A decision‐support system for business‐to‐business marketing

Abstract

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to review the related literature and propose a new decision‐support‐system (DSS) framework for marketing in the business‐to‐business (B2B) arena based on customer‐relationship management (CRM) and knowledge‐driven marketing to help related‐field graduate students and marketing managers.Design/methodology/approachReviews a range of the most important works published between 1966 and 2004 in order to demonstrate both practical and theoretical aspects. The main method of this research is analytical and conceptual and the approach to this subject was to investigate the gap between marketing DSSs and analytical CRM.FindingsProvides information about a customized marketing DSS in a B2B context, indicates related literature and frameworks and, finally, tests the ideas with a case study.Practical implicationsOutcomes and applications are identified for developing new activities in improving marketing decision making and marketing planning based on customer orientation and customer satisfaction.Originality/valueDespite such interdependencies, the research in the fields of DSSs and CRM solutions has not adequately considered the integration of such systems. The novel contribution of this paper lies in integrating marketing DSSs and CRM with regard to knowledge‐driven marketing in B2B marketing, in both theoretical and practical aspects.