Customer perception of CRM implementation in banking context: Scale development and validation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale for measuring a customer’s perception of customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives of a bank. Based upon resource-based view, CRM technology capability has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct comprising of technology, people and business resource (process). This study aims to develop a comprehensive scale for performance measurement of CRM technology capability, customer orientation and co-creation from the customer perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic scale development process was adopted consisting of three phases, a qualitative inquiry which included item generation through literature review, expert opinion and focus group study, scale purification and refinement using item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, and scale validation using confirmatory factor analysis. The study sample consisted of 324 respondents, with a usable response rate of 68 percent. Findings: The findings of the empirical study resulted in a 42-item scale that measures CRM technology capability (technology, people and process), customer orientation, co-creation and relationship quality and outcome (RQO) (satisfaction, trust, commitment and loyalty). The predictive validity assessment model suggested that CRM technology capability has a higher impact on RQO. The empirical findings also suggest that technology is found to be the most important factor compared to people and process for CRM technology capability. The findings are aligned with literature review and expert opinion that the evolving collaborative-technologies-enabled CRM technology capability has changed the customer relationship paradigm. Research limitations/implications: The study focused on a scale specific to the banking sector to avoid conjoint factors, whereas a more generalized scale would have wider applicability across industries. The current study sought to broaden the coverage by including a large number of banks who have implemented CRM. Practical implications: This reliable and valid scale can help practitioners in measuring the effectiveness of their CRM implementation from the customer’s perspective, and provide insights that will help them in bridging the gap between their intended objective and actual implementation. They can also use this study to measure pre- and post-CRM implementation to see the effectiveness. This study also provides relevance of customer orientation and offers insight about co-creation which has taken the center stage because of the emergence of collaborative technologies. Social implications: This will help in measuring perception of the customer which is an important stakeholder in the engagement. This can help organizations in proactively taking care of customer’s rights and measuring the level of satisfaction proactively, which has become a regulatory requirement in many economies. Originality/value: This study is possibly one of the first to develop a psychometrically valid scale to measure the customer’s perception of CRM using direct measures. The findings provide insight into the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of CRM practices in the banking sector. This study demonstrates that CRM technology capability, customer orientation and co-creation play a very critical role.