Linking big data analytical intelligence to customer relationship management performance

Abstract

This study investigates the driving forces of a firm's assimilation of big data analytical intelligence (BDAI) and how the assimilation of BDAI improve customer relationship management (CRM) performance. Drawing on the resource-based view, this study argues that a firm's data-driven culture and the competitive pressure it faces in the industry motivate a firm's assimilation of BDAI. As a firm resource, BDAI enables an organization to develop superior mass-customization capability, which in turn positively influences its CRM performance. In addition, this study proposes that a firm's marketing capability can moderate the impact of BDAI assimilation on its mass-customization capability. Using survey data collected from 147 business-to-business companies, this study finds support for most of the hypotheses. The findings of this study uncover compelling insights about the dynamics involved in the process of using BDAI to improve CRM performance.