendoza et al. (2007), “CRM

projects need to be viewed as more than just implementation of IT”.

Pakistan being one of the developing countries of the world witnessed a boom in their

financial sector during the last decade. Many foreign banks entered the financial market of

Pakistan keeping in view high profit margins available to banks. Keeping in view the rising

customer base, banks started implementing CRM systems in order to maintain their market

share. It took years for some of the banks to implement these systems. Some were not

satisfied and were unable to recognize its benefits.


Although there is a lot of literature available on CRM system, there are very few research

studies which provide substantial knowledge on issues faced by the banks while

implementing CRM system. Bull (2003) has also concluded that there is still a huge gap in

research studies on CRM. Apart from this, it can be also noticed that existing studies

conducted on CRM is more on general issues rather than specific issues. Main reason behind

it is that CRM is a new concept for companies. Sin et al. (2005) also supports the same

argument. They are of the view that CRM “will remain underdeveloped until its key

dimensions have been identified and operationalized”.

This research is being conducted with respect to financial sector of Pakistan. There is hardly

any significant research study which has been conducted in this regard. Hussain et al. (2009)

evaluated the strategies and practices with respect to Customer Relationship Management

within two selected banks. Therefore, our research is mainly focused on exploration of

critical factors which play important role while implementing customer relationship

management system in a bank.

1.3. Research Question and Objectives

1.3.1. Research Question

Keeping in view the aim of this study, the question of this research is: “What are the critical

success factors (CSFs) for implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

System in banking sector of Pakistan?”

1.3.2. Research Objectives

The objectives of this research are as follow:

o To determine the importance of Customer Relationship Management System within

banking sector in Pakistan.

o To apply relevant theory to understand the implementation of customer relationship

management system in financial sector especially within the selected banking

organization in Pakistan i.e. Faysal Bank Limited (a subsidiary of Ithmaar bank of

Bahrain).

o To critically review the literature available on CRM and its implementation.

o To explore the critical success factors which play crucial role in successful

implementation of CRM system in financial sector.


1.3.3. Research Methodology

It was decided that an inductive methodology will be used for this research study. Primary

method of collection of data is interviews which are qualitative in nature. For this purpose

thematic analysis was done. In addition it, concept mapping which is a strong tool in

qualitative research has been used in order to refine the results and reach to conclusions.

1.3.4. Structure of the Dissertation

This dissertation has been divided into different chapters which are as follow:

- Chapter 1: Introduction

It briefly gives an overview of the whole research document. It has been further sub-

divided into different section. First two sections describe the background of study and

research problem. It also mentions that why the research was conducted. Next section

contains the research question. Objectives of the research have also been mentioned in

this chapter. Last section of this chapter gives a brief description of the research

methodology adopted for this research study.

- Chapter 2: Literature Review

Extensive review of literature studies already conducted by various authors on CRM and

its implementation has been conducted. This is chapter has also been divided into

different sub-sections according to topics discussed in them.

- Chapter 3: Research Methodology

This chapter covers the specific research methodology adopted to conduct the research

study. It describes the framework designed and justification for using the acquired

methodology.

- Chapter 4: Findings

This chapter mainly contains the findings from the data collected. Data gathered from

the interview was analyzed using thematic analysis. It also contains the list of themes /

sub-themes. Also, description of each theme and concept map of the themes has been

given in this section.

- Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion

In the discussion chapter, each theme has been discussed and its relationship with other

themes has also been discussed. This will give a holistic view of the factors identified in

the previous chapter and will help getting to conclusion. This chapter also encompasses

the conclusion derived from the research. Also, future recommendations have been

given in this chapter.


2. Chapter Two: Literature Review

This section comprises of literature review. It elaborates viewpoints of different authors on

CRM. It is further divided into different sub-sections. First and second section explain what

CRM and give an introduction about CRM is. Third section gives the model for CRM

market. Fourth section encompasses the reasons for implementation of CRM in banking

sector. In fifth section, critical success factors (CSFs) in implementation of CRM system

have been highlighted. Main purpose of this chapter is to give basic idea to the readers to

understand what CRM is, how it has been discussed in earlier researches and how it can be

used in banking sector. After going through this chapter, readers would be able to understand

what CRM is and why this research has been undertaken.

2.1. Introduction to Customer Relationship Management

As mentioned in the introduction chapter, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a

term which is not very different to the term “value maximization”. This term has come into

use in recent times. Basic idea behind the concept was to save customers‟ information and

strengthen the relationship between customer and the company.

First attempt in this regard (i.e. to use saved customer information) was done by an airline

company for their frequent flyer programme (Feldman, 1999). According to Law et al.

(2003), companies started taking interest in CRM‟s implementation in early 1990s.

However, it came into limelight in late 1990s. Many different industrial / non-industrial

sectors started implementing it. In the research, authors also state that increased expenditure

on CRM implementation was witnessed. Bull (2003) states that in 1998, total expenditure

done on CRM projects globally was around USD 1.9 Billion. He further adds that the rate of

success is also quite low in implementation of these projects.

Kotorov (2003) argues that with the boom of internet during the last decade, many business

ideas and models were innovated but they failed to fulfill their promises thus ended up

merely as buzzwords. Phenomenon of CRM also emerged when internet boom was at its

peak. Many people thought of CRM as a buzzword or a new business model. Analysts of

JPMorgan predicted the rise in usage of CRM because of the internet boom. They analyzed

that internet has changed that way in which customers now interact with the companies.

Therefore, companies will have to respond to this changing consumers‟ attitude. Due to the

same, many management teams rushed towards the implementation of CRM systems

without having set clear goals and objective. At that time concept of CRM was in early

phases and no clear definition, best practices or critical factors in its implementation were


defined. Consequently, many projects failed. The failure rate in CRM implementation was

estimated up to 75%. But those companies which were successful in implementing CRM

projects; they were also successful in gaining competitive advantage and it compelled their

competitors to implement CRM as well. Implementation of CRM became necessity for their

competitors.

CRM totally revolutionized the way in which companies used to work. As customers are the

real assets of the organization; therefore, every organization is concentrating on CRM today.

Moreover, customer relationship management which once used to differ from department to

department within the same organization has become centralized leading to integrated CRM.

2.2. What is CRM?

According to Goldenberg (2002) there is no accurate definition of CRM and it will evolve

and change over time as it is an emerging concept. Different researchers and different

authors have defined it in number of different ways but the basic essence remains the same.

Some of the definitions are given below:

1. Shaw and Reed (1999) define CRM as “An interactive approach that achieves an

optimum balance between corporate investments and the satisfaction of customer needs

in order to generate maximum profits”.

2. Xu and Walton (2005) define it as “Customer relationship management (CRM) has been

widely regarded as a company activity related to developing and retaining customers

through increased satisfaction and loyalty”.

3. Bose (2002) defines it as “CRM is an integration of technologies and business processes

used to satisfy the needs of a customer during any given interaction”.

4. CRM can also be defined as “the integration of various management concepts along

with some concepts of information systems” (Scullin et al., 2004).

2.2.1. Evolution of CRM

CRM is a quite a recent concept; however, basic idea behind CRM is not new. It has always

existed in some way or the other (Bose, 2002). According to the author, businessmen used to

build relationships with their customers on the basis of their interaction with them. This

interaction of businessmen with their customers depended primarily on interpersonal skills.


However, when the market size started growing and businesses started to expand, it became

impossible to interact with each customer on personal basis. At that time concept of mass

marketing came into being.

CRM is also called as one-to-one marketing (Peppers and Rogers, 1999). Sometimes it is

also referred as a tool of Sales Force Automation (SFA). It is pertinent to mention here that

there is a difference between the two. Main goal behind sales force automation tool is to help

the sales to focus more on selling. On the other hand, CRM focuses on relationship

management. Its primary objective is to retain the customers and enhance profitability in the

longer run along with induction of new customers (Christopher et al., 1991). It is much more

sophisticated and complex application that saves all the customers records, transactions and

useful information and predicts their behavior and trend of products / service utilization.

Recently, companies realized the need of relationships or one to one marketing (Ling and

Yen, 2001; Bose, 2002). Businesses realized that requirements of every customer on

individual level need to be addressed. Apart from it, need for customization of products and

services was also recognized. One of the main factors behind invention of CRM was

customers‟ behavior which varies from customer to customer. McKim and Huges (2000)

state that CRM would have been useless if the behavior pattern of customers were

homogeneous. In that case concept of mass marketing would have been sufficient.

2.2.2. Different perspectives on CRM

As already mentioned that CRM is a new concept, therefore, its theory is still in evolutionary

stages. Definitions of CRM given above can be viewed from three different perspectives.

First definition is purely business oriented i.e. prime objective behind CRM is to generate

maximum profits for business. Second definition characterizes it as a business process in

order to satisfy customers. Third definition is based on use of IT infrastructure. Definition

given by Scullin merges all the aforesaid different perspectives. It combines the idea of

management (which includes customer relationship management) with the help of

information systems.

Since its inception, there has been a lot of ambiguity about what CRM actually is. This is

evident from different definitions given above. Smith (2001) categorized CRM as a business

strategy i.e. if the strategy is properly implemented; it ultimately results in the achievement

of company‟s overall objectives. Similarly, Kotorov (2003) states that “CRM is a strategy


not a solution and can provide enormous competitive advantage if implemented in a

cooperative environment”.

Some companies think of CRM just as a software or e-commerce application (Khanna,

2001). According to (Rembrandt, 2002 cited in Buttle, 2002), “a good CRM program

enables customers to easily access the information they need at any time and includes a 24-

by-7 web-site, fast email tools and the ability to discuss problems with a human being rather

than an electronic answering system”. From the company‟s point of view, CRM is just a

product with the help of which many business processes in different department within a

company can be automated i.e. marketing, sales, after sales services, call centers etc.

Technology perspective defines CRM as a “data-processing instrument to support marketing

activities” (Valsecchi, et al., 2007). According to many surveys conducted, companies

consider this technology as an important weapon which is vital for their future success

(Fletcher, 1999)

Peppers and Rogers (1999) are of the same view i.e. it is a tool developed specially for sales

and marketing department for communication with the customers on one to one basis. This

view also supports the premise that primary objective of CRM is customer retention through

automated marketing. Sales and marketing department analyze the consumer trend through

CRM system which helps them understanding the customer changing needs and company is

able to predict the future trend (Raab et al., 2008).

Therefore, CRM‟s definition cannot be enclosed within any one of the above domains. It can

be classified as strategy of the firm as well as business process though primary objective of

the firm remains the same i.e. customer retention and use of their data to address the needs

or their requirements on individual level in order to increase the overall profitability of the

firm.

In this era of globalization, markets are changing rapidly. Customers are becoming more and

more demanding and consumer trends are high volatile. Every business tries to respond to

changing demands of the customers within the reasonable time frame as it is vital for their

survival. If a company does not respond in time, it can lose its market share due to high

competition and may run out of business. Once company loses its customer base, it becomes

very difficult for the company to capture market share again. Therefore, customer retention

is of foremost importance for the firms and becomes their primary objective. Companies try

to deliver best services to their customers on the basis of the trend of utilization of the

product and services being used by them. This objective is achieved through CRM system.


Kutner and Cripps (1997) have given four new dimensions to definition of which helps in

better understanding of CRM. They say that as customers‟ behavior is not constant. It varies

with time and companies should adapt with their changing behavior through modification in

offerings or customization of products and services. They conclude that

1- CRM is all about viewing customers as assets of the company;

2- Each customer contributes differently in company‟s profits;

3- Customers‟ buying trend changes according to their changing behavior and moods;

4- Some customers are more profitable than others.

2.2.3. Technology factor in CRM

Researchers had already predicted that information technology is the factor which will

reshape business processes of each and every industry and result in remarkable

improvements in performance of the companies (Porter, 1987; Davenport and Short, 1990).

Due to the recent development in ICTs, CRM activities are now easy to implement. CRM

applications coupled with technological advancements have resulted into an extra-ordinary

application. “Their ability to collect and analyze data on customer patterns, interpret

customer behavior, develop predictive models, respond with timely and effective customized

communications, and deliver product and service value to individual customers” (Hammer

and Champy, 1993). Similarly innovations in business intelligence applications, networking

etc are factors which have played important role in development of CRM systems. Customer

information is now saved and retrieved in most efficient and effective manner.

2.2.4. Classification of CRM Functionalities

Troggler (2009), in his research study, has divided CRM systems in to different categories

based on the functions performed by them. According to the author, there are number of

functions which are performed the CRM system like call centre solutions, automation of

sales, support for back office and there also come components which are specialized for

some business processes. However, every CRM system has one objective i.e. to provide

customer information at the right time and place so as to retain the customer and long-term

relationship with the customer can be developed.

CRM systems have been classified into three categories which are as follows. Moreover,

brief details of these are also given below.

1. Collaborative CRM

2. Operational CRM


3. Analytical CRM

2.2.4.1. Collaborative CRM

Teo et al. (2006) define collaborative CRM as the system which is responsible for all the

communication between clients and the organization. Its primary objective is to control and

integration of these channels. This communication can be through channel like phone, email,

fax, internet etc. Coordination between these channels and the team is also one of the

functions performed by Collaborative CRM system. As the data is being collected through

different channels; therefore, organization is able to better understand the needs of their

customers (Hirschowitz, 2001).

There are three main contact points for this communication channels for interaction between

the two parties:

a. Contact Management – It comprises of all the tools which maintains all the

information of consumers i.e. phone numbers, emails, names, addresses, contact

person, relationship status etc). This data is stored in a central repository and is used

for different business processes relating to customer relationships.

b. eCRM and Internet – As internet as become essential part of CRM systems

nowadays, therefore, data is also saved into central database from online activities.

Due to the same, there are number of functions performed like availability checks,

real-time identification, user tracking etc. In addition to it, all online information is

also based on the internet technology.

c. Customer Interaction Centre – It acts as the headquarters for all the services related

to customer relationships. The service team uses all the channels integrated together

with latest multimedia equipment and latest technologies to cater customers‟

requests.

2.2.4.2. Operational CRM

This component of CRM system primarily deals with operational side of activities. It

provides basis for day to day activities. These activities can be in marketing, sales, complaint

or any other department). It not only designs / plans these activities but also implements the

same. It also automates all the processes of different departments which use this system (He

et al., 2004). Some important tasks executed by Operational component of CRM systems

are explain below:

a. Marketing Automation – It is responsible for providing customers with correct,

accurate and adequate information through the delivery channels. It also makes sure


that interaction with the customers is not disrupted (Xu et al., 2002). These tasks can

be sub-divided into three categories:

i. Campaign Planning – provides the platform to marketing team for

designing and preparing a marketing campaign. This may include

budgeting, setting objectives and targets, deadlines, important milestones,

processes etc.

ii. Campaign Execution – After the designing and preparation phases is over, it

also makes sure that campaign is executed successfully which the help of

delivery channels.

iii. Campaign Controlling – subsequent to above two phases, it also manages

and monitors these campaigns. It is also used to analyze the campaign

results; findings of which may be helpful in future.

b. Sales Automation – When a customer contacts the sales team, this system supports

the sales team through order management, product configuration etc. (Xu et al.,

2002).

i. Order Management – Supply chain is the essential part of any organization.

One of the main targets of this module is supply management. It manages all

the sales activities. It also tracks the customer orders.

ii. Sales Force Support – sales team whose primarily responsibility is to get

orders from the customer is dependent on this module for the planning their

sales objectives. Through this they are able to manage their time efficiently.

iii. Product Configuration – this mainly includes the customization of products

and services according to the need of every customer. Products lines are

altered or modified according to customers‟ request.

c. Service Automation – Service department is very important in every organization. It

is through this department that long-term relationships with customers are made

possible. It is the quality of services provided by this department which acts as the

deciding factor (Troggler, 2009).

i. Help Desk – Mostly it is the first point of communication between

organization and the customer. Whichever the channel is, all the incoming

requests are allocated to concerned staff based on the complexity of problem

and expertise of help desk staff.

ii. Complaint Management – as the name indicates, this module helps the

service team to manage the complaints in efficient manner. Complaints are

queued and as soon as the services team representative is free, the task is

assigned to him / her so that customers‟ request can be addressed. These


complaints can be categorized according to nature and can be assigned to

concerned departments as well.

iii. Service Requests – This component manages the requests assigned to the

concerned staff. Main purpose is to offer the best solution to the customer in

a timely manner. It may also include all the history of the customer and their

track record. Moreover, it can also administer the staff of services

department.

2.2.4.3. Analytical CRM

Analytical CRM analyses the customers‟ data which is collection during sales, after sales

services or marketing processes. This data is stored in a central database in a systematic

manner and is used by the analytical tools of this component. It creates a link between front

and back office. Primary objective of this component is to analyze the customers‟ data and

helps in decision making process (Mendoza et al., 2007). Analysis done by this component

may include market segmentation, trends and behavior forecasting, simulations etc. These

results are used by the company for further marketing and sales activities and form the basis

for business development. There are three areas of operational side in which these functions

can be applied. These are:

a. Marketing Analysis – The analytical component dealing with the marketing side

focuses on assessment of marketing campaigns which have already begun. It

evaluates these campaigns by analyzing its success through various dimensions i.e.

cross-selling, up-selling, click-stream etc. In addition to it, some more functions to

determine customer satisfaction level are also present in this component. These

include wallet share analysis, retention rate etc.

b. Sales Analysis – Sales analysis is one of the most important analysis on which

company emphasizes a lot as future decisions related to sales or business

development depend on current sales. This component usually provides KPIs for

current sales processes and how to increase output from these processes. These

include deals in pipeline analysis, shopping-cards analysis, sales cycle analysis etc.

Moreover, there are also some indicators for lost deals and potential deals in

pipelines.

c. Service Analysis – This component presents the analysis of different products and

services after assessing the performance. These include service cycle and damage


analysis, quality analysis etc. In addition to it, there is also some functionality to

control the staff and products i.e. human resources, products supply etc. These

functionalities are often provided with forecasts and warning so as to avoid any

hiccups.

2.3. Model for CRM Market

Butler Group (2001) developed model (given in the figure below) for CRM market which

shows that which industry is best suited for CRM system implementation. It helps to

understand that which organization should adopt CRM strategy.

Figure 1: Model for CRM Market (Butler Group, 2001)

Pure commodity markets have been placed that the bottoms of the model and pure service

markets have been placed on the top of the model. The wider base of the commodity markets

indicates that these markets have high turnover, high volume of transactions and margins are

also low. Keeping in view low margins, they try to reduce their costs as much as possible

and increase their turnover in order to achieve economies of scale. Therefore, it some of the

basic business processes in these companies like marketing, sales, customer services, online

shopping are automated, it can significantly help in reducing the costs and efforts. Through

automation, services are automatically delivered which also saves times for customers.

Another aspect is that price is the most important factor in these industries and customers are

not loyal. However, some companies still use customers‟ data in order to analyze their trend

/ behavior and use it for marketing strategies (Ling and Yen, 2001).


Pure service industry usually comprises of high margin and price and low number of

transactions. It mainly depends of customers‟ satisfaction which can vary according to the

customer. Therefore, application of CRM strategy is of little use in these types of companies.

“The real ground for CRM” has been shown in the middle of the model. Those industries

which are neither purely commodity driven nor service driven are natural home for CRM

projects i.e. Telecommunication industry, information technology manufacturing industry,

Financial sector (banks), pharmaceuticals etc. (Chen and Popovich, 2003). These businesses

strive to reduce the cost of their products and services as well enhance the quality of

customer services. Their primary object is customer retention. Therefore, they make most

out of these CRM systems.

2.4. CRM in Financial Sector

As already mentioned above that financial sector is one of those sectors where CRM

implementation can really make a difference keeping in view the nature of the industry.

Companies in financial sector are bit different from those companies which are fully product

oriented and are also different from the companies which are fully service oriented. On the

continuum, they fall in-between the two. Keeping in view the same, the criteria for quality in

their services also differs from that of purely manufacturing industry as most of the products

being offered at intangible. For example, for a customer with a saving account, product is

saving certificate which is an investment. Some of the allied services such as e-banking for

this account and monthly or quarterly reports are also important with this intangible product.

Another interesting aspect of this industry is that some of the products bought by customers

are not frequently used. In some cases they are not even used to years. Most of the customers

do not interpret it as a product and for them peripheral services with these products are

important (Krishnan et al., 1998).

Customers are assets for every organizations and customer satisfaction is even more

important. Previously, banking staff (branch managers, relationship manager, customer

service officers etc) used to have close relationships with each and every customer. They

were aware of their needs and provided them with high quality service. Customers were also

satisfied with the level of service rendered to them. However, this system was not very

practical and was efficient only when there were limited number of customer which could be

handled by few staff members. As customer base started growing, it became difficult to give

personalized services to every customer (Peppard, 2000). On the other hand, customers were


also becoming more and more informative. Due to this growing awareness, their

expectations from banks remained quite high. Consequently, they started switching their

accounts between different banking organizations where they thought that service level is

better.

As the competition grew stronger and stronger, banks started losing their business to some

non-banking companies and also witnessed decreased customer loyalty. Therefore, banks

tried to regain their market share and it became necessary / vital for their existence (Zineldin,

2005). Moreover, due to the IT revolution, financial industry changed a lot. The ways in

which financial services were delivered to customers also transformed significantly.

Advancement in technology made one-to-one relationship with customers possible.

Therefore, implementation of CRM system became the top most priority for almost every

bank. According to Jarrar and Neelay (2002), total expenditure already spent on its

implementation by banks exceeds billions.

Geib et al. (2006) state that need of CRM in financial sector was recognized as a response to

dwindling customers‟ loyalty. According to the studies conducted by Korner and

Zimmermann (2000), there are three main factors which are as follow:

a. New Technological Opportunities – Due to nature of services provided by financial

sector, it was in their benefit to provide their services through different distribution

channels i.e. electronic channels. It helped their competitors to enter the market.

b. Increasing Competition from new markets entrants – As the new technological

opportunities have arrived coupled with the deregulation factor, financial sector has

become a global market place. Therefore, some non-banking sectors and / or near-

banking sectors have posed a threat to financial sector.

c. Customers ‘changing behavior – Customers of financial industry are increasingly

becoming aware as well as knowledgeable about every product and service.

Consequently, their expectations have become very high.

Another study conducted on banking sector states that some of the attributes of this sector

are different from other sectors e.g. for a manufacturing industry location, price, marketing,

advertisement etc might be important factors; but for banking sector efficiency in level of

service, accuracy in transaction, reporting and differentiation are important factors (Zineldin,

2005). Another advantage of CRM system implemented in the bank is calculating the value

analysis for each customer. Banks are able to focus on those customers who are more


profitable than others (Lindgreen and Antioco, 2005). According to the researchers, the

information “who buys what and how much” proved to be very vital and it changed the

organization‟s approach towards their customers. Banks have been able to retain their

customers and satisfaction level of the customers improved.

Research conducted by Reicheld and Teal (1996) have given explanation about value

analysis of customer and explained that why some customers are more important than others

on basis of profits earned from them. They conclude that customer retention is important in

this regard as cost of new customer is high. However, as the time passes by, costs start

decreasing and profitability from customer starts increasing. Therefore, retention is of

foremost importance.

With the help of internet technology coupled with CRM system, banks have been able to

enhance their capabilities (Gupta and Shukla, 2002). Many banks have changed their

marketing strategies and now offer their services via internet as well. Banks are promoting

the use of online accounts which also results in speedy transactions and cost reduction. In

2000, analysts predicted that CRM market for financial sector will continuously grow at the

rate of 20% (IDC, 2000). In Western Europe, out of total expenditure on IT in banking

sector, CRM constitutes around 6.5%. However, specifically within the CRM systems, IT

constitutes around 60% or more. Nevertheless, e-commerce has also resulted in more

complexities for CRM implementation. Gupta and Shukla (2003) state that while other

sectors have faced problems with CRM; its growth in financial sector is expected to grow

further.

2.5. Issues and Hurdles in Implementation of CRM Systems

Many research studies have been conducted in order to explore the issues which companies

face while taking CRM initiatives. Researchers have given different reasons for failure in

CRM success and barriers to its implementation. Some of the key issues addressed in

literature studies have been highlighted in this section.

According to Galbreath and Rogers (1999), when company plans to implement CRM

system; usually it requires a change in business processes of that company, installation of

new ICTs (hardware or software). Therefore, effective leadership is important. As leaders

are aware of the external environment, they can in the right position to set strategic direction

for CRM project initiative. In addition to it, as all the projects require effective

management, budgeting, control, monitoring of milestones and performance and deadline


issues; therefore, leaders play an important role in all these aspects as they have authority

and ability to control and manage these issues (Pinto and Selvin, 1987).

Girishankar (2000) suggested that while implementing CRM, organization should adopt a

holistic approach because CRM is not limited to one department of the company but reaches

into almost every aspect of the business. This approach considers CRM as the center of the

business. It integrates CRM system with those business processes which are customer

oriented. One of the main benefits of this approach is that organizations are able to maintain

coordination between different channels of customer communication and effectively manage

them. On the contrary, some conflicts between different channels have been identified

reported by researchers (Peppard, 2000). It should be noted here that customer experiences

vary according to channels being used by the customer.

Sourcing is another issue faced while implementing CRM. Most of the companies do not

have capabilities and resources for software development; therefore, they have to outsource

a major portion of their CRM solution. According to survey conducted, 60% of the projects

CRM projects failed which were developed by in-house department (MacSweeney, 2000).

One of the hurdles for in-house development can be timing issue. CRM software if

developed by an in-house department can be a lengthy process. Organizations give rewards

as a token of appreciation to those which perform quickly and efficiently (Howle, 2000).

One of the beneficial aspect of CRM is that it outsources many business processes directly to

customers which results in significant savings for organizations e.g. UPS self-tracking

system for customer is said to resulted in savings of US$164 million per annum (Hamm and

Hof, 2000). Similarly, internet banking or e-banking have also resulted in enormous savings

for banks as costs have reduced (Downes and Mui, 1998).

CRM should be able to identify transaction customers as well as relationship customers

(Peck et al., 1999). Transaction customers are those customers who have little loyalty

towards the organization and are highly volatile. Relationship customers are those customers

who have much more loyal and they are ready to pay premium price for the goods and

services being offered to them (Newell, 2000). All customers are not same and there is a

huge difference between a highly profitable customer and an average profitable customer

(Clemons, 2000). Profitable relationship with every customer is not possible. Moreover,

organizations nowadays target their customers with differentiated products and services.

This practice is already very common in financial sector e.g. insurance companies, banks

etc. Newell (2000) has categorized relationship customers in three different layers i.e. top,

middle and lower group. He states that the top group customers are top 10% customers.


They are very loyal and extremely profitable for the bank. CRM is required to deliver them

best possible services in order to retain them. Next 40-50% of the customers can be called as

middle group customers. They are profitable and have potential for growth and greater

loyalty towards the organization. CRM should focus on this group as this group can result in

significant revenue generation for the organization.

Bull (2003) states that CRM strategy plays in important role in its implementation. He says

that “CRM strategies are only effective if they deliver positive results”. A number of case

studies in this regard have been discussed by Newell (2000) in which CRM implementation

has positively impacted the profitability of the company. He concludes from the case study

of a company called “Blockbuster” which implemented a CRM called “Centre Stage”.

Company recognized that when customers come to buy a movie, their ability to get that

movie which is on the top of their list results in increased customer satisfaction. Therefore,

with the help of CRM system, data of customers was analyzed and a trend was recognized.

Stock management was done according to the prediction made by software. Company was

able to maintain its position as a market leader and they believed that it was due to CRM

system. If the CRM strategy is unable to impact on company’s profitability within a

reasonable time frame, then it can be concluded that CRM initiative is a failure.

Lack of knowledge about CRM is also another factor which can is highly associated with

failure of CRM projects. Most of the times, the strategic managers have little knowledge

about concept of CRM. Staffs of IT department and sales department are busy in their

routine work and often an external consultant is hired to evaluate the need for CRM system.

After the evaluation, CRM vendor selection process is started in which team members do not

participate actively and don‟t give their input. Moreover, staffs from different departments

are never given sufficient training so that they know what will be the implications of CRM

system on their business processes. Non-technical staff doesn‟t perceive it as a business

requirement and consider it as a technical issue. IT manager is not aware of full business

requirements and was concerned with technical side.

Project owners sometimes put enormous faith in vendor or supplier. They start trusting

highly on promises and assurances given by vendor.

Project implementation team has an important role to play in CRM implementation and it is

really important to choose a good team. What should be the criteria for choosing the

members of the implementation team? Team members are usually chosen randomly and

employees who are excluded feel undervalued.


Some employees feel that with the implementation of CRM, their skills would no longer be

required as CRM system would replace them. Therefore, some employees are not ready to

accept this change and resist it. Data migration is one of the important functions which

must be carried out effectively and efficiently. Data migration includes effective cleansing

and codification of customer data. Therefore, high commitment is required from team of

data migration unit. Sometimes, it can take longer than planned and results in delays.

Some of the key business requirements are identified after the purchase of software. As

the purchased software does not have those functionalities, employees don‟t appreciate the

significance of system. CRM software’s compatibility with other software(s) being used in

the company is also an issue. Consequently, company has to incur the cost of configuration

of software or ask the vendor to provide a new CRM package.

Nguyen et al. (2007) have also studied the barriers to CRM implementation (both pre-CRM

and post-CRM). According to the author, today management of the organizations are aware

of the fact that CRM is an important tool for their company which can help them in

achieving their goals. However, recognizing the benefits of CRM tools is one thing and

knowing the issues which can create trouble in applying it in their business is entirely

different. Therefore, management needs to know these factors depending on the extent to

which CRM applications will be applied in the business. Several problems have been

witnessed in its implementation at different stages i.e. Pre-CRM, during the implementation

and Post-CRM.

Some of the problems highlighted by Ramsey (2003) are as follow:

a. Lack of Definition – Sometimes the company‟s initiative towards CRM

implementation is due to the fact that other companies in the same industry / sector

have taken this step. Resultantly, management of the company is not clear about its

approach towards CRM and how will CRM be beneficial for it. In addition to it,

management is also unclear about the application of these systems on their business

processes. What changes will be required in order to get maximum benefit from

these systems.

b. Poor Leadership – Leadership plays one of the most important to role towards the

successful implementation of CRM systems. Ramsey (2003) states that

“management commitment of support and responsibility makes a major contribution

to success”. Leaders of the CRM team are often head of different departments of the


organization and they have little knowledge about the CRM systems and do not have

sufficient experience and a good strategic plan. Mostly, their focus remains on their

own department and their efforts to improve the business processes of their

departments are much more than efforts to improve the overall processes of the

organization. CRM is not only the installation of software or a system but it is a

strategic process due to which organizations are able to understand the needs of their

customers is a better way. Leaders of CRM often view it from a technical

perspective and not from a business perspective. Survey of all those organizations

where CRM project was a success indicates that it was primarily due to a “project

champion” (Nguyen et al., 2007).

c. Insufficient help from CRM vendors – It is one those factors on which

organizations often do not pay attention while implementation of CRM systems.

Vendors are those companies from which CRM system is purchased. Usually, they

only emphasize on those aspects which are related to the system and do not pay

attention to those aspects of CRM which are related to other important areas of

business. CRM should not only be viewed as a new tool for information retrieval. If

properly implemented and understood, it can help the organization to gain

competitive advantages over its competitors and result in better performance of the

company.

d. Disconnection of CRM vision and execution – A survey conducted in order to

measure success of CRM projects indicates that more than fifty percent of the

companies which implemented CRM witnessed difficulties after its implementation

(Zimmer, 2006). He states that most of the companies neither do sufficient research

before the implementing the system nor they plan it properly. As already mentioned,

CRM vision is business oriented i.e. how to improve the business processes of the

company using CRM so that customers and their needs can be understood in a better

way. On the other hand, its executive is often viewed as merely as installation of a

big software project.

Eid (2007) has also conducted a research study on successful implementation of CRM in

banks. He classified critical success factors in three major categories.

i. Strategic Factors – Strategic factors are those critical factors which “require a

significant change in the way in which business is being done” (Turban et al, 1999).

These factors play a crucial role in implementation of CRM as very early stage. As

the name suggests, they are related to the CRM strategy of the company. Some of


the strategic factors highlighted by Turban et al. (1999) are support from the top

management, culture of the organization, CRM strategy, clear objectives / vision /

scope.

ii. Tactical Factors – These are those factors which impact the CRM implementation

after the process has been initiated. These are related to medium-term planning stage

of CRM. In this stage, decisions are usually made by middle managers. Some of the

tactical factors are acceptance of CRM initiative by employees of the organization,

selection of CRM software, its integration with other systems used by the

organization or with previously deployed system, composition of CRM team and

technological hiccups (if any).

iii. Operational Factors – According to the researcher, these factors are less critical as

compared to the factors which have been highlighted in the above two categories.

These factors are primarily concerned with the operational side of implementation

processes rather than planning side. Some of the factors are CRM implementation

schedule, training to the employees, personalization for every user, data migration

and customer orientation.

The figure below gives an overview of key elements in CRM initiatives and implementation.

This has been developed by Bohling et al. (2006). They have focused both on hurdles

involved in CRM implementation as well as elements which are major indicators of

successful CRM implementation. Some of the indicators are given below:

i. Improvement in Customer Experience

ii. Deepening Relationship with Customers

iii. Retaining and Expanding share of existing customer base

iv. Increasing Customer Acquisition Rate

v. Increasing Customer Retention Rate

Apart from analyzing the critical success factors in implementation of CRM, it is also

important to consider the indicators for success because it is essential to determine the

criteria for success of CRM. If CRM implementation is any organization has resulted

positively by improving profitability or enhanced customers‟ experience or increased

customer retention rate then it can be considered as successful implementation of CRM

initiative.


In their research they also emphasized on CRM implementation issues. They mention that

top management’s attitude towards CRM is one of the most important factors. In addition to

it, resistance to change at various levels of organization is also a crucial factor.

Figure 2: Effective Implementation of CRM: An overview of Key Elements - Bohling et al. (2006)

Results of survey done by Kumar and Ramani (2004) in order to find out roadblocks to

CRM indicate three major factors. In that survey, all the respondents were asked to select a

single factor out of total 10 factors which in their opinion was the major hurdle in CRM

implementation. Those three factors are lack of resources necessary for implementation,

insufficient focus on change management and inadequate involvement by employees of

that organization.

Resistance to change by employees has also been highlighted by Gupta and Shukla (2002).

According to them, “change does not occur in isolation”. It needs commitment by employees

or team. CRM implementation will only be successful if it is done by people with high

commitment level. Another aspect is the understanding of what is going in entire

organization. Most of the employees do not understand the system in the larger perspective


and are only concerned with their jobs and group. If the system is visualized as a whole, it

would result in better results. First of all employee will see himself/herself as part of bigger

picture. They will know that how their work depends on the work done by staff who precede

them. Most importantly, they will know that how will their work affect that work of the

employees which are next in line. They will able to recognize the whole process or whole

chain which will ultimately have direct impact on customers of their organization.

Data mining and Data integration are also two main causes of CRM failure as mentioned

by Kale (2004). Data mining can be defined as the process where all the data from various

sources (departments or sections) is analyzed for future usage. On the other hand, data

integration is the combining or merging data from various departments or sections about one

customer in order to have a macro view of that customer. If this is successfully done then

employees will be having much more and accurate information about their customers which

will ultimately result in better quality of services being provided to them.


3. Chapter Three: Research Methodology

3.1. Introduction

This chapter contains the description of methodology adopted for this research study. It

starts with explanation of critical success factors and how to derive these factors.

Afterwards, two main research approaches have been defined. However, an inductive

approach has been chosen as the main skeleton of methodology. For this research, a case-

study analysis has been done as a strategy to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) in

implementation of CRM system as real-life scenario in financial sector of Pakistan. In the

last two sub-sections, techniques for data collection and data analysis have been given.

3.2. Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

In order to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) in implementation of CRM system, it

is important to define what the criteria for evaluating success of CRM initiatives are as well

as define exactly what critical success factors are.

Freund (1988) explored critical success factors (which are also known as “key success

factors”) in an insurance company and explained how that company has used them in order

to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in their business processes and planning. In his

research, he has also given a definition of CSFs given by a professor at MIT‟s Sloan School

of Business which is: “Those things that must be done if a company is to be successful”.

However, recently, managers have widened the scope of CSFs and also included external

factors in it. After this modification, CSFs can be defined as:

- Those factors which are imperative in achieving overall corporate objectives

- Those factors that must be controlled and measured by companies to which they are

being applied.

- These factors must be few in number as everything cannot be critical for company.

- These factors must be defined as process i.e. something which should be done. It is

not the end result of the process.

- These factors must be similar or uniform for all the companies within sector or

industry who has same corporate goals.

- These factors must be hierarchical in nature i.e. some are related to overall

organization and some are specifically related to one functional area.

CSFs can also be defined as the areas / departments within the organizations where “things

must go right”. If this happens then company can perform well within the competitive

environment. Conversely, if the outcomes in these areas / departments are not up to the


requirements, then the company will not be able to achieve its goals or targets (Rockart,

1979).

Freund (1988) states that although finding the CSFs is not a very difficult task; however,

sometimes these factors should not be confused with Key Performance Indicators (KPI). For

example, showing a 25% growth in top line of the company is a key performance indicator

i.e. measure of performance and is not a CSF. However, on the other hand, “clearly defining

the corporate objective” is a critical success factor. Companies consider the study or

exploration of critical success factors is an important step when launching a new product or

taking new initiative (Freund, 1988).

After defining what CSFs are, it is important to know how these factors are identified.

Freund (1988) has recommended a top-down approach in this regard. Each business unit will

be having their own CSFs. Integration of these will result in achievement of overall

objectives and goals. Researcher states that start with defining the overall objectives of the

business or firm. Then identify strategies. This process does not stop here. It should continue

up till goals and objectives or key functional areas within each business unit have been

identified. CSF methodology within the SMEs and large firms has been successfully

described as:

1. Identify the corporate mission, goals and objects. It will give an idea of success

factors required for success in business. In addition to it, strategies should also need

to be identified. After defining the overall company objectives, repeat the same

process for each business unit. Objectives, targets or goals identified for each

business unit contribute towards overall success of the firm.

2. CSFs for each component functional areas of every business unit should be

determined.

3. Strategies should be developed to strengthen the company‟s resources and remove

any weaknesses in each business unit. By doing so, management will be able to

focus on critical areas and will plan the efficient utilization of resources.

4. Develop the plan to evaluate or measure the performance i.e. some indictors should

be defined in order to know that everything is going in the right direction.

Sometimes, there is more than one indicator for each CSFs of business unit.

5. Finally, finalize the procedure for reporting.

Bullen and Rockart (1981) have also given five prime sources of determining CSFs. Brief

summary of these sources is given below:


a. Industry – Every industry has its own CSFs which are identifies by the

characteristic so of the industry. Therefore, each company should consider to these

aspect.

b. Industry Position and Competitive Strategy – As each company differs in size and

scale and has different position within the industry sector; therefore, CSFs can be

different for each firm according to their strategy in the competitive market. Authors

conclude that the position of the firm in their industry can dictate some CSFs e.g. a

critical factor for a firm in retail sector in a rural area can be transportation

management. However, for a retail firm in urban area, this factor might not be

critical.

c. Environmental Factors – Macro-environment of the firm play an important role in

defining the CSFs for a firm. Mostly, firms have no or little control over these

factors and they have to define, amend and implement their strategies according to

these factors. Two important CSFs common for every firm are fluctuations of the

economy and national politics.

d. Temporal Factors – these are the factors which can influence the company for a

limited time frame and their effect is very temporary. However, they can influence

in defining the CSFs for the firm i.e. there executive management of a firm dies in a

plane crash then a short-term CSF will be defined which will be rebuilding of

executive management.

e. Managerial Position – Every managerial position has its own set of CSFs according

to their business unit or functional domain.

Figure given below will give a better picture of determining CSFs:


Figure 3: From Corporate View Point (Bullen and Rockart, 1981)

It is apparent from the figure given above that at managerial level; only one set of CSFs can

be defined. On the other hand, from company‟s point of view, all the levels need to be

considered.

According to Rockart and Bullen (1981), there are four levels of CSFs hierarchy which

should be considered:

1. Industry CSFs

2. Corporate CSFs

3. Sub-Organization CSFs

4. Individual CSFs

It can be inferred that industry CSFs can play important role in defining the strategy. If the

company does not pay attention to industry CSFs while formulating their strategy, the

strategy is likely to fail. This strategy will become input for corporation and each company

will develop CSFs according to their own position. These corporate CSFs will in turn

become input for sub-organization CSFs and so on. In the end, each manager will define

individual CSFs according their own functional component. Managers will be having their

own set of CSFs on which individual CSFs and temporal CSFs can impact heavily. This

CSFs hierarchy is given the figure below.


Figure 4: The CSFs Hierarchy (Bullen and Rockart, 1981)

3.3. Research Approach

There are two paradigms in research i.e. quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research

involves measurement i.e. its data is in numbers, values, ratios etc. on the contrary,

qualitative approach also gathers data but not in mathematical terms. Data involved in this

research study is qualitative in nature because semi-structured interviews have been

conducted. Interviewing is the most commonly used technique for gathering data in

qualitative approach. Bryman (2001) states that qualitative approach for research gives

significance to words instead of gathering data and quantifying it. Qualitative strategy gives

a better way to find out the in detail meaning (Burns, 2000). Creswell (2003) is also

supportive of the view that in qualitative strategy claims are based on meaning derived from

number of multiple experiences of the individuals. Sometimes, these experiences make some

kind of pattern or trend which helps in development or extension of existing theory.

In addition to it, there are two main overarching methodologies to conduct research study i.e.

deductive approach and inductive approach. Deductive approach can be defined as an

approach in which one draws conclusion from existing theory. Research studies already

done by previous authors are reviewed critically and conclusions are drawn. After gathering

the data through questionnaires or interviews, it is refined in the light of conclusions drawn

from the existing theory (Zikmund, 2000).


On the other hand, in the inductive approach, first step is to gather data and subsequently

develop a theory which is based on the collected data (Saundars et al., 2000). Inductive

approach can also be defined at extraction of theory from data after being observed.

Deductive approach is from theories to findings but inductive is from observations to

theories (Bryman, 2001). It can also be explained in a different way i.e. both the

methodologies help in gaining of new knowledge; however, inductive reasoning differs from

deductive reasoning. Former is a theory building process where as the latter is process of

theory testing (Hyde, 2000).

Main research approaches have been defined above. However, it is important to adopt the

appropriate methodology with respect to research. It may be noted here that methodology is

not only approach or a path way for data collection and data analysis. In fact it is process by

which researcher reaches the conclusion and is successfully able to find the relevant answers

to the research question(s). In addition to it, sometimes some research approaches are not

compatible with the interests of researchers and some facts or ground realities. Therefore, it

helps in adaptability as different approaches can help to collect and analyze data in different

kinds of situations.

3.3.1. Inductive Approach

For this research, an inductive approach has been adopted. The main reason behind choosing

inductive methodology is that data which has been collected is qualitative in nature.

Although deductive approach could have also been adopted for this approach, but as there is

a lack of research conducted with context to Pakistani banking sector and amount of research

is not significant; therefore, inductive approach was most suitable for this study. As

mentioned above that this dissertation involves a case-study research, therefore, data was

collected and analyzed and from this analysis a theory has been derived. Some specific

observations related to that case-study were made and generalized.

Inductive approach has also been referred to as bottom-up approach. Before concluding

anything, identification of some patterns is done through analysis of the gathered / collected

data. According to Graziano and Raulin (2004), inductive approach is the one in which a

researcher first makes observations and then concludes. The following diagram will help in

understanding this approach and will depict the difference between the two approaches.


Figure 5: Research Processes (Kovács and Spens, 2005)

It can be concluded from the diagram above that in deductive theoretical framework is made

from the prior literature while in the inductive existing theoretical knowledge is derived

from the prior research. However, real-life observations become the basis for the main

framework.

3.3.2. Case Study Analysis

Case-study research is a strong method to conduct research. It is used to understand and look

at complex problems. It is beneficial when in-depth understanding and investigation of any

issues is required. Recognition of case-study methodology increased due to the fact that

researchers felt that quantitative methods had many limitations and they were unable to do

in-depth analysis of many complex problems. Case-study analysis helps the researchers not

only in quantitative analysis but also identify the results through actor‟s perspective.

Yin (1984:23) has defined case study research approach as “an empirical inquiry that

investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries

between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of

evidence are used”.

Some researchers have criticized this approach as well. They argue that this tool lacks

robustness. Therefore, it is important for the researcher to carefully design the framework of


case studies in order to conduct a high-quality research. For this purpose, both single-case or

multiple-case framework can be designed. It is important to mention here that in case where

there is no option for multiple-case studies; researchers can go for single-case study.

However, one of the drawbacks of single-case study method is its lack of ability to present a

generalizing conclusion. However, this can be overcome by integration of this method with

other methods to verify the strength of process. On the other hand, multiple-case design is

adopted where there is more than one source of data. Yin (1994) states that findings from

case-study (whether single or multiple) are based on theory rather than on quantitative basis.

Tellis (1997) states that designing the framework for case-study analysis is very important.

Therefore, this method should be able to prove the following things:

- This method is the only practicable or feasible method to draw out the data from

source.

- This method is correct according to the research question.

- This method has a certain set of steps which are properly applied.

- Conventions used in social sciences are followed.

- Case-study is linked to the theoretical framework.

There are three types of categories of case-study as stated by Yin (1984) which are

a. Exploratory – In this type of case-studies, research explores facts in the data and

these facts are of the main interest for the researcher. For example i.e. if a person is

doing his research on reading process of an individual then he may ask this question

“Does he / she use any strategy for reading?” These types of questions become the

basis for getting into further inspection of the phenomenon.

b. Descriptive – This type of case-studies explain the natural facts or phenomenon

which occur within the data in question e.g. question can be from a reader that what

strategy does he / she use for reading and how do he/she use these strategies?

Primary objective of the researcher is to describe the data as it comes about.

c. Explanatory – This type of case-study analyses the data in depth in order to explain

the facts in the data. Research can ask the question from the individual that why he /

she uses a specific kind of strategy for reading. After getting the data, researcher can

form a theory.

McDonough and McDonough (1997) have also described two other forms of case-studies

which are evaluative and interpretive. Zaidah (2007) describes these two as “through


interpretive case studies, the researcher aims to interpret the data by developing conceptual

categories, supporting or challenging the assumptions made regarding them. In evaluative

case studies, the researcher goes further by adding their judgment to the phenomena found

in the data”.

As CRM is recent concept and is still in emerging stages; therefore, it will be better if this

concept and its implementation issues are seen and interpreted in a real-life context. In order

to do so, case-study analysis seems to be the best approach so that facts can be derived from

the data collected and analyzed in the proper way. A banking organization (“Faysal Bank

Limited”) has been chosen. Primary reason behind choosing this organization was recent

implementation of Customer Relationship Management System (called SYMBOLS) in the

aforementioned bank.

Faysal Bank Limited is a medium size bank which is operating in Pakistan since last two

decades. It is a subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain. It entered Pakistan as a foreign bank

and later on acquired license from State Bank of Pakistan in 1996. It offers all kinds of

products and services which a bank offers ranging from bank accounts to loans (i.e.

corporate, small & medium enterprise, consumer etc). It has currently more than 120

branches in Pakistan. It also offers Islamic banking products.


3.4. Data Collection

3.4.1. Interviews

The primary source of data in this research study is interview. Gubrium and Holstein (2002)

have aptly put is as “we are part of interview society”. According to them, interviewing

nowadays, in qualitative research, is the most used way of data collection. It has a lot of

advantages of the researchers.

Kings and Horrocks (2010) have given some characteristic of qualitative research interviews

which are as follow:

Interview Characteristics Advantages of Qualitative Research Interview

Style of questioning

1. Main emphasis of the interview is on personal

experiences of interviewees

2. It tries to build a relationship with the

interviewee

3. It is open-ended

Power Dynamics

1. Interviewer is most commonly in more

powerful position. However, interviewee

reserves the right to withdraw anytime

2. Qualitative interviews always attempt to reduce

the power disparity.

Visibility

1. It is always expected that these interviews will

be highly confidential and anonymity is

expected.

After framing the research question of the study, main task to conduct successful research is

defining your sample. Contrary to quantitative studies where sampling statistically

represents the population and is of core importance; qualitative research does not has

sampling strategies like quantitative research. Most common decisive factor for choosing a

sample for interviewing is “diversity”. Main aim of the researchers is to interview those

people who represent to research topic from different angles and different aspects. This

sampling strategy will only be effective if choice of aspects is correct. However, it also

depends of the practical constraints e.g. if the researcher is conducting 10 interviews; it will

be unwise to take categorize the sample in five different aspects. Apart from the above,

recruiting the participants is also an important task of designing research framework.


Interviewer should be able to get access to the appropriate participants who can provide the

correct information on research question.

For the purpose of this research study, nine (09) semi-structured interviews were conducted.

Interviewees were the members of the team which implemented that CRM system in the

bank recently. They had gained hands-on experience of the same. This team implemented

the system throughout the branch network and had faced all kinds of hiccups which occurred

during the project. The questions asked from them were derived after carefully reviewing the

existing literature on CRM implementation. Keeping view the narrow scope of the research,

questions asked in the interviews were mainly experience and opinion questions. Interviews

were conducted on telephone and all the interviews were recorded. Please note that although

“Urdu” is the national language of Pakistan, official language is English. Therefore,

interviews were conducted partially in English as well as in Urdu. However, all the main

concepts and terms expressed by the interviewees while sharing their experiences were in

English.

It is pertinent to mention here that interview guide was not strictly followed as it was defined

and made initial stages. Kings and Horrocks (2010) have strongly supported the idea that

interview guide can be changed during the course of study and it is generally advisable. It is

because the prime objective of interviews is to bring out experiences of the participants e.g.

after conducting the first interview, if the interviewer notes that a probe questions was

overlooked initially and it is important for the study to it can be added to the interview

questions and can be asked from the latter interviewees. Moreover, if an interviewer feels

that a new aspect has emerged out which was not found in literature researched for this

study, it can also be added and interview guide can be adapted.

Therefore, it becomes the basis for emerging concepts / scripts and evolving theory. It

means that as soon as the new concepts emerge from the interview, researcher does not

strictly follow the interview guide but adapts to the changing concepts and theory keeps

evolving. Two examples for this have been given in the findings section.

Emerging scripts

Evolving theory

As already mentioned above, interview questions were made after critical analysis of the

literature. Interview questions have been attached with this dissertation as appendix.

Interview questions were of two main categories i.e. triggering questions and follow-up

question. Triggering questions were the main questions which were asked from the


interviewers to start the discussion. Follow-up questions asked in response to their answer (if

required).

3.5. Data Analysis

To analyze the data collected through interviews, thematic analysis was done. It is “a method

for identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) within data” (Braun and Clarke,

2006). After thematic analysis, concept maps were made following the guidelines provided

by Braun and Clark (2006). In the next two sections, brief descriptions about thematic

analysis and concept maps have been given.

3.5.1. Thematic Analysis

King and Horrocks (2010) define themes as

“Themes are recurrent and distinctive features of participants’ account, characterizing

particular perceptions and/or experiences, which the researcher sees as relevant to the

research question”.

There are three principles of thematic analysis:

1. Identifying themes – There is no specific definition for a theme. However, researcher

after conducting interviews looks for the relevant data i.e. looks for the data which

must be included.

2. Repetition – Themes are always repetitive. Researcher always finds some degree of

repetitions in the themes.

3. Distinct – Themes are distinct from each other. However, in some cases,

overlapping to some extent may be observed.

Langdridge (2004) in his study has given some basic guidelines for thematic analysis. He

has subdivided it in three stages which are as follow:

1. Descriptive coding – after reading through the interview scripts, relevant material is

highlighted and brief “descriptive codes” are assigned to them. This process is

repeated for each transcript. A section of text may have more than one descriptive

code.

2. Interpretive coding – In this stage, researcher gives his/her own interpretation of

meaning. All the descriptive codes which have common meaning are grouped

together and a new interpretative code is assigned.

3. Defining overarching themes – In this stage overarching themes are formed based on

key concepts of analysis. Their basis is interpretative themes.


After the above tasks have been completed, quality of qualitative analysis is assessed. It can

be assessed with wide range of techniques like independent coding and expert panels,

respondent feedback etc. (Oxtoby et al., 2002). In the end a report on thematic analysis is

written. It is not just writing the description of themes or their contents. According to Braun

and Clark (2006), it is a narrative which should encompass that how your findings throw

light on the research topic. Apart from thematic analysis, we will also be using concept

maps. As defined by Novak and Canas (2008), concept maps are graphical tool or

representation of knowledge linked with each other to show relationship between them.

These maps are presented in hierarchical fashion with most general concepts on the top of

the hierarchy and specific in the bottom.

Boyatzis (1998) defines themes are patterns or trends which are found in data. He also

describes four steps for using this analysis i.e. sensing the themes, reliability in doing it,

developing the codes and understanding the information.

Peng and Nunes (2010) have also followed the guidelines provided by Braun and Clarke

(2006) to conduct thematic analysis. Five different stages have been given in their journal

articles which are as follow:

Figure 6: Five Stages of Thematic Analysis (Peng and Nunes, 2010)


3.5.2. Concept Maps

After doing the thematic analysis, concepts map was developed. Maxell (1996) states that

concept map is a powerful tool. It helps in developing and clarifying the theory efficiently.

Basic idea of concept maps is to present the data in the form of a picture with each node

representing each concept and all the nodes connected with each other through a

relationship. Kinchin et al. (2010) state that concept mapping play a vital role in qualitative

research due to its ability to show relationships and patterns within the data.

Interviews being an important method for data collection enable the researcher to gather data

even in complex situations. It helps in understanding and conceptualizing the difficult

situation by focusing on the problem through interviewee‟s perspective i.e. how he or she

(the interviewee) conceptualizes the situation. Relationships between different concepts are

identified through thematic analysis and a map in constructed by put together all the

concepts and linking them together. This helps in a strong analysis of the data collected.

Following diagram shows the framework adopted for this research study:

Literature

Review

Identification of

main areas in

CRM

Preparing

questions for

Interviews

Conduct

Interviews

Thematic

Analysis &

Concept Maps

Theory Building

Figure 7: Research Framework


3.6. Limitations

This research study has few limitations. Firstly, the results of this research study have been

derived by analyzing only one case-study. This was mainly due to two factors i.e. time

constraints and inability to find more organizations in selected country which implemented

the system. Therefore, when conclusions are derived from single case study, they face

difficulty in generalization and study is also exposed to criticism (Zainal, 2007). It can also

be said that results and conclusions from a single case study cannot be held to be

representative for other cases (Bryman, 2008).

Due to time constraints, only nine interviews were conducted. Some of interviewees were

from middle management and some of them were team members. More interviews could

have been conducted if there was ample time. In addition to it, another major limitation of

this study was inaccessibility to the top management official who was important member of

the implementation team of CRM system in the selected organization and had resigned. He

was heading the entire implementation project. However, interviews from one of the team

leaders conducted which mitigated the effect of this limitation to some extent.

Apart from the above, this study did not have any method to validate the results and findings

to test the correctness of the critical success factors identified.

3.7. Ethical Issues

As this research involved interviews with employees of an organization, therefore, ethical

issues were considered and some steps were taken in order to ensure that this study meets the

ethical standards of the university. Firstly, university research ethics form was filled and

submitted to the University and this was classified as low risk research.

The issue of privacy and confidentiality of data which was gathered through interviews was

considered as the main issue. Interviewees‟ concern for anonymity was considered very

carefully. Therefore, all the information (i.e. data from interviews, name of interviewees)

remained anonymous. Moreover, organization and interviewees were assured that research

conducted is solely for academic purposes and confidentiality of data will not be

compromised at any cost.


4. Chapter Four: Findings

In this chapter findings from the analysis of data collected through interviews have been

presented. As per methodology defined in chapter 3; themes have been identified using the

thematic analysis and then concept map has been made. Questions asked in the interview

have been attached with this dissertation as appendix „A‟. Please note that findings from the

interviews have been divided into multiple sub-sections (themes list) according to critical

success factors (CSFs) derived. This theme list will help in creating a concept map which

will show that what kind of relationships exists between these factors and how are they

related. In the discussion section, these findings have been synthesized with literature

review.

4.1. List of Themes

Below the list of themes along with sub-themes is being presented. Please note that each

main theme represents a Critical Success Factor (CSF) which has been identified from the

analysis of the data. Themes, as already mentioned above, are the factors which are common

i.e. a pattern or trend was figured out during the analysis of the interviews.

4.1.1. Theme 1 – Support from Top Management

- Support from Top Management

o Formation of Project Steering Committee

Inclusion of departmental head from all domains

Understanding of Project at all levels

o Accessibility i.e. top management should be accessible

o Constant Support till the end of project

o Constant monitoring of implementation progress

Flexibility

o Motivate the team

Rewards and Incentives

Direct Interaction with the team

From the analysis of the interviews, it was observed that support from top management was

an important factor in implementation of CRM system. All interviewees were of the view

that no project can succeed if the top management of an organization is not supportive to

CRM team. As per interviewee # 03:

“… as the implementation of CRM systems is not a short-

term project and takes years to implement it depending

upon the size of the bank; therefore, it is necessary that


implementation team gets constant support from the top

management executives through the project life.”

Other interviewees were also of the same view. One of the interviewee who was directly

involved in the implementation told that during the implementation of CRM system in their

organization, top management formed a committee which was called as Project Steering

Committee. This committee took a leading position in the project. It included most of the

department heads of the organization. Head of this committee was Country Head of

Information Technology Department. He was one of the most senior executives of the banks

and was directly reportable to the Chief Executive. Apart from the above, he had extensive

and thorough knowledge of banking products and business processes. Interviewee # 07 said

that

“It is extremely necessary that the person heading the

project steering committee should have extensive knowledge

of banking products and procedures. As CRM project is not

just implementation of software and requires business

process re-engineering; therefore, thorough knowledge of

both business and IT side becomes necessary.”

According to another interviewee, it was noticed that some of the departmental heads in

project steering committee always looked at this project merely as implementation of

software. Therefore, real understanding of CRM initiative at all levels in their opinion was

mandatory.

Accessibility was also one of the sub-factors which were considered important by many

interviewees. Some of the interviewees were of the opinion that apart from the support

required from the top management, accessibility was also one the issues which could result

in serious delays in the project. For instance, there comes a situation when implementation

team faces problems and either intervention from top management is required or their

approval is required. At that time, if the senior executives are not accessible then it can result

in significant delays in project. Interviewee # 1 told us that

“Their team was fortunate because head of project steering

committee was always accessible. He had allowed the team

to call him or email him any time in case any clarification

or approval was required.”


It was also informed by the interviewees that accessibility was the most evident factor from

which they felt that they have got constant support from top management. Interviewee # 08

while sharing his experiences from his previous implementation project said that

“… usually when the project starts, everybody is excited

about the initiative. As soon as the time progresses, interest

of top management starts decreasing and after some time

they start becoming frustrated as they always expect

immediate results. It should be kept in mind these types of

projects require significant time to get implemented. Hence,

patience and constant support is necessary.”

Constant monitoring of project by top management committee was deemed necessary by

some interviewees. In their opinion, it was necessary because it would keep a pressure on the

implementation team as well as provide an evidence of their interest in the project. For this

purpose, project steering committee used to hold meeting on fortnightly basis in order to

monitor the progress of the project. Another important outcome of this meeting was to get

approval from committee regarding any deviation (if required) from the original schedule.

Interviewee # 06 said that flexibility was also one of the issues which their teams witnessed

during the entire project. According to her, project steering committee was not very flexible

and this resulted in creating a lot of stress on most of the member of implementation team

which also hampered their performance.

Interview with one of the team leaders in implementation was also conducted. According to

him, keeping team members motivated was the key factor. Motivation was prime factor

which could directly improve the performance of implementation team. He (interviewee #

09) said that

“Direct interaction of top management executives can

motivate the employees. They feel good and motivated when

CEO or Head of Project Steering Committee comes and

directly talks to them about the progress of the project. This

also boosts their confidence.”

In addition to the above factor, rewards and incentives also contributed towards

enhancement in morale of the team members. He informed that although the top

management promised rewards (like annual bonuses, promotions etc) but these promises

were never fulfilled by them.


4.1.2. Theme 2 – Culture of the organization

- Culture of Organization

o Top management attitude

Supportive

o Middle management attitude

Mixed attitude towards project

Reluctance to view the project as a step ahead in positive direction

by some of the managers

o End users‟ attitude

End-users resistance to change

Age factor

Comfort zone

Fear of unknown

Fear of losing job

word of mouth

Technophobia

According to the interviewees, culture of the organization was also a major factor which

could impact the progress of CRM project during implementation phase. When talking about

their experiences, it was noticed that majority of interviewees divided it within three

different categories mentioned above. While talking about their experience during

implementation the project, they noticed that overall the culture was not very supportive.

As already mentioned above, attitude of the top management executives was very positive

and supportive. Primary reason behind that all the executives were mainly sitting at Head

office of the bank and were part of the discussion which was held before finalizing the

decision to take this initiative. Consequently, they were aware of the benefits and advantages

of this project.

It was observed that interviewees had mixed views about the attitude of the middle

managers towards this project. Some of the interviewees said that middle managers did not

see it as positive step. Interviewee # 02 said that

“Some of the middle managers were of the view that it was

a waste of resources and human efforts. According to them

the old system was perfectly fine and bank could have

opened more branches with these funds which were being

spent on this project.”


According the interviewee, these managers were mainly from those regions which were not

present in the head office‟s radius. Keeping in view the weakness of old system, they were

able to manipulate some of the data in reports submitted to head office on daily basis.

On the other hand, in the opinion of interviewee # 05, some of the middle managers despite

of the region in which they were working welcomed this step undertaken by the bank. He

said that

“These managers were aware of the advantages and

functionalities which will be provided by the system. They

were happy because they hoped that it will end the

duplication of work. Moreover, they will be able to

efficiently serve their customers.”

After the analysis of the interviews, it was observed that a lot of resistance was faced by

implementation team and mainly it was from the end users. According to interviewee # 01

“It is one aspect of human nature that they show resistance

to change. We were already prepared for that and luckily

we have enormous support from the top management.”

Many interviewees were of the opinion that resistance was related to the age factor. In their

view, all the employees who were above the age of 45 years showed resistance. They were

not happy this initiative. According to interviewee # 04,

“Employees do not want to come out of their comfort zone.

Apart from it, as this project requires business process re-

engineering, therefore, they are not willing to change those

procedures according to which they have been working

throughout their career.”

Interviewee # 09 (i.e. team leader) told us that young employees who had started their career

few years ago in back office were not resistant to this change. They welcomed it and viewed

as a step in right direction primarily due to the fact that it will reduce a lot of burden on them

i.e. daily reporting which was manually done after manual extraction of data from the old

system. They were ready to adapt themselves according to new business procedures.

Another reason which is related to age factor was technophobia. Elderly employees were

not very comfortable with computers‟ and software usage. Interview # 06 told that before


using the software, some employees had made up their mind that they will not be able to use

this high-tech software. He further elaborated that

“… and this did not stop here; these employees created a

discourse through word of mouth about the complexity of

the system being implemented.”

Another interesting reason noticed about the resistance was fear of losing job. Some of the

employees thought that this CRM system will automate any business processes and they

might lose their jobs. This was primary reason behind their non-supportive attitude.

Interviewees were also asked to tell about the steps that were taken by the implementation

team members to counter resistance from the employees. It was observed that no significant

step was taken to reduce this resistance. Neither any sort of presentation was given to the

employees so that they are aware of the advantages of this CRM system. The employees

were just asked to look at the positive aspect of this implementation and were told

advantages. However, middle managers were tackled in a different manner. If middle

managers were really creating problems then this was reported to senior management and

action was taken against those managers (Interviewee # 02).

4.1.3. Theme 3 – CRM Strategy

- CRM Strategy

o Clarity of Vision and Scope

Focus on reasons why this initiative was taken

Un-realistic objectives

o Developed by Project Steering Committee

Awareness of importance of CRM by all top members

Input from all departmental heads

Key members of implementation team to be included in formation

of the strategy

Formulating an effective strategy is necessary for any project. Interviewees considered that

an effective strategy can play a vital role in implementation of CRM systems. On the other

hand, a poorly formulated strategy can result in failure of the project. It was observed that

there existed clarity in the vision. Top management was aware of the objective to be

achieved by the bank. Interviewee # 09 who was inducted into the team when this decision

was not even finalized told us that


“Primary objective was centralization. Before the

implementation of Symbols, data centre of every branch

was saved at its own location and it was not very safe from

security point of view. Moreover, reporting in previous

system (IBS) was inefficient. Therefore, centralization was

of the core importance.”

Apart from the above, interviewees also said that all the objectives should be realistic and

should be defined according to resources and capabilities of the organization (which will be

elaborated in the next theme).

It was also observed that the strategy was formulated by project steering committee but

with minimal involvement of the implementation team. Some interviewees said that during

the implementation phase they felt that had they been the part of strategy formulation

process, some of the difficulties may have not occurred e.g. user acceptance test (which will

be described in the last theme). Additionally, there are also many probable problems which

can only be forecasted by team members of implementation side therefore it becomes

necessary for to have their input during the strategy making process.

Implementation team was of the view that primary purpose of including most of the

departmental heads in project steering committee was to create awareness of this project.

They expected that this will result in creating awareness in their respective departments.

However, this did not happen as evident from the resistance faced by the implementation

team especially from some of the middle managers (as already discussed above).

Another critical aspect which was observed during the project was non-participation of

business heads during the strategy formulation phase. Interview # 06 said that

“Although departmental heads were part of project steering

committee but participation from some of them was minimal

and they realized its importance after the project was

completed as some of the functionalities required by them

were not available.”

Interviewees told us that some of the business heads were repeatedly requested to give their

input during the initial phases but they were always busy in their own work and did not give

any importance to this project.


4.1.4. Theme 4 – Resources and Capabilities

- Resources and Capabilities

o Finances

Proper budgeting

Cushion for cost-overruns

o Human Resources

CRM implementation Team

New Hiring

Not familiar with business processes of organization

o Infrastructure

Computers

Bandwidth

Servers / Mainframes

After conducting the interviews, it was observed that resources and capabilities were

considered the most important and critical factors by implementation team. They all were

of the view that if lack of resources and capabilities of a firm can seriously hamper the CRM

initiative even if other things are going right. Three sub-themes were identified within the

main themes which have been given above. Detail of each sub-theme is given below.

A CRM initiative requires lot of resources. This is not limited to funds only but also a lot of

human resources are involved. However, the first and foremost factor is budget. CRM

system implementation requires a lot of funds. Therefore, proper budgeting must be done

before initiating the project. Not only proper budgeting is essential but there should a pool

of extra-funds which can be useful in case of things go out of control in terms of cost.

Interviewee # 09 said that

“… apart from the budget allocated for CRMS, top

management should also have a cushion of cost overruns

because it usually happens that some of the important

things are overlooked during the planning phase. Keeping

in view the importance of these forgotten things, they need

to be incorporated and increase the overall cost of the

project.”



“No budget or financial plan is perfect and as the time

progresses, financial models are amended according to

needs identified afterwards.”


“Cost overruns in these kinds of project are a normal

phenomenon.”

During the interviews, it was observed that the organization faced massive cost-overruns

during the implementation of the projects. Different interviewees gave different reasons for

the same. Some said that it was due to increased requirements from the bank and some said

that it resulted due to more hardware requirements which have been discussed below. When

the interviewees were asked that what in their opinion the reason for poor financial planning

was; they chose not to answer.

Apart from the financial resources, human resources are also vital for the implementation of

CRM system. Two main sub-factors identified are CRM team which is actually responsible

for the implementation of CRM system. Other is the hiring of new staff for this purpose.

Keeping in view the importance of CRM implementation team and its critical nature; it has

been explained below as a separate theme.

Another important aspect of human resources is new hiring. Some of the interviewees while

expressing their opinions were against the new hiring for CRM implementation team. It is

important to mention here that this was one of the two factors which were not found in the

literature reviewed for this study. This is the first example of emerging script. When one of

interviewees expressed that their experience with newly hired staff was not very good then

this question was asked from all other remaining interviewees.

They were of the view that the bank recruited new staff for this implementation. However,

newly hired staff was not familiar with the procedures and business processes of the banks

and therefore was unable to contribute anything significant.


“Keeping in view that most of the products offered by our

bank were Islamic banking products; therefore, newly hired

staff for implementation was not familiar with the products

and business process of an Islamic bank. Moreover, there

wasn’t enough time to provide them with the knowledge of


Islamic banking products. Hence, they couldn’t contribute

much.”

Third aspect of this theme is the infrastructure which is required and necessary for efficient

implementation of CRM system. Almost every interviewee said that initially implementation

team thought their infrastructure was enough with few additions which were to be done.

However, after the test run of software in central regions (with highest number of branches),

it was concluded that they require more bandwidth for their network. Apart from increasing

the network limitations, RAM of computers was recognized as deficient for smooth running

of this software.


“During the last phase of implementation, it was realized

that as the latest software is Graphical User Interface

(GUI) based and requires more RAM for smooth running,

therefore, RAM of every PC through country-wide branch

network was increased.”

This not only affected the scheduled time line of the projected but also resulted in cost-

overruns. Moreover, main frames which were supposed to be bought from Sun as Symbols is

java based software were not acquired from Sun. It also took more time in configuration of

IBM servers with CRM software. When asked the reason for not buying main frames from

Sun, Interviewee # 02 said that

“Selection of main frames / servers was done on the basis

of personal liking rather than on merit basis / as advised by

vendors.”

4.1.5. Theme 5 – CRM Implementation Team

- CRM implementation Team

o Selection of right team members

o Criteria for selection should be defined

o Mixture of both IT and Business sides employees

Though importance of human resources has been discussed but CRM implementation team

has been separated and made a main theme keeping in view its importance. It was observed

that all the interviewees were explicit about the formation of proper CRM implementation

team which plays an important role as they are the one who actually execute the plan.


It can be inferred from the analysis of the interviews that a good team is essential for

successful implementation of CRM system. Interviewees are asked about that what in their

opinion definition of a good team was. Interview # 02 said that

“A good team comprises of mixed talent i.e. it has

individuals with different backgrounds e.g. business side

(front office as well back office), IT side etc.”

It was observed that almost all the interviewees had same criteria for selection of the team

member for implementation phase.

Interview # 09 (team leader) said that

“Main deciding factor for inducting an employee in

implementation team was knowledge of business processes

of the department in which they were working.”

Another observation related to formation of team is that head office requested all the

departmental heads to forward the name of at least two employees which in their opinion has

substantial work experience in the organization as well as thorough knowledge of business

process and products. Therefore, there is also a slight chance that selection of employees was

not on basis of merit and dependant on employee‟s relationship with their immediate boss.

Additionally, it was not essential for the employee to have excellent computer skills to be

inducted into implementation team as they were mainly representing business side.

It was also observed from interviews of some team members that not all departmental heads

of business side send the name of their employees.

Interview # 07 said that

“A team should have people from business side as well IT

side. Not all the business sides (particularly loans &

advances side) participated in the team formation. Two

guys from credit back office were selected and in their

opinion it was sufficient.”

It has been mentioned above as well that some of these departments which did not

contributed towards team formation repented afterwards because some of essential

profitability reports required by them were not available. Interviewees were also asked that


was this reported to top management team or project steering committee. As per Interview #

05

“It was reported to project steering committee; however, it

was a miscalculation on part of individuals responsible for

team formation as they thought had representation from

credit back office will be sufficient.”

This resulted in absence of some functionalities required by credit department and according

to interviewees these profitability reports are still being generated manually by strategic

development department from extracting data from the database.

4.1.6. Theme 6 – Selection of Vendor and Software

- Selection of Vendor and Software

o Evaluation of Different Software Packages

External consultants

In-house evaluation

o Functionalities

o Budget

o Requirements from regulators

o Evaluation of Different Vendors

o Maintenance by vendor

o Legal Aspect

It was observed that selection of software and vendor are also important critical factors

which are also dependant on each other. It requires a lot of resources of a bank. First and

foremost question asked from the interviewees was to explain the criteria for selection of

software as well vendor. There were many factors on which selection depended which have

been given in the theme list above. However, functionalities and cost were two main

deciding factors.

Interview # 01 said that

“As the old system was a distributed system and not

centralized therefore, centralization was the primary goal.

Moreover, we wanted an operational CRM system within

agreed budget.”


Interviewees also stated that there were some requirements from regulatory authority (i.e.

State bank of Pakistan) as well which were also kept in mind while looking that

functionalities and specifications of the systems. Nevertheless, it was noted that no

professional consultants were hired for the evaluation of different CRM systems. Some of

the vendors (from Singapore, Switzerland and India) were asked to give presentations at

head office and they were told the requirements the bank. However, it can be deduced that

bank explicitly told its requirements to the vendors.

Another important factor was post-implementation maintenance issues. Initially, vendor

was selected keeping in view this factor. Selection committee uprightly rejected Temenos

T24 because they were not fully involved in the implementation of the system. Besides,

maintenance was being done by their representatives (NDC) in Pakistan. In their view, post-

implementation maintenance was an important aspect which should be kept in mind while

deciding. Interviewee # 06 said that

“Keeping in view the limited budget constraints of the bank,

top management liked that software developed by the Indian

vendors. However, keeping in view the relations between

the two countries and difficulties in visa process,

management was of the view that it may cause of problem

in future. Hence, options were very limited.”

It was also noted from the interviewees of some candidates that final decision was not fully

made on basis of merit. Personal choice of some of the top management executives was

main reason behind selection of implemented CRM system.

Another example of the emerging script is legal aspect. It was an important aspect which

was not considered at that time was the legal aspect of the contract whoever in interviewees‟

opinion it can significantly reduce the cost of the CRM system of the bank and can result in

many benefits. Please note that this aspect could not be found in literature studies reviewed

for this research study. Therefore, while conducting interview, when it this new aspect was

noted then this question was asked from all the other remaining interviewees.

As per Interview # 04:

“… apart from the basic functionalities which were being

provided by the CRM system, some more reports and

functionalities were essential which were recognized during

User Acceptance Test (UAT). Also, some of business


processes in banking sector of Pakistan were different and

some modifications were required. After entertaining some

of the requests, vendors started charging the bank $450 per

man per hour for modifications. It was too costly and

management was getting frustrated. Therefore, due to

limited budget constraints, project steering committee only

paid for those modifications of those functionalities which

were extremely necessary. This is also one of the reasons

due to which some reports required by the credit

department were not requested as it was decided that it can

be done by bank itself manually.”

According to interviewees, all these modifications resulting due to regulatory requirements

or banking sector norms of Pakistan should have been incorporated as maintenance issues

while negotiating and signing of the contract with vendors. However, these were charged by

the vendors as customization requests.

4.1.7. Theme 7 – Training to End users

- Training to end users

o Proper Training

Content of training

Right Trainers

To be given to all staff members especially to middle managers

o Proper Time of training

Just before or soon after implementation

o User-manuals

User-guides

Another important theme recognized during the interviews was training. Interviewees

considered training to end users a mandatory requirement. In their view it helped to break

the barrier of resistance to change and fear of unknown. Three sub-themes were identified

from the interviews which have been given above.

Firstly, content of the training should be correct. It should not be very theoretical but it

should be telling the end users the advantages of the system and how will they benefit from

its usage.



Many employees who got the training changed their

opinions about the CRM initiative and were really looking

forward towards implementation completion.”

Another aspect of training apart from content was the trainers. Effective training also

depends on upon the right trainers. For this purpose, some of the senior members of

implementation team were chosen who have command and full knowledge of the project.


“Trainers should understand that their audience does not

have any idea about the project. Therefore, it is necessary

to make things interesting for them. For this purpose,

training sessions were not only presentations on CRM

systems but also a practical experience by working on

computers and using the latest software.”

Some of interviewees were of the view that training for middle managers should have been

given in the first place so that they can pass on the useful information about the project to

their junior employees. This would have been resulted in reducing resistance from the end

users.

Almost all the interviewees admitted that a major mistake committed by the training team

was the timings at which the training was conducted in some regions. After the successful

test run of software at first branch of in the south region, training schedule was finalized.


“It wasn’t expected that data migration and cleansing in

central and north region will delay the implementation

process by eight weeks. As soon the teams reached these

regions for implementation, training sessions were already

being conducted for those employees. On the other hand,

implementation process stopped as data was first cleaned

and then migrated. It delayed the whole process by eight

weeks. By the time, implementation process completed,

majority of staff had forgotten the training content.”


Interviewees also told us that in order to reduce the effect of this not-very-useful training,

implementation team members were asked to make user guides about all the procedures so

that end user can consult in case of any ambiguity or clarification.

4.1.8. Theme 8 – Implementation Schedule

- Implementation Schedule

o To be made Implementation team with the help of vendor

o Should be realistic

o Ideally after User Acceptance Test (UAT)

o Data migration / cleansing

Lastly, implementation schedule was also viewed as an important factor by interviewees.

According to them, while making implementation schedule, all the team members from

different departments should be allowed to participate especially IT team members who are

responsible for many installations related to software as well as hardware.

According to interviewees, implementation plan should be made with the help of vendors

and should ideally be made after User Acceptance Test (UAT) is done.

Interviewee # 02 while sharing his experience said that

“It is necessary that plan for implementation should be

finalized after getting input from the vendors because

vendors are much more experienced than us and can give

us good suggestions as well. They are aware of some

ground realities due to their prior experience and we are

unaware of those prospective problems”

Other interviewees also supported the above idea. They were of the view that if the

implementation plan is made after getting input from vendor then it will be realistic. If the

plan is un-realistic then it creates a lot of pressure on implementation and they are always

stressed which ultimately results in poor performance.

All the interviewees who were in the implementation team from business side said that plan

or schedule should have been finalized after UAT. Initially, total 45 days were schedule for

UAT. All the team members from business areas were asked to prepare test cases for the

operation CRM software. Interviewees feel that 45 days were not enough for UAT and it

completed after 90 days. There were lots of problems with the results of the software. We

used to report it to head of implementation team and it was rectified by software developers

of vendor team which were here in Pakistan for this purpose.



“There were a lot of functionalities which were not

according to our business processes and need to be

modified. Moreover, some of the modules were not safe

from security point of view. It took a lot of time to identify

all the loop holes and get them rectified.”

Interviewee # 07 expressed that

“Our management team had enormous faith in the vendor

which did not last long. When the initial results of UAT

were not satisfactory then they decided to give maximum

time UAT so that all the functionalities are according to

bank’s procedures and policies.”

However, this delay was consuming a lot of resources and management was getting

frustrated. Moreover, as already discussed above, they had started charging for all the

requested as they were categorizing it as customization.

Interviewees informed that the delay in the implementation of the project was mainly due to

UAT and data migration and cleansing.


“Although data migration was the responsibility of IT

department; nevertheless, neither the IT people nor

business side members realized that a majority of data in

old system needs cleaned after capturing. Data migration

which should have started as soon as UAT ended started

when the implementation team reached the respective

regions.”

It has been observed that implementation team (IT side) did not focus on many issues related

to the plan. First of all, data migration and cleansing was started with a reasonable delay.

Moreover, it was assumed to be very straight forward process which was entirely not the

case. It turned out to be time consuming and resources consuming.



“We requested each regional manager to provide us with at

least two to three people who will clean the data after

capturing. Managers showed great reluctance because

routine work was getting suffered due to shortage of

resources in their departments.”

It was also asked that who was mainly responsible for planning the implementation

schedule. We were informed that it was made by senior members of IT department.

4.2. Concept Map

Concept map of the themes is given in the figure below. Blue blocks represent main themes.

Pink blocks represent sub-themes. Dotted lines show the relationship between these main

themes.


Successful CRM implementation

Top Management

Support

requires

CRM Strategy

Organizational Culture

Resources & Capabilities

Training

depends on

Software & Vendor

Selection

CRM Implementation

Team

Implementation Schedule

formulation of good

depends onsh

ould h

ave

requ

ires

wants

depends on

Project Steering Committee

Accessibility Motivation Support Monitor Progress

Supportive Top Management

Role of Middle Management

End User Resistance

Project Steering Committe’s contribution

Clarity of Vision & Scope

Finances

Human Resources

Infrastructure

Product of CRM Team and Vendor

Realistic Reflection

Post UAT Activity

Data Migration/Cleansing

Proper Training Managers

Training Time Judgement

User Manuals

Within Budget

Requirements from Regulatory Authorities

Maintenance by Vendor

Legal Aspect

Evaluation of Different Software Packages

Functionalities

Available Vendor Evaluation

Selection of right team members

Defined criteria of selection

Blend of both IT and business side people

formulates

provides

der

ives

Set up

consumes

decides

decides

Pro

vid

es in

pu

t fo

rm

akes

conducts


5. Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion

5.1. Discussion

The objective of the research was to find out the critical success factors in implementation of

Customer Relationship Management Systems within the banking sector of Pakistan.

Findings and results have been explained in detail above. However, after making the concept

map, it can be noticed that there exist some relationships between these themes as well.

Some of the themes are dependent on other themes or some themes occur after other themes.

In this section, discussion on these findings is given.

After analyzing the interviews, eight factors were observed which in interviewees‟ opinion

play critical role in the implementation of a CRM system. These factors are:

1. Top Management‟s Support

2. CRM Strategy

3. Organizational Culture

4. Implementation Plan

5. Software & Vendor Selection

6. Resources & Capabilities

7. Implementation Team

8. Training

Eid (2007) and Turban et al. (1999) categorized CSFs related to successful CRM

implementation into three major categories. It can be noticed from the above-mentioned

CSFs that there are two major kinds of categories i.e. few factors are related to strategic side

of the CRM initiative and others are related to operational side of CRM. Although the

aforementioned researchers have categorized them into three categories as mentioned the

literature review chapter but we classify it in two major categories. Third category defined

by the researcher was tactical factors which according to them were less critical as compared

to strategic factors like implementation schedule. However, after conducting interviews, we

have observed that in interviewees‟ opinion, all factors have their own importance and play

vital role in implementation process are different stages or phases. Therefore these factors

cannot be taken lightly. If not given high importance, they can either result in delay in the

progress or increase the cost of project significantly. Below we present the definition of the

two major categories.


5.1.1. Strategic Factors

Strategic factors are those “which require a significant change in the way in which business

is being done” (Eid, 2007; Turban et al., 1999). These factors are

- Support from top management

- CRM strategy

- Culture of the organization

5.1.2. Operational Factors

These are the factors which in aforesaid author‟s opinion are related to operational side of

CRM project (Turban et al., 1999). These factors are:

1. Implementation Plan

2. Software & Vendor Selection

3. Resources & Capabilities

4. Implementation Team

5. Training

5.1.3. Relationships between factors

In this section, we will link our findings with the literature reviewed in the earlier sections.

Moreover, relationships between different CSFs will be discussed (given as the text in

italics). We will also look at how some factors have effect over other factors.

We have discussed the support factor in detail in the findings section. It can be inferred that

support from top management means a lot more than only giving rewards and providing

incentives to the team in order to motivate them.

As Newell (2000) aptly puts it that sometimes there exists a lack of knowledge CRM. This is

mainly because strategic managers have limited knowledge about CRM. It can also be

observed from the interviews that understanding of CRM project is required at all levels of

the organization. In this regards, top management plays an important role by creating

awareness about the reason due to which this step was taken. For this reason interviewee

were of the opinion that all the departmental heads should be included in the project steering

committee.

Moreover, the role of the project steering committee is not only to monitor the project but

also to lead the project. As stated by Nguyen et al. (2007) and Ramsey (2003) that effective

leadership is important for the successful implementation. Therefore, role of project steering

committee and its head is much more than just monitoring the milestones and progress of the

project.


Galbreath and Roger (1999) that effective management, control, monitoring of milestones

and performance are essential duties which are performed by top management. Findings

from the interviews also support this point of view. All the interviewees acknowledged that

these are important tasks. Apart from monitoring the performance, it is also essential to give

rewards to the employees who are engaged in the implementation in order to keep them

motivated (Howle, 2000). We conclude from the findings that some rewards were promised

to the implementation team but these promises were never fulfilled.

A strategy is good if it delivers the positive results which are evident in the profitability of

the organization (Bull, 2003; Newell, 2000). A number of case-studies have been highlight

by Newell (2000) in which CRM strategies resulted in increased profitability of the

companies. However, the author states that there is certain time frame after which it should

result in profitability. If it doesn‟t improve the bottom line of the company then it should be

considered at a failed strategy or failed initiative. It is important to mention here that no

criterion for time frame has been given in the literature. It depends up on the size of project

and company. We can infer from the findings that implementation done by organization was

very recent and it will not be correct if we expect improved results soon after the

implementation has ended.

Galbreath and Roger (1999) have stated that clarity of vision and scope is required for an

efficient CRM implementation. Ramsey (2003) states that lack of definition can be one of

the reasons for poor CRM implementation. It can be inferred from the findings that although

was scope of organization was limited i.e. they only implemented operational CRM;

nevertheless their objectives were clear. In the early phases, there existed some objectives

which were curtailed afterwards due to limited budget constraints.

Top management formulates CRM strategy

These two strategic factors are related to each other. Top management which will be

responsible for making Project Steering Committee will be formulating the CRM strategy. It

may be noted here that as the CRM initiative is taken by top management so in order to

achieve their goal, it is important that strategy is also made by them. Also, they are more

aware of their vision and objectives. In addition to it, top management being stakeholders of

the organization will be getting the maximum benefit from it as it will give their organization

a boost in the right direction. Also, it has been mentioned in the findings section that while

making the strategy it will be better if input from all the departmental head is obtained;

therefore, only top management can influence the managers to participate in strategy

making process.


As mentioned in literature review chapter, organizational culture also an important factor

according to research studies conducted by Eid (2007) and Turban et al. (1999). From the

interviews, we concluded that there existed a disparity between the three layers of

organization i.e. top management, middle management and lower staff. It is important that

everyone in the organizations realizes that importance of CRM project. It is essential

because CRM system is not only for one department but it impacts the business processes of

almost every department. Our findings also support Girishankar (2000) point of view.

According to him, there should be a holistic approach for CRM because it is not related to

one department.

Kumar and Ramani (2004) have discussed the reasons for the failure of CRM project.

According to their research study, one of the main reasons for CRM project failures is

inadequate involvement by employees and insufficient focus on change management.

Mendoza et al. (2007) has also stated that CRM implementation should not be taken as just

an installation of IT software. Findings from the interviews also show the same picture.

Initially the end user staff showed a lot of resistance. Newell (2000) states that resistance to

change is always shown by employees. It is due to lack of knowledge about CRM and they

have misconceptions about the project. Reasons for the same have been discussed in detail in

the findings section. It can be concluded that it is essential to counter their resistance through

some measures.

Support from Top Management influences Organizational Culture:

It has been mentioned above in the findings section that implementation team got resistance

from middle management and lower management. However, top management was

supportive. It can be inferred that top management influences the culture of the organization

at all levels throughout the organization. As the implementation team was facing resistance

from the lower management, they took actions in order to support implementation team.

Besides, lower and middle management always get influenced from top management

executives’ behavior; therefore, it creates an impact on the culture of an organization.

Kumar and Ramani (2004) have also stated lack of resources and capabilities as one of the

reasons for failure in CRM project. Galbreath and Roger (1999) have also stated that proper

budgeting is required for effective CRM implementation. Findings from the interview also

give the same view. It can be concluded that resources and capabilities should be utilized

efficiently and proper budgeting should be done. It can also be noticed from the case-study

analysis that there was no budget for cost-overruns as well. Therefore, when the vendors

started charging then company reduced its functional requirements and only got


implemented those functionalities which were extremely important. Galbreath and Roger

(1999) also state that new infrastructure and ICTs are required. It is evident from the

findings as well. Company was constrained to install new RAM and increase bandwidth in

order to run the system efficiently.

Top Management Support provides Resources & Capabilities:

Every CRM project consumes a lot of resources and capabilities. Not only funds are

required but human capital is also one of the required resources for successful

implementation. Top management is also directly related to this factor because it will be

providing the required resources and capabilities for implementation. Being the decision

maker in firm, it has its control over the financial aspect of the organization as well as

human resources. The budget finalized by management team for this initiative will be a

deciding factor in allocation of resources and capabilities for this project.

Another important factor which can plays vital role in success of project is CRM

implementation team. Newell (2000) has also laid enormous importance on selection of

implementation team. CRM implementation will only be successful if implementation is

done with high commitment (Gupta and Shukla, 2002). As CRM team can also be called as

the executors of this project therefore their selection becomes more important. Findings from

the interviews also support this view. High commitment is only possible if the team feels

motivated. Factors of motivation have been already been discussed. Also, sometimes there

exists a disconnection between CRM vision and execution (Nguyen et al., 2007; Ramsey,

2003). Due to this reason interviewees were of the opinion that few senior members of CRM

implementation team should be involved strategy making process.

Resources & Capabilities set up CRM implementation Team:

It has been mentioned above that resources and capabilities are not only related to capital

but also related to human resources as well. Although CRM implementation team was part

of resources but it was shown in the list of themes as a separate theme due to its critical

nature. The CRM implementation team will be set up by project steering committee. It is

important to mention here that CRM strategy along with top management factor will be

responsible for formulation of team. Size of team, selection criteria and new hiring (if

required) will also be decided by top management or Project Steering Committee in line

with the strategy.

CRM Strategy derives Resources & Capabilities:


This relationship occurs after the strategy has been formulated by top management i.e.

initially top management will be formulating the strategy and then according to that strategy

resources and capabilities will be allocated for the CRM initiative. In other words,

management controls the resources and capabilities through strategy.

Researchers have laid lot of importance on careful selection of vendor and software. Not

only selection of both should be done carefully but input from implementation team should

be mandatory and welcomed. Newell (2000) has emphasized on participation of CRM team

in the selection process. Insufficient help from vendors can seriously hamper the CRM

project (Ramsey, 2003; Nguyen et al., 2007). Moreover, he has also laid stress on hiring

external consultants for evaluating the need for CRM for the organization. It can be noticed

from the findings of interviews that involvement of CRM team is necessary not only for

effective implementation but to decide what kind of CRM system will be installed. IT

manager should be aware of the requirements of the organization because in some cases

important functionality requirements are identified afterwards (Newell, 2000). This is also

apparent from the findings of interviews.

Software and Vendor selection consumes Resources and Capabilities:

Software and Vendor selection is entirely based on resources and capabilities. The

resources are allocated by top management according to the strategy formulated. However,

every organization is aware of its ability or capacity to consume its resources. Therefore, it

acts as a deciding factor in selection of software. Please note that it is a two-way

relationship instead of one-way relationship i.e. resources and capabilities act as deciding

factor in software selection and vendor selection.

CRM Strategy decides Software and Vendor Selection:

CRM strategy factor not only influences resources and capabilities but also acts as a

deciding factor in software selection as well as vendor selection. Software and vendor is

selection according to the vision and scope. A budget is allocated which acts as the prime

factor in software selection.

Top Management decides Software and Vendor Selection:

It may be in place to mention here that top management also controls this factor directly

through project steering committee. Although CRM implementation team provide their

feedback during the process; nevertheless, the final decision lies with the top management

(through project steering committee).


CRM implementation team provides input for Software and Vendor Selection:

Another major role of implementation team is to provide input or feedback during the

selection process. Implementation team as mentioned in the findings section comprises of

personnel from different background, therefore, their feedback is important. It can provide

the basic framework or criteria for selection i.e. what functionalities required by the

organization are performed by the operational CRM, what kind of customization will be

required, integration will old system etc.

Change in the business processes of the organization does not occur in isolation (Gupta and

Shukla, 2002). It requires training of employees. It is apparent from findings that training

was conducted; however, it was conducted at the wrong time. Due to the same its effect on

the staff was not up to the expectations.

CRM implementation team conducts Training:

Training is also an important factor which can curb resistance shown by employees.

Moreover, it also provides the employees of an organization with opportunity to understand

the system and get maximum benefit from it. CRM implementation team is solely responsible

for conducting the training sessions for all the employees. It is also in their benefit as it

results in countering resistance to change shown by middle especially end users.

Lastly, researchers have emphasized on careful drafting of implementation plan as well.

Ideally it should be made by implementation team with the help of vendors who normally

have prior experience of implementation at different organizations. Kale (2004) states that

there are two major reasons for failure in CRM projects i.e. data migration and data

integration. This is evident from the findings that selected organization faced extreme

difficulty in data capturing and integration and it resulted in delay in project.

CRM implementation team makes the implementation plan:

CRM implementation team is also known as the executers’ team. If a project is successfully

implemented, entire credit should be given to the team. However, in order to be successful, a

project requires a good plan. This plan is made by implementation team. As CRM team

comprises of members from different departments, thye plan the schedule keeping in view all

the aspects.


5.2. Conclusion

This chapter contains of the summary of the whole research study. It will look the research

question and will discuss that whether the research objectives have been achieved or not.

The aim of the research was to explore / find those critical factors which play important role

when a CRM system is implemented. This study was conducted with respect to banking

sector of Pakistan. Although there are a lot of research studies which have been conducted

on CRM; this study explores CSFs within the banking domain. An inductive methodology

was adopted for the whole research study.

In order to conduct the study, firstly existing literature on CRM was critically reviewed and

some main areas were identified. Some questions were derived from the identified areas and

then these questions were refined. Moreover, a case-study analysis was conducted as

research method. Nine staff members of the selected organization were interviewed.

Interviewees were asked the questions prepared. Data collected was analyzed using thematic

analysis and concept mapping.

It is concluded that company‟s existing system was getting obsolete and in order to achieve

their goals, they took this major step of getting CRM system implemented. However, due to

budget constraints, operational CRM system was installed. Top management was supportive

throughout the project implementation. Bank witnessed some delays as the implementation

plan was not designed carefully. Bank also faced increased in costs of the project due to

which they were constrained to narrow down their scope. It is important to note here

implementation team members consider this project as success as for them main criteria for

success was sanctity of data which is important for a banking organization. They were of the

opinion that delays are witnessed in these kinds of projects. However, if the project gets

implemented with a little delay but with sanctity of data then it can be termed as a successful

implementation.

Therefore, theory derived from the extracts from data collected (i.e. interviews) indicate that

there are eight critical success factors which are as Top management support, CRM Strategy,

Organizational Culture, CRM Implementation Team, Resources and Capabilities,

Implementation Planning, Selection of Vendor and Software and Training.

These critical success factors have been classified in two major categories i.e. strategic

factors and operational factors. Strategic factors are related to strategy making process while


operational factors are related to real implementation process. It can be concluded that these

factors are also dependent on each other for successful implementation. None of them can

make any CRM initiative a success on stand-alone basis.

5.3. Future Recommendations

Firstly, this research can be further conducted with multiple-case studies. Due to limited

time only one banking organization could be accessed. Moreover, the selected organization

falls into middle tier banking organizations. If the research is conducting with relatively

bigger organization having more branches all over the country, it is possible that new themes

may emerge. Moreover, this organization implemented operational CRM system only. Other

banks in Pakistan have implemented analytical CRM system as well. It is quite possible that

those organizations would have faced different challenges during the implementation.

Word Count: 21,499


References

Ang, L & Buttle, F. (2002). “ROI on CRM: a customer journey approach”.

http://www.impgroup.org/uploads/papers/4225.pdf. [Accessed 27 Jul 2011].

Bohling, T. et al. (2006). “CRM Implementation: Effectiveness Issues and Insights”, Journal

of Service Research, 9(2), 184–194

Bose, R. (2002). “Customer relationship management: key components for IT success”.

Industrial Management & Data Systems, 102(2), 89-97.

Boulding, W., Staelin, R. et al. (2005). "A customer relationship management roadmap:

What is known, potential pitfalls, and where to go". The Journal of Marketing, 69(4), 155-

166.

Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006). "Using thematic analysis in Psychology”. Qualitative

research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101.

Bryman, A. (2001). Social Research Methods. 3rd

ed. New York: Oxford.

Bull, C. (2003). “Strategic issues in customer relationship management (CRM)

implementation”. Business Process Management Journal, 9(5), 592-602.

Bullen, C.V. and Rockart, J.F. (1981). “A primer on critical success factors”.

Sloan School of Management [Online].

https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/1988/1/SWP-1220-08368993-CISR-069.pdf

[Accessed 08 August 2011]

Burns, R.B. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods. 4th ed. Australia: Pearson Education

Australia.

Butler Group (2001). Real CRM: Pitfalls and Potential. UK: Commerce Stream.

Clemons, E. (2000). “Gathering the nectar, Understanding CRM”, Financial Times, Spring

Supplement, 24-27.



Chen, I. J. and Popovich, K. (2003). "Understanding customer relationship management

(CRM): People, process and technology". Business Process Management Journal, 9(5), 672-

688.

Christopher, M., Payne, A. and Ballantyne, D. (1991), Relationship Marketing, Oxford:

Butterworth-Heinemann.

Creswell, J.W (2003). Research Design. 2nd

ed. US: Sage Publications.

Davenport, T.H. and Short, J.E. (1990), “The new industrial engineering: information

technology and business process design”, Sloan Management Review, 31(4), 11-27.

Drennan, J. and Wessels, L. (2010). "An investigation of consumer acceptance of M-

banking". International Journal of Bank Marketing, 28(7), 547-568.

Dickie, J. (2000). “Why CRM projects fail”, Tech. Report. http://www.Wrstwave.net.

[Accessed 14 Jul 2011].

Downes, L. and Mui, C. (1998). “Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market

Dominance”, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Eid, R. (2007). “Towards a successful CRM implementation in Banks: An Integrated

Model”, The Service Industries Journal, 27(8), 1021–1039.

Erdmann, L. & Behrendt, S. (2003). The future impact of ICT on environmental

sustainability. Script (Second Interim Report). Berlin: Institute for Prospective

Technological Studies (IPTS).

Eroke, L. (2008). “Between Bank‟s Products and Quality Service”, ThisDay Newspaper, 13

(4694), 33-34.

Feldman, J. M. (1999). Marketing One-to-One- Air Transport World, 36(7).

Fletcher, K. (1999), “Data focus on customers”, Marketing Journal, 01, 52–53

Freund, Y.P. (1988). “Critical Success Factors”, Strategy & Leadership, 16(4), 20–23

http://www.wrstwave.net/


Galbreath, J. and Rogers, T. (1999). “Customer relationship leadership”, TQM Magazine,

11( 3), 161-71.

Geib, M., Kolbe, L.M. and Brenner, W. (2006). “CRM collaboration in financial services

networks: A multi-case analysis”, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 19(6),

591–607.

Giga Information Group, Inc. (2001). “Seven out of ten CRM projects fail”, Computing,

16(27).

Girishankar, S. (2000). “Companies want CRM tools to manage business relationships”,

Information Week, 17 April, p. 65.

Goldenberg, B. (2000). Customer relationship management: what is it all about?.

http://CRM-forum.com/library/. [Accessed 01 Aug 2011].

Gubrium, J.F. and Holstein, J.A. (2002). “From the Individual Interview to the Interview

Society”, Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Methods. CA: Sage

Graziano A, M, Raulin M, L (2004). Research Methods. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Gupta, M.P. and Shukla, S. (2002). “Learnings from Customer Relationship Management

(CRM) Implementation in a Bank”, Global Business Review, 3(1), 99–122.

Kovács,G. & Spens, K.M. (2005). "Abductive reasoning in logistics research", International

Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 35(2), 32 – 144.

Hamm, S. & Hof, R. (2000). “An eagle eye on customers”. http://businessweek.com.

[Accessed 21 July 2011].

Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993), Reengineering the Corporation, New York: Harper

Business.

Hirschowitz, A. (2001). “Closing the CRM loop: The 21st century marketer‟s challenge:

Transforming customer insight into customer value”, Journal of Targeting, Measurement

and Analysis for Marketing, 10(2), 168-178.

http://crm-forum.com/library/

http://businessweek.com/


He, Z. et al. (2004). “Mining class outliers: concepts, algorithms and applications in CRM”,

Expert Systems with Applications, 27(4), 681-697.

Hussain, I. et al. (2009). “Customer Relationship Management: Strategies and Practices in

Selected Banks of Pakistan”, International Review of Business Research Papers, 5(6), 117–

132

Howle, A. (2000). “CRM panel addresses outsourcing”, Computer Reseller News, 27 March,

60.

Hyde, K.F. (2000). "Recognising deductive processes in qualitative research". Qualitative

Market Research: An International Journal, 3(2), 82-89

Jarrar,Y.F. and Neely, A. (2002). “Cross-selling in the financial sector: Customer

profitability is key”. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 10(3),

282–296.

Kale, S.H. (2004). “CRM failure and the seven deadly sins”, Marketing Management, 13(5),

42–47.

Khanna, S. (2001). “Measuring the CRM ROI: show them benefits”. http://CRM-

forum.com/library/. [Accessed 27 July 2011].

Kinchin, I.M. Streatfield, D. & Hay, D.B. (2010). “Using Concept Mapping to Enhance the

Research Interview”. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 9(1), 52-68.

King, N. and Horrocks, C. (2010). Interviews in qualitative research. London: Sage

Publications Ltd.

Krishnan, M.S., Ramaswamy, V. et al. (1998). “Customer Satisfaction for Financial

Services: The Role of Products, Services and Information Technology”, Management

Science, 45(9), 1194-1209.

Korner, V. and Zimmermann, H.-D. (2000), “Management of customer relationship in

business

media – the case of the financial industry”, Proceedings of the 33rd Hawaii International

Conference on System Sciences, Maui, Hawaii.




Kotorov, R. (2003). “Customer Relationship Management: Strategic Lessons and Future

Directions”. Business Process Management Journal, 9(5), 566-571.

Kumar, V. and Ramani, G. (2004). “Taking Customer Lifetime Value Analysis to Next

Level”, Journal of Integrated Communications, Volume(Issue), 27– 3

Langdridge, D. (2004). Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology.

Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Levitt, T. (1960). “Marketing Myopia”, Harvard Business Review, 38, July-August, 45-56.

Lindgreen, A. and Antioco, M. (2005). “Customer Relationship Management: The case of

European bank”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(2), 136–154.

Law, M., Lau, T. and Wong, Y.H. (2003). “From customer relationship management to

customer-managed relationship: unravelling the paradox with a co-creative perspective”.

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 21(1), 51-60.

Lehmann, A.P. (2000). “Financial Services – Change of markets, services, and enterprises”,

in Belz, C. and Bieger, T. (Eds), Service Competency and Innovative Business Models,

Thexis, St Gallen, 22-35.

Ling, R. and Yen, D.C. (2001). “Customer relationship management: An analysis framework

and implementation strategies”. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 41(3). 82-97

MacSweeney, G. (2000), “Hitting the CRM bullseye”, Insurance and Technology, 25(3), 28

Mckim, B. and Hughes, A. (2000). "How to measure CRM success". Target Marketing,

23(10), 138.

Mendoza, L. E. et al. (2007). “Critical Success Factors for a Customer Relationship

Management Strategy”, Information and Software Technology, 49(8), 913-945.

Newell, F. (2000). Loyalty.com: Customer Relationship Management in the New Era of

Internet Marketing, New York: McGraw-Hill


Nguyen, T.H., Sherif, J.S. and Newby, M. (2007). “Strategies for successful CRM

implementation”, Information Management & Computer Security, 15(2), 102–115.

Novak, J.D. and Canas, A.J., (2008). “The theory of underlying concept maps and how to

construct and use them”, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools, Florida Institute for Human

and Machine Cognition

Oxtoby, B., McGuiness, T. et al. (2002). "Developing organizational change capability”,

European Management Journal, 20(3), 310-320.

Peck, H., Payne, A., Martin, C. and Clark, M. (1999). Relationship Marketing Strategy and

Implementation, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Peng, G.C. and Nunes, M.B. (2010). “Exploring Cultural Impact on Long-Term Utilization

of Enterprise Systems”, Proceedings of 43rd

Hawaii International Conference on Systems

Sciences

Peppard, J. (2000). “Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Financial Services”.

European Management Journal, 18 (3), 312–327

Peppers, D. and Rogers, M. (1999), The One to One Manager: Real-World Lessons in

Customer Relationship Management, New York: Doubleday.

Pinto, J.K. and Slevin, D.P. (1987). “Critical factors in successful project implementation”,

IEEE

Transactions on Engineering Management, 34(1), 22-27.

Porter, M. (1987), “From competitive advantage to corporate strategy”, Harvard Business

Review, 65(3), 43-59.

PTA. (2010). Industry Report. Pakistan: Pakistan Telecommunications Authority,

Islamabad.

Raab, G. et al. (2008). Customer Relationship Management: A Global Perspective.

Hampshire: Gower Publishing Limited

Ramsey, S. (2003). “Introduction: strategy first, then CRM”, The Ultimate CRM Handbook,


New York: McGraw-Hill.

Reichheld, F.F. & Teal, T. (1996). The loyalty effect: the hidden force behind growth,

profits, and lasting value. United States of America: Bain & Company Inc.

Buttle, F. (2002). “Is it worth it? ROI on CRM”, Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing

Annual Conference.

Rockart, J.F. (1979). “Chief executives define their own data needs”. Harvard Business

Review, 57 (2), 81-93

Rockart, J.F. (1982). “The changing role of the information systems executive: a critical

success factors perspective”. Sloan School of Management [Online].


[Accessed 08 August 2011]

Saundars, M., Lewis, P and Thornhill A. (2000). Research Methods for business students,

2nd

ed., Essex: Pearson Education.

Scullin, S. S., Fjermestad, J. et al. (2004). "E-relationship marketing: changes in traditional

marketing as an outcome of electronic customer relationship management". Journal of

Enterprise Information Management, 17(6), 410-415.

Shaw, R. and Reed,D. (1999). “Measuring and valuing customer relationships: How to

develop the measures that drive profitable CRM strategies”. Business Intelligence Ltd.

Sin, L. Y. M., Tse, A. C.B. & Yim, F. H.K. (2005). “CRM: conceptualization and scale

development”. European Journal of Marketing, 39(11/12), 1264-1290.

Smith, K. (2001). “Getting payback from CRM”. http://CRMGuru.com. [Accessed 22 Jul

2011].

Suoranta, M. (2003), “Adoption of Mobile Banking in Finland”. Doctoral Dissertation.

University of Jyväskylä Printing House, Jyväskylä and ER-paino, Lievestuore.


http://crmguru.com/


Teo, T. S. H., Devadoss, P. and Pan, S. L. (2006). “Towards a holistic perspective of

customer relationship management (CRM) implementation: A case study of the Housing and

Development Board, Singapore”, Decision Support Systems, 42(3), 1613-1627.

Troggler, M. (2009). “The Functionality and Usage of CRM Systems”, International

Journal of Human and Social Sciences, 4(3), 164–172.

Turban, E. et al. (1999). Information Technology for Management: Making Connections for

strategic Advantage, New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Valsecchi, M. (2007). “Mobile Customer Relationship Management: An Exploratory

Analysis of Italian application”, Journal of Business Process Management, 13 (6), 755-750

Versleijen-Pradham, R. (2000). “European CRM Services Forecast and Analysis 2000–

2006”, Tech. Report IDC PR01H. http://www.idc.com. [Accessed 08 Aug 2011].

Xu, M. and Walton, John. (2005). “Gaining Customer Knowledge through analytical CRM”.

Industrial Management and Data Systems, 105(7), 995-971

Xu, Y., Yen, D. C., Lin, B., Chou, D. C. (2002). “Adopting customer relationship

management technology”, Journal of Industrial Management & Data Systems, 102(8), 442-

452.

Yin, R.K. (1984). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. California: Sage Publications.

Yin, R. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and methods, 2nd

ed., California: Sage

Publishing.

Zainal, Zaidah. (2007). “Case-study as a Research Method”. Jurnal Kemanusiaan, (9), 1-6

Zikmund, W.G. (2000). Business Research Methods. 3rd

Edition, Fort worth: Harcourt

College Publishers.

Zimmer, J. (2006). “Be ready to take the heat”, Destination CRM, Viewpoint.

http://www.destinationcrm.com. [Accessed 15 Aug 2011].

Zineldin, M. (2005). “Quality and customer relationship management (CRM) as competitive

strategy in the Swedish banking industry”, The TQM Magazine, 17(4), 329–344.

http://www.idc.com/

http://www.destinationcrm.com/


Appendix ‘A’

Interview Questions

My name is Syed Moeid Haider and I am a postgraduate student and doing my masters in

Information Systems Management at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. I

am conducting doing research on critical success factors in implementation of Customer

Relationship Management System (CRM). As your company recently was involved into

CRMS; therefore, I would like to conduct some interviews of the employees who were

actually involved the implementation process.

I would like you to thank you for participating in this interview.

I would like to inform you that questions being asked were derived from the literature

reviewed for this research study. You will be asked to share your experiences and tell your

opinions regarding different aspects of implementation process. All interviews will be

recorded using a voice-recorder. All the data collected during this research study will be kept

highly confidential. It is important to mention here that all the data will be permanently

deleted after submission and results announcement of research project.

I would like to assure you that all data being gathered for this research study will be used

purely for academic purposes. Moreover, all the interviewees are assured of anonymity. No

names will be mentioned in the research study. If at any point, interviewee feels that he/she

does not want to answer any question or call-off the interview process, he/she got full right

to do so.

Please do not hesitate to share your extensive experiences with me.

1. Trigger Question: What do you think triggered the CRM system implementation

initiative for your bank?


2. Trigger Question: What was the primary objective behind CRM system

implementation?

Follow-up Question: Was the objective stated above achieved? If no then please state

reasons.

3. Trigger Question: Which CRM functions are important for banking sector especially

for your organization?

4. Trigger Question: What were the challenges faced by the management/employees in

the process of the implementation of the CRMS?

5. Trigger Question: Do you think management support is required for this project? If yes

then what kind of support is required?


Follow-up Question: Was this support constant i.e. until you were able to successfully

implement it?

6. Trigger Question: Was organizational culture supportive?

Follow-up Question: If no then what were your measures for the counter its effect?

7. Trigger Question: What was your CRM strategy? Developing of Clear and Effective

CRM strategy?

Follow-up Question: Who formulated the strategy?

8. Trigger Question: Was the vision of management clear? Was the scope defined

clearly?


9. Trigger Question: What were the factors on the basis of which CRM software was

selected?

Follow-up Question: Was there any external consultant hired? What were the criteria for

selection of vendor?

10. Trigger Question: Were the employees of the bank ready to accept this change? Did

you witness any resistance?

Follow-up Question: If yes then how did you respond to it?

11. Trigger Question: Did you face any difficulty in it integration with existing systems?

Follow-up Question: If yes then how did you respond to it?


12. Trigger Question: How was the Team selected for its implementation? What was the

basis of selection?

Follow-up Question: Do you think it was an efficient team? Who formed the team?

13. Trigger Question: Did you face any technological difficulties? any advice from vendors

was sought ?

Follow-up Question: If no then how did you respond to it?

14. Trigger Question: Were any training sessions conducted? If yes then was correct

training provided?


Follow-up Question: Were the training sessions useful in your opinion?

15. Trigger Question: Was the CRM implementation schedule realistic?

Follow-up Question: If no then what did you do about it? Who planned the initial

implementation schedule?

16. Trigger Question: Was any customization done in the project by vendor?

17. Trigger Question: What data migration planned?

Follow-up Question: Was it completed according to the plan? What difficulties did you

face during this process?


18. Trigger Question: Do you think that CRM system implemented by you a success?

Follow-up Question: If no then state reasons?

19. Trigger Question: What are the success criteria in your opinion with respect to

implementation of CRMS?

Documents

A Study of Critical Success Factors in Implementation of ...dagda.shef.ac.uk/dispub/dissertations/2010-11/External/...critical success factors which are Top management support, CRM