تأثیرات e-CRM بر کیفیت و پیامدهای رابطه‌ی بانک – مشتری: مورد تایلند

This research examines and measures the outcomes of electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) system implementation in the Thai banking industry from customers' perspectives. Because most e-CRM implementations cannot be directly seen or recognised by customers, a literature review and interviews with experts in the Thai banking industry were used to develop a new construct called ‘customer-based service attributes’ to measure e-CRM outcomes from customers' perspectives. A full-scale field survey of 684 customers of Thai commercial banks was then conducted. A service attribute model and a model that combined relationship quality and outcome were constructed, and their validity and reliability was confirmed. Analysis of the results by using structural equation modelling (SEM) illustrated that e-CRM implementation has a statistically significant positive relationship with customer-based service attributes and with the quality and outcome of customer–bank relationships as well as an indirect effect on relationship quality and outcome through customer-based service attributes.

When an organisation begins to migrate from a human-intensive organisation to one that emphasises multiple electronic contact points such as phone, fax, e-mail, and the Web, the ability to develop, manage, and measure customer relationships increases dramatically. Consequently, businesses have moved from off-line customer relationship management (CRM) to electronic channels. This approach is commonly called ‘e-CRM’. Creating long-term relationships with valued customers is usually viewed as the key to profitability in an increasingly dynamic market. e-CRM is one of the primary strategic initiatives in industry today. It has become the major paradigm of relationship marketing in the e-world (Chen & Chen, 2004).

This research is among the first few studies on e-CRM that investigate the outcomes of e-CRM in the service industry from the customers' perspectives. And the empirical results of the study can answer all three of the research questions, as follows. RQ1: How can customers perceive the benefits that they get from their banks' e-CRM implementation? From the literature review and interviews with experts, 13 components, referred to in this study as customer-based service attributes, were found to reflect the customer's recognition of his or her main bank's e-CRM. Factor analysis results showed that these 13 components could be grouped according to 3 factors: information, convenience, and communication channels. RQ2: What differences can customers perceive between banks that have implemented e-CRM and those that have not? The results of t-tests of customer-based service attributes that compared the responses of customers of banks with and without e-CRM illustrated that there are 6 elements that e-CRM banks' customers attribute to their main banks more than customers of banks without e-CRM do. These are (1) customers have timely access to accurate information, (2) their main banks present complete customer information, (3) their main banks provide them with personalised information and service, (4) they can get up-to-date information from their main banks, (5) they can contact their main banks from anywhere, and (6) their main bank can provide them with one-stop service. RQ3: Does e-CRM have a positive or negative effect on the quality and outcome of customer–bank relationships? According to path analysis results, e-CRM implementation has a positive relationship with all components of relationship quality and outcome. Factors with the highest effects are customer satisfaction, trust, and willingness to recommend, in that order. A causal-effect analysis found that e-CRM had both a positive direct and a positive indirect effect on relationship quality and outcome. 6.1. Academic implications This study helps in filling an area of empirical research on e-CRM measurement from the customers' side, which is deficient, especially in the service industry. It provides a measurement model of e-CRM implementation from the customer perspective. ‘Customer-based service attributes’ was developed as a construct to measure e-CRM outcomes from the customers' points of view. The factor analysis results demonstrated that three factors of customer-based service attributes (information, convenience, and communication channels) are central to an evaluation of the customers' perceptions of Thai commercial banks' e-CRM implementation. In addition, this study indicates that the components that frequently comprise relationship quality–trust, satisfaction, and commitment–are statistically significantly correlated with the components of relationship outcomes—customer loyalty, retention, and willingness to recommend. Thus, this research combined constructs of relationship quality and relationship outcomes. CFA was conducted to test both the measurement models developed in this study. The results validated the customer-based service attribute model, thereby confirming the results of the EFA, and the relationship quality and outcome model, thereby confirming the results of the qualitative approach and correlation results. Both measurement models are valid and reliable. Path analysis found that customer-based service attributes play an essential mediating role in the relationship between e-CRM implementation and relationship quality and outcome. Relationship quality and outcome, which comprise overall relationship quality, customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, customer loyalty, customer retention, and willingness to recommend, are the result of the customers' recognition of their main banks' e-CRM implementation through information, convenience, and communication channels factors. This research ratifies Lemon and Rust's (2001) study that showed that personalisation made banks truly understand their customers, which satisfied customers' expectations. In accord with the results from studies of the manufacturing industry, such as Lang and Colgate, 2003 and Kim et al., 2006, the results of this study show that e-CRM implementation helps banks fulfil the bank–customer relationship, as measured through relationship quality and outcome. This research also described the mediating role of customer-based service attributes. The causal-effect results show that in addition to the direct effect of e-CRM implementation on relationship quality and outcome, customer-based service attributes have a mediating effect on the relationship path between e-CRM implementation and relationship quality and outcome. 6.2. Managerial implications From interviews with experts, the study found that only a few Thai commercial banks are currently investing in electronic channels and, unlike in developed countries, most of the respondents had not contacted their main banks via electronic channels. This study focused on customers' perspectives on the aspects of their main banks' e-CRM implementation that they can acknowledge. The scope of the study is fundamentally characterised by the context of Thai commercial banks. Findings from this study show that currently, Thai commercial banks still have not emphasised e-CRM technology very much, and most applications of e-CRM are in analytical areas, meaning that they are related to the banks' internal processes. Only three banks had implemented operational e-CRM that customers can recognise, and the touch-points that customers can recognise are indirect touch-points, such as teller systems and telebanking. That is to say, there is still has much room for improvement of e-CRM in Thai commercial banks. When banks implement e-CRM, their customers recognise that their main banks provide them with (1) more convenience, with one-stop and personalised service, (2) access to more complete, up-to-date, and accurate information, through various channels, and (3) more communication channels that allow them to contact their main banks from anywhere. The most gain from e-CRM implementation that customers can recognise is increased convenience. This study confirmed the important role of e-CRM implementation in Thai commercial banks. The results show that e-CRM has statistically significant effects, both direct and indirect, on relationship quality and outcome. The statistical results show e-CRM implementation to be a viable means of increasing the bank–customer relationship quality and outcome, which comprises overall relationship quality, trust, satisfaction, commitment, loyalty, retention, and willingness to recommend. These results indicate that if banks implement e-CRM, especially operational e-CRM, their customers will recognise additional service attributes and the customers' relationships with their banks will improve.