Examining customer relationship management from a management fashion perspective

Daniel Johanson,Dag Øivind Madsen

doi:10.1080/23311975.2016.1161285

Abstract

AbstractDespite mixed performance reviews and experiences, customer relationship management (CRM) is among the most widely used and discussed management ideas by managers around the world. Commentators have noted that CRM has become “big business” and that there are many commercial actors selling CRM solutions. Despite such observations, little academic research has examined CRM using theories about management fads and fashions. Using management fashion theory as an analytical lens, this paper casts lights on the emergence and evolution of the market for CRM. The analysis of the supply side of CRM shows that many different actors have been involved, e.g. consulting firms, software vendors, industry analyst firms, and conference organizers. On the demand side, the interest in and usage of CRM remains relatively high despite mixed implementation experiences and failure cases. Based on the analysis, CRM has yet to enter into a downturn phase as is typical of transient management fashions. The longevity and s...

Highlights

Using theories about management fashion, this paper examines the historical emergence and evolution of the market for Customer relationship management (CRM)
Actors involved in the CRM market In this paper, we examine the worldwide CRM market as a whole, and do not analyze local CRM markets
Looking at the worldwide CRM market, the analysis identifies a large number of different actors (Table 4), e.g. management consultants, software vendors, conference/seminar organizers offering training programs (Wang & Burton Swanson, 2008)

Summary

Introduction

CRM started to gain traction in the business community during the mid-to-late 1990s In the most recent edition of Bain & Company’s management tools and trends survey, CRM is identified as the most popular management tool globally CRM exhibits many of the hallmarks of a “management fashion” (Abrahamson, 1996). CRM has become big business, and the CRM market has grown rapidly (Firth, 2001; Gartner, 2009). There are a large number of “fashion-setting” actors (Abrahamson, 1996; Jung & Kieser, 2012) involved in the CRM market, e.g. management consultants, software vendors, conference/seminar organizers, as well as trainers offering certifications (Wang & Burton Swanson, 2008)

Objectives

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion