Customer-centric Organizations Research Articles

Blockchain-Augmented Digital Supply Chain Management: A Way to Sustainable Business

The objective of this article is to assist the reader in understanding the journey from traditional Supply Chain Management to Digital Supply Chain Management. It aims to augment the concept of Digital Supply Chain Management with blockchain technology and create an extensive literature review to assist in formulating the gaps and discovering the variables that contribute towards the efficiency of a Blockchain-Based Digital Supply Chain. Moreover, this article aims to validate the impact of specified parameters resulting in customer retention and market leadership for an organization. Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, blockchain, etc., are disrupting the traditional ways of doing business and creating value propositions for customers. Supply Chain Management is a key business process for an organization that helps them compete in the market. Organizations have seized competition not as individual brands but as supply chains. Digital Supply Chain Management is the implementation of digital technologies to capture customer data at every interaction to create customer engagement strategies. This article provides an empirical analysis of parameters influencing a Blockchain-Augmented Digital Supply Chain resulting in customer retention and market leadership and shows how, through a Blockchain-Based Digital Supply Chain, the business objective of being a customer-centric organization is assisted with the customer data generated at each interaction that is enabled.

Event innovation in times of uncertainty

PurposeThis study highlights areas of key importance for building event resilience and provides best-practice industry examples that foster innovative, adaptable and transformative event environments, which are areas of high academic and managerial relevance in times of uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a multicase study research design that draws on interviews with the leaders of four event organizations in Denmark and Norway: (1) the Steinkjer Festival, (2) Run Alone Denmark, (3) FC Midtjylland and (4) the Bergen International Festival.FindingsThe events demonstrated the critical necessity of understanding innovation and its contribution to resilience in the event sector, particularly in times of uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These organizations achieved success by continuously fostering innovative environments before COVID-19 by being value-driven and customer-centric organizations. Digital technologies were not used as makeshift solutions but rather to enhance event attendees' experiential platforms and expand each event's business potential.Practical implicationsThe paper answers the call for event and festival research during the COVID-19 pandemic to explore the importance of understanding failure, crisis, innovation and recovery.Originality/valueThe paper's contributions to event management research are (1) adding to the ongoing discussion about building a resilient event sector in times of uncertainty, (2) screening how event organizers achieve innovation in their organizations and (3) providing insights on future requirements for events in a post-COVID world.

Achieving the promise of AI and ML in delivering economic and relational customer value in B2B

Our study sheds light on the potential for the significant role that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can play in addressing the challenge of information silos both within and across organizations. We propose an organizational process model in which AI would facilitate communication, coordination, and customization, the pillars of value delivery in customer-centric organizations. Our model draws on examples of AI solutions in a variety of B2B contexts, ranging from sales and marketing, to technology, to healthcare, and to education. The model emphasizes the critical role of human capital as embodied in employees and their ever-shifting interaction with organizational culture to ensure the success of AI implementation. Since relationships remain the salient connections that bind organizations on value delivery, humans are and will remain critical to value-added activities and processes – even when those involve AI – underscoring the effect of the human interface on both economic and relational value for customers.

A Novel Hybrid Segmentation Approach for Decision Support: A Case Study in Banking

Abstract Improving decision-making has become of paramount importance for gaining a competitive edge across organizations. Segmentation/clustering is a key enabler for enhancing decision-making. The RFM (Recency, Frequency and Monetary) is a scoring model, which consists of three parameters that is widely used for the same purpose, especially for customer-centric organizations. However, the current RFM still has some drawbacks that diminish the effectiveness of decision-making and thus, research is still needed in this area. In an attempt to fill this gap, a novel data-driven weighted model is proposed. It introduces a new parameter; ‘Adoption’, to be added to the existing RFM parameters. The research contribution is extended to hybrid the proposed model with a clustering technique to segment data into distinct and meaningful groups or clusters. The hybrid model was applied on real bank data as a case study to enhance the usage of its digital channels. The results showed that bank customers were grouped into four distinct clusters. The bank stakeholders were able to identify the characteristics of customers and develop their relevant strategies accordingly. The developed model was evaluated by measuring its stability and robustness from both scientific and business perspectives.

Management strategy of healthcare organizations. PDRQ–9 method

The main source of success for a customer-centric organization is the ability to identify its customers, identify their needs, and use that information to develop a customer-centric strategy. In this regard, there is a widespread change in attitudes toward the construction of management in organizations. Whereas previously the competitiveness of an organization could be measured by its financial performance, now the intellectual potential of an organization is at the forefront. As the role of the patient in the health care system has intensified, the importance of patient participation has received increasing attention and has become central to health care research. In this regard, in today’s environment, the foundation of success in the treatment and delivery of professional care in medicine is primarily the degree of patient satisfaction. Patient-centered care acts as a new paradigm for the development of the health care system, which is characterized by a shift in the center of gravity to the patient. In this regard, in the field of health care, the relationship between the patient and the doctor, as perceived by the patient, is one of the main elements of the methodology of scientific research. The purpose of this article is to review and analyze the results of the PDRQ–9, which assesses the patient-physician relationship. The PDRQ–9 provides researchers with a brief assessment of the therapeutic aspects of the patient-physician relationship in the primary care setting. It is a valuable tool for research and practice purposes that includes monitoring the patient-doctor relationship.

MINIMAX PROBABILITY BASED CHURN PREDICTION FOR PROFIT MAXIMIZATION

Churn prediction has become a significant requirement for all customer centric organizations. Accurate prediction of churn can effectively improve customer loyalty and improve profits for the organization. This work presents an effective model that uses a combination of ensemble learning and minimax probability machines to provide a churn prediction system. The model has its major focus towards improving the profitability of the organization. The ensemble learning model has been designed to be computationally efficient, while the weight factors used in the minimax probability machines ensures reduction in losses, hence ensuring profitability. Experiments were performed and comparisons with existing models indicates that the model shows high performance, with 8% improved accuracy levels, indicating improved churn predictions.

Seeking reliable services: a case of natural gas distribution utility

Learning outcomes The learning outcome of this paper are as follows: enabling students to learn about business and marketing issues of the natural gas distribution industry. To expose students to organizational processes aimed at finding solutions to customer issues. To make them appreciate the aspects of service quality and SERVQUAL model. To make the students aware of the significance of market research for problem-solving. How to use market research findings to address the customer issues? Enabling the students to learn how cross-functional teams contribute to addressing marketing and customer issues. Students should appreciate how to study towards creating a customer-centric organization with an organization-wide commitment including that from the top leadership. Case overview/synopsis Abhay Shankar, Sr. Manager-Customer Service at Reliable Gas Company Limited a state government piped natural gas (PNG) distribution utility whose customer service department is concerned about the provision of best service to its PNG domestic customers. Domestic customers are low volume but largest in numbers and are considered to be a tough, demanding customer segment. A general opinion among the marketing team of the company is that they are trying their best to serve its customers and that their efforts are no less than their private sector counterpart global gas customer service efforts. Abhay is in dilemma on what to do to improve customer services? Complexity academic level Masters students. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS: 8 Marketing.

Mapping Research on Customer Centricity and Sustainable Organizations

Firms are increasingly organized around the client. At the same time, there is customer pressure on green and sustainable organizations. The purpose of this paper is to map the current state of the research in the domain of customer-centric organizations from a sustainability perspective. We conducted a bibliometric analysis from published documents between 1990 and 31 July 2020. Key findings indicate that research on customer centricity and sustainability has increased in recent years, finding some trends and that the topic is structured into three clusters: (1) Sustainable Development, Customer-Centric Perspective, and Sales; (2) Sustainability and Commerce; and (3) Customer-Centricity and Sustainability Trends. The implementation of a bibliometric methodology and the focus given to the definition, the relationships, and the evolution of the three main clusters within the topic are the characteristics that differentiate our study from other publications or reviews in the field of research. In addition, all the documents that refer to practical cases were identified, and the main ones were analyzed, to provide highlights to practitioners who aim to deploy the customer centricity approach in their firms from a sustainable perspective and seeking that the corporate purpose is followed.

Customer oriented intelligent DSS based on two-phased clustering and integrated interval type-2 fuzzy AHP and hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS

Firms need to integrate multiple business functions in order to acquire, analyze, model, and evaluate information necessary for better understanding customer behaviors and making data-driven decisions to enhance the customer experience journey. This study proposes a customer oriented intelligent decision support system (IDSS) to ultimately improve the customer experience journey. Besides, a real application study is handled for a multinational company located in Turkey, considering its abrasives product sales for years of 2017 and 2018. For the data utilized in application study, the proposed methodology is constructed for customer segmentation to develop appropriate data-driven marketing strategies for customers with similar values, preferences and other factors for creating customer-centric organizations. In this regard; firstly two-phased clustering process, which involves the hierarchical multivariate average linkage clustering algorithm and partitional k-means clustering algorithm, is used to present the number of clusters on the basis of three variables (expenditure, transaction and unit cost) and then to assign the customers to the related clusters (VIP, Platinum, Gold and Bronze), respectively. Secondly, the performances of company’s departments are ranked according to the preferences of customers from each segment considering 4Ps marketing mix concept via integrated methodology of interval type-2 Fuzzy AHP and hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS.

Creating Customer-Centric Organizations: The Value of Design Artefacts

More organizations are adopting customer-centric innovation practices to increase business value; however, very little is known about the factors driving customer-centric innovation or the conditions under which innovation succeeds. Similarly, very little is known about the role of design artefacts as inputs in customer-centric innovation processes or as instruments that support the organizational change required for successful change. A practice-led case study was conducted to examine the role of design artefacts and to demonstrate how they are flexible and persuasive tools that mediate the social and intertwined demands of customer-centric innovation strategies. Five distinct roles of design artefacts are proposed and their value in contributing to innovation and organizational change are considered.

After-Sales Service and Customer Satisfaction in the Automobile Industry in an Emerging Economy

Purpose: The study examined the role of after-sales services on customer satisfaction using CFAO Motors as a case study. Methodology: A mixed ap-proach was used in the data collection through questionnaire administration and interviews. The analysis made used of Kano’s Model and Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance. Results: The result indicated that maintenance (M) = 43 and inspection (O) = 41 were the highest scores of the major categories under customer requirement on “must-be” requirement and “one-dimensional” requirement respectively. The customers ranked solving problems through maintenance, accuracy of documentation and competency of service technicians as the top three priorities of their assessment on after-sales services. The service technicians revealed that competition coupled with insufficient hands on the job as a major challenge to after-sales services while the Workshop Manager indicated that customers were reminded of their next servicing schedule through sticker which was placed in the car to show scheduled service time. Conclusion: The study concludes that CFAO Motor must be customer-centric organization through deployment of effective marketing strategies to build long term relationships with stakeholders to better its performance. Originality: This is the first time in the Ghanaian context where a mixed method and the application of the Kano Model have been used on automaker dealer after-sales services.

Framework of Information Technology Infrastructure in Practices of Management Information Systems at Customer-Centric Service Organization: Case-Based Approach

Framework of Information Technology Infrastructure in Practices of Management Information Systems at Customer-Centric Service Organization: Case-Based Approach

Building Customer-centric Organizations: Shaping Factors and Barriers

Although the number of companies declaring their commitment to the concept of customer centricity is increasing, many of these companies are struggling to actually shape their organization accordingly. In this article we share the results of our research, which aims to identify key shaping factors that help organizations move towards customer centricity, and key barriers that typically deter organizations from becoming customer-centric. Based on a literature review and field research among both practitioners and academics, we have identified a set of nine shaping factors and three barriers to building customer-centric organizations and explored these in more detail. Our study suggests that there are no simple recipes or shortcuts for organizations to become customer-centric. Instead, companies can reap sustainable competitive advantage from evolving the ability to master nine shaping factors and evade three barriers to customer centricity.

Postmodernism and customer centricity

There are many different explanations of customer centricity, and many people are in support of that concept whereas many others are against it. Different meanings can be found for customer centricity in literature. Which one could be the proper and most reliable one? Most of the views on customer centricity are based on foundational philosophical approaches and many different patterns are set as a guideline for the organizations which are willing to be customer-centric. In this paper, the aim is to look at the customer centricity phenomenon from the postmodernist point of view. The question of this study is linked to an anti-foundational philosophical approach (postmodernism) and it is shown how different the answers could be based on the philosophy approach that we choose. To collect the data, 10 in-depth interviews were done with senior business managers of customer-centric organizations in Iran. The results showed completely different answers from the postmodernist point of view.

Examining the Impact of Organizational Culture on Customer Centricity in Organizations:An Analysis

The aim of this paper was to develop a theoretical framework to understand the effect of organizational culture, customer centricity, and knowledge management on organizational effectiveness. An organization's culture is reflected by its vision and values. A customer centric organization has its core values centered on constantly striving towards serving the customers better. Organizations practice customer relationship management (CRM) to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Relevant knowledge about the customers is most important to understand their needs. Knowledge management plays an important role here. Knowledge about the product, customer, brand, and competition are essential for the employees to understand how the customers feel about an organization's products/services and hence, organizations can innovate further to attain customer delight. A customer-centric culture in an organization leads to customer-centric knowledge creation and thus, improves organizational effectiveness through an increase in customer satisfaction.

Driving Customer-Centric Growth: A Practical Roadmap for Brand Marketing: The Pivotal Role of Insights and Analytics in the Customer-Centric Organization

In 2015, Kantar Vermeer with partners Korn Ferry, ESOMAR, the Advertising Research Foundation, and LinkedIn, conducted a large-scale global empirical study containing insights from both qualitative vision interviews as well as quantitative survey analysis covering all regions and industries. The

Human Connection: Uncharted Territory for Value Creation

This article introduces an area of value creation seldom considered in the strategic sense in business: value creation from human connections. And given the number one reason for customers leaving a business is a feeling of indifference from a company representative, this is an area that holds a great opportunity for companies to really stand out from their competition. This article examines where business has come from, where we are now and why the critical need to revamp our way of thinking. When a company transforms into a customer-centric organization, a collective mindset to design for the desired outcome of customer emotion emerges. The context for thought is creating value for the customer and is expressed in changes to processes, products/services and people. When an employee transforms into being customer focused, the individual mindset of paying attention to how he leaves a person feeling begins to develop. This shift from task to the customer lays the foundation for developing human connection skills. Customer value creation becomes a common language of understanding with different expressions of it for company and individuals. The reader will discover why traditional soft skills training has failed to bring about lasting behaviour changes and offers an alternative, based on the insights provided in recent years from neuroscience.

Fit for global customers: how ALTANA mastered the journey to a customer-centric organization

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation journey of global account management (GAM) programs. ALTANA’s case offers a good example of the challenges a supplier faces when attempting to ascend into the highest supplier league – as well as lessons on how they can be resolved. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual approach for the GAM implementation is based on the results of benchmarking studies with more than 300 companies. Over the period of six years, the authors then conducted planned interventions and captured results via multiple sources on a yearly basis. Findings – Findings include: implementing GAM pays off (i.e. driving business in good times, protecting business in economic downturns), and implementing GAM catalyzes a company-wide transformation and creates client-focused organizational structures without expensive, often useless “integration” projects. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of the research is that it consists of a single company research study in one industry. Cross-industry validation studies would generate further insights. Practical implications – The described approach can serve as a blueprint for other firms and can help them to save time and costs in their own efforts. Originality/value – This is one of the few multi-year studies on GAM implementation. The results confirm that implementing GAM pays off, but also show that only a cautious and evolutionary approach generates sustainable success. In this respect, the findings contradict the widespread assumption that GAM programs can be implemented within 12-18 months and offer those who are charged with such a task useful lessons for their own practice.

100% Great Songs, reverse positioning of Delta FM Radio, Indonesia

Subject area Reverse positioning, market segmentation, customer-centric organization. Study level/applicability Postgraduate program; Master in strategic marketing and Master in business administration. Case overview Declining radio listenership is triggered by lack of attention of the radio managers to the desires of radio listeners. Delta FM radio, as part of Masima Media Group, is a radio that realized the need for revitalization. They changed their target audience and positioning to regain its former glory. Delta FM radio get back to the core benefit with the tagline: “100% Great Songs”. Shifting from highlighting the emotional benefits to functional benefits and to cut a variety of benefits is called “reverse positioning”. Expected learning outcomes The objective of this case study is to give deeper comprehension a new concept called reverse positioning or reverse branding. It is an example of the dynamic of hyper competition in media market in practice, in the emerging market such as Indonesia. It provides clear picture of the difference between listener oriented vs advertiser oriented company and the impact of the imbalance portion between them. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Customer centricity for growth – Yes Bank experience

Subject area Marketing, strategy. Study level/applicability This case is suitable for post graduate and executive development students. Case overview The case provides perspectives of customer centric practices of Yes Bank which has the objective of becoming the best quality bank of the world in India. The case study outlines how Yes Bank has become the fastest growing bank by its strong focus on customers through its committed and innovative employees. The customer centricity develops strong existing relationships and focuses on providing exceptional customer service, leading to better financial performance. Expected learning outcomes These include: highlighting the characteristics of customer centric organizations; discussing how Yes Bank practised customer centricity despite the limitation of being a new bank with no experience; describing the key differentiators and comparing with those of other banks; and establishing the relationship between customer centric practices with financial performance. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.