Analyzing the impact of knowledge management on CRM success: The mediating effects of organizational factors

• Published in: International journal of information management Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 437 - 444
• Main Authors: Garrido-Moreno, Aurora, Padilla-Meléndez, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2011; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Alliances; Customer relationship management; Customer relationship management (CRM); Customer service; Customer services; Determinants; Exact sciences and technology; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Knowledge management; Library and information science. General aspects; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Orientation; Sciences and techniques of general use; Strategy; Studies; Success; Success factors; Success model; Technological/organizational/customer orientation factors; Use and user studies. Information needs; Spain; Technological/organizational/customer orientation factors; Knowledge management; Success model; Customer relationship management (CRM); Customer Relationship Management; Technological/organizational/customer; Use study; orientation factors
• ISSN: 0268-4012; 1873-4707
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.01.002

► We model factors influencing CRM success. ► Factors: knowledge management, technological, organizational, customer orientation, CRM experience. ► Organizational variables are the antecedents of CRM success. ► Other factors influence CRM success through the organizational variables. Customer relationship management (CRM) and knowledge management (KM) have become key strategic tool for all companies, especially in the current competitive environment. Moreover, customer knowledge is an important issue for CRM implementation. Reviewing the literature, we found many studies that analyze the crucial role played by KM initiatives as determinants of the success of CRM. Moreover, we found also diverse studies that show high rates of failure when implementing that strategy, so there is still no integrated conceptual framework to guide companies to their successful implementation. In this paper, with data of 153 Spanish hotels, we examine the relationships between KM and CRM success using a structural equation model. The main contribution is that having knowledge management capabilities is not sufficient for the success of CRM, but there are other factors to consider. In particular, organizational factors indeed impact CRM success and they appear to be intermediaries of the impact of other factors (KM capabilities/technological/customer orientation factors) in the success of CRM (in financial and marketing terms).