技术客户关系管理（CRM）

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TechnologicalCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM):AnEnterprisesBusinessPartnership

Abstract

CustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)representsatechnologicalapplicationbasedonthephilosophyofRelationshipMarketinganditrecommendstheinteractionwithhighvalueconsumers.RelatingCRMtonewsocialtechnologies,CRM

2.0orsocialCRMdealswiththerelationshipbetweencompaniesandcustomersusingonlineplatforms.Throughacomparativestudybasedonqualitativeindicators,thispaperdrawsarelationshipbetweenCRMtheoryandpractice.Intwohightechnologyorganizationsitwasidentifiedthat,althoughtheindicatorsareappropriatetothebusinessactivities,theirusageandunderstandingareorientedbythenatureofbusinessesandbythecompanycharacteristics.

Key-words:CustomerRelationshipManagement;Databases;DataMiningProcesses.

Introduction:DefinitionofCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)intheManagementPerspective

Infreetranslation,itispossibletoconceptualizeCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)asthe‘ManagementoftheRelationshipswithClients’.Itisamanagementapproachaimedatidentifying,attractingandretainingcustomers.Theincreaseoftransactionswithhighvaluecustomersisrecommended(WILSON,DANIEL,McDONALD,2002),thatis,amarketingorientationfocusedonretainingvalue.Itisalsounderstoodastheautomationandimprovementofbusinessprocesses,associatedtoCustomerRelationshipManagement.Dependingontheorientationoftheresearch,itcanbebothamarketingsubjectandasubjectofthetechnologyarea.AccordingtoDwyer,SchurrandOh(1987),forinstance,CRMrepresentstheextensionofexchangerelationshipsthatcontributetothedifferentiationofproductsandservices,whichcanprovidecompetitiveadvantage.Thegoalofthiskindofapplicationistofocusonrelationshipprogramstoofferthecustomerahighlevelofsatisfaction,higherthantheoneprovidedbycompetitors(WINER,2001).Inthissense,“CRMisabusinessstrategy;notonlyasoftwareapparatus”(RAGINS,GRECO,2003,p.29).Day(2002)mentionsthatitisofhighimportancetomaintainaloyalcustomerbase.Thesecustomersrepresentasourceofprofitstothecompany.

Wilson,DanielandMcDonald(2002)presentCRMasthesetofprocessesandtechnologiestosupportplanning,implementationandmonitoringofconsumers,distributorsandinteractioninfluencesonmarketingchannels.Byhighlightingthisstrategiccriterionatfirst,RaginsandGreco(2003)laterwarnabouttheneedtocreateanintelligenttechnologyapplicationasawaytoobtaintheeffectivenessofCRMpractices.Asafirststepforacompletesolution,Winer(2001)focusesontheconstructionofacustomerdatabaseadjustedtotheorganization.CRMtechnologicalinitiatives,accordingtoCroteauandLi(2003),arebasedonsupportsystemstodecisionandintegratedsourcesofinformation.Theymustnecessarilyprovideacomprehensiveindividualclientviewaswellasthecustomerspecificneeds.

FollowingthelatesttrendsinCRMtheoryandtheconceptofweb2.0,socialCRM(orCRM2.0)standsasanewmarketingtooltoevaluatecustomerbehaviorandrelationships.SocialCRMincorporatesanewsetofsocialtoolsandstrategiestoitstraditionaloperationalfunctions,meetingtheconnectivitydemandofgenerationYandZcustomers(GREENBERG,2010).Socialnetworksaredevelopinganimportantroleinprovidingcriticaldatadoimproverelationswithcustomersandpartners(MOHAN,CHOI,MIN,2008).

OncetheessenceofCRMisdefined,asitsrelationstonewsocialtools,itstechnologicalaspectwillbepresentedthroughcentraltopics,whichconfigurethequalitativeindicatorsusedintheempiricalstageofthestudy.Afterthat,themethodusedtoconducttheresearchispresented.Finally,thediscussionoftheresultsfoundinthecomparisonbetween

organizationsandtheconcludingremarks.ThefollowingdiscussioninthispaperisthetechnologicalelaborationofaCRMapplication.

TheobjectiveofthisresearchistoprovideanappropriateclassificationforcomparativeanalysesthatadoptCRM.Toconsolidatethisgoal,thetechnologicalindicatorswillbegeneratedand,later,empiricallyinvestigated.TheseindicatorsaretheInformationTechnology;theInformationTools(DatabaseandDataWarehouse),DataMiningprocess,andthestageofSalesForceAutomation.

MainTechnologicalIndicatorsrelatedtoCRM

ThetechnologicalCRMindicatorsbuiltaredividedintofourconceptualsetsforafurtherempiricalanalysis.ThefirstsetshowsthewideviewoftheuseofInformationTechnology(IT).Inthesecondcharacterization,entitledInformationTools,datacollectionandclientdatastoragewereincorporated,includingDatabase(DB),DataWarehouse(DW)andtheirrespectivedefinitions.

SpecifictotheprocessesofDataMiningandrepresentedbytheapplicationoftheDataMining(DM)tool,thenextindicatorwascreated.Finally,itispresentedthetechnologicalaspectofsales,relatedtotheSalesForceAutomation(SFA)system,which,inthisstudy,refersspecificallytotheprocessofconversionoftraditionalsalesintoelectronicorautomatedsales.Asafirstconceptualelaboration,theITindicatorispresented.

InformationTechnology

InformationTechnology(IT)istheumbrellatermthatencompassestechnologiesusedtocreate,store,changeandusetheinformationinitsdifferentconfigurations(PEPPERS&ROGERSGROUP,2004).Inmarketingperspective,saysShoemaker(2001,p.178),ITis“thenervoussystemwhichevolvestheformsofmarketingorganization.”InCRM,ITrespondstothecomputerrequirementsofthesystem,representedbysoftwareandhardware.Pedron(2001)postulatesthattheCRMstrategyiscloselyrelatedtotheadvancesofITand,throughthistool,itispossibletoseekcustomerloyalty.Nogueira,MazzonandTerra(2004,p.2)highlightthatITanditsautomation“enabletheprovisionofindividualizedversionsofproductsandservicesaimingtoservethecustomeratareasonableprice.”

Bretzke(2000)warnsthat,atthemomentofdefiningandadoptingthesoftwarecomponent,itisnecessarytoguidethischoicebasedonthenatureandrelationalmodeltheorganizationintendstoestablishwiththecustomers.Brown(2001,p.161)addsthata“CRMsolutionrequirestheadoptionofnewtechnologiestoreachtransparencyandvisibilityinbusinessvaluechainandbetweenbusinessanditscustomers”.SocialCRMisalsoimportantasanewbreedofcustomerrequirecorporatetransparency,authenticityandinteraction(GREENBERG,2010).Boon,CorbittandParker(2002)concludethattheITinfrastructureisusuallydescribedasasetofservices,includingcommunicationmanagement,managementstandardization,safety,ITtraining,managementofservicesandapplications,datamanagementandadministrationandITresearchanddevelopment.

ForHansotia(2002,p.129),ITis“thefacilitatingelementintheimplementationofCRMstrategy”.Srivastavaetal.(2002)corroborateandcomplementstatingthatthesimultaneousmaturationofITdatamanagement,suchasDataWarehousingandtechnologicalanalyseslikeDataMining,cangeneratetheidealenvironmenttomakeCRMasystematiceffort.Kellen(2002,p.2)proposesthat“theCRMsoftwareisreallyasetofapplicationsforthemanagementofcustomerdata”,where“ITenabledchannelssuchastheInternet,allowtheone-to-onedialoguewithcurrentandpotentialcustomers,throughindividualnegotiation”(WILSON,DANIEL,McDONALD,2002,p.194).

Finally,Campbell(2003,p.375)statesthatorganizationswhichuseITadoptedit“tofocusontheuseofCRMinsearchofdatabasesnecessarytoevaluatecustomerstatusandprofitability”.Thesedatabasesrefertocustomerdata,whichcanbeusedintraditionalDatabasesorinconsolidateddatawarehouses,suchasDataWarehouseapplications.Thecharacteristicofthesetoolsissolidifiedintheabilitytogenerateinformationthroughdataincludedinthesystem,orthroughinformationavailablepracticallyinrealtime.FocusingontheseITtools,theglobalindicator“InformationTools”willbepresentedinthenextpartofthetheoreticalfoundation.

InformationTools

TheInformationToolswillbeconceptualized,foranalyticalpurposesconsideringthreefundamentalgroups,namely,respectively:Database(DB),asatransactionalinstrument;customerdata,whichpermitbusinessintelligenceinrelationtocustomers,andalso;DataWarehouse(DW),asthestorageofalreadyconsolidateddata,akindofmemoryofcompanytransactions.

ADatabase(DB)isunderstoodasasetoforganizedandstructureddata,subjecttouse.Inthiscase:thecompanytransactionwithclients.Peppers&RogersGroup(2004)definesDBasanysetofinformation.Itcanbeeitherasimpleshoplistoracomplexsetofcustomerinformation.Theuseofinternetandsocialnetworkseasetheaccesstothiskindofinformation,sincecustomersdescribetheirexperiencesandtastesthroughblogs,publicprofilesandevencompaniesforums.Nogueira,MazzonandTerra(2004,p.13)statethat“agooddatamanagementisessentialtoCRMpractices”.Itisakindofprocessthatneverendsandthatisconstantlyevolving.Customerstransactovertimeand,thesetransactionsaresystematicallyrecordedandupdatedintheDB.Pedron(2001)mentionsthattheDBisusedincustomerbehavioranalysis,inwhichareperformedprocessesofcheckingandclassificationofmarketsegmentsandoftheindividualinhisowngroup.

Missi,AlshawiandIrani(2003)statethatthequalityofdataanddatabaseintegrationtoolsisprojectedtointeractiveoperationandmanagementofgreatamountsofdistribution.Suchinformationisunstructuredindifferenttaxonomies,thus,allowingcombinations,differentarrangements,aswellasreportsbasedoninformationfromdifferentsources.ThiscanprovidetheCRMoperatorwithaunifiedviewofinformation.AccordingtoDowling(2002),theCRMrunbydatabasepresentssignificantadvancesintheidentificationofprofitablecustomersandanalerttonon-profitableones.ForPedron(2001),theDBstructurepresentsfourmaingroups.Theyrefertocurrentcustomers,potentialcustomers,lostorforgottencustomersand,dealersorbrokers(whoprovideusefulindirectinformationabouttheconsumerpreferences).IntheseDBsubgroupsupdatedinformationaboutcustomersmustbeincludedtobeusedinCRMinitiatives.

RegardingCustomerData,inCRMitisimportantthattheybereliableaswellasupdatedandavailableintimeforuse.TheuserofCRMsolutionneedsreliablecustomerdatatoperformmarketingandsalesactionsappropriately.ForNogueira,MazzonandTerra(2004)itisimportanttoeliminateproblemsthatcanaffecttheCRMDatabase,suchasredundantandduplicatedata.Itisimportanttogiveattentiontotheseaspects,sincetheCRMdataadministrationmustconsistinasolidbaseintheuseofnewtechniquesfordataanalysis.Attractingandrecordingtheanswersprovidedbyconsumersarethemostcriticalpartsintheprocessofidentifyingandcollectingrelevantandreliabledata,eitherinrelationtoestablishedcustomersorinrelationtoprospects.

Forthedataobtainedtobevaluableforthecompany,Pedron(2001)statesthatthevalueoftheprocessofmarketingcommunicationsliesinthefactofbeingnaturallycircular,thatis,thecustomerdataarecollected,analyzedandstored.Foreverynewinteraction,datamustbeimmediatelyupdatedintheDB.Thus,itispossibletoknowtheresultofmarketingactionsandtoadjusttheotherplansbasedoncustomerresponsesintimetomakeotheremployeesofthe

companyalsounderstandthecustomerbasedoncustomerhistoricalrecordsofinteractionsandtransactionswiththecompany.

AccordingtoBoltonandSteffens(2004),theabilityoforganizationsthatemployCRMtounderstandcustomerprivacyandpreferencesthroughoutthetransactionsguidescampaignsandprocessestocentralization,marketingplans,customerdatamanagementandminimizestherisksofnotknowingtheprofileofexistingorprospectivecustomers.

AccordingtoMcKim(2002),datahelpfindwhatisnecessaryforeffectivecommunicationwiththecustomer.Inthissense,CRMmeansamarketingactionofhigh-touchtypeandnotonlyahigh-techaction.Thepurposeofusingcustomerdataistobetterserveandnotonlytohaveatechnologicalapplication.TheuseofthedatainsertedinacustomerDBisdirectlyrelatedtostrategicdecisionmaking.ForBretzke(2000),theCRMstrategyallowsthecompanytobecometargetedtotheclients,aprocesswhichisconductedbyusingtheexistingcustomerdatabytheITstructure,enablingtheachievementofasustainablecompetitiveadvantage.AshighlightedbyHansotia(2002,p.121),the"CRMisessentiallyanintensiveeffortwithcustomerdata."

Missi,AlshawiandIrani(2003,p.1607)saythat"theessenceoftheCRMsystemimpliesunderstanding,controllingandoptimizingbusinessanddatamanagement,"andCampbell(2003)saysthatforcustomerdatatobeusedproperly,theymustbeconvertedintoinformationandthisinformationmustbeintegratedintobusinessprocesses.Afterthat,customerknowledgemustbedeveloped.Theinternalcompanyprocessesgenerateandintegratecustomerspecificinformation,whichprovideidealconditionsforcompaniestodevelopspecificrelationshipstrategies.Shoemaker(2001)saysthattheinteractionsbetweencustomersandtransactionsinprocessprovideanabundanceofdataandinformationthatmustbetransformedintocustomerknowledge.Thesoftwaresofcustomerknowledgeprovidetoolsavailableforthemarketingactorstomanagetheprocessoftransformingdataintoknowledgeand,thus,developtheappropriatecustomercategorization.

AccordingtoBoon,CorbittandParker(2002),thedatausedincustomersegmentationcanincludeanumberofevents,forexample,buyingpreferencesandhabits,income,education,statusandfamilysize,amonganumberofpossibilitiesindataarrangement.Wilson,Daniel,andMcDonald(2002)reportthatthesegmentationcanbeseenasasimplificationofthecomplexmessofdealingwithalargenumberofindividualcustomers,eachwithspecificneedsandaspirationsanddifferentpotentialvalue.Inotherwords,Srivastavaetal.(2002,p.18)statethat"customersegmentationisthedivisionofthetotalpopulationofcustomersintosmallergroups,calledcustomersegments."Companiesneedtobeselectivewhencorrelatingandintegratingdataintheprogramsandmarketingeffortsbygatheringappropriatecustomerinformation,therebydevelopingindividualmarketingprograms(PARVATIYAR,SHETH,2001).

Concludingtheconceptualdevelopmentofinformationaltools,DataWarehouse(DW),accountsforthesupplyofreliableinformationthatsupportstheprocessofdecisionmaking.ThefundamentaldifferencebetweentheDWandtheDBisthatintheDBdataarecurrent,thatis,theyareconstantlychanging.IntheDW,consolidateddataarestored,usuallyrepresentingtheannualexerciseorothercompletedperiods.

Nogueira,MazzonandTerra(2004,p.3)conceptualizeDataWarehouseas"thegenericnamefortheinfrastructureofonlinedatastorage,"whichisusedtostorecustomerinformationsuchastransactions,phonecalls,purchases,invoices,amongothers.ThereissynchronybetweenDWandtransactionaldatabases,althoughdataarenotchangeddirectlyinDW.Animportantaspectistheneedfordatatobetransformedintoinformation,sincetheyareessentialtoCRMpractices.DataWarehouseisimportantduetoitsfunctionalitytostoreinformationinonlyonecentrallocation,whichislaterusedinbuildingthecustomerimage.Itisatoolthatseekstomapandunderstandthecustomer,by

centralizinginformationandbybeinglinkedtotheorganizationchannelsanddepartments,inparticularcustomercontactpoints,thecaseofsalesrelationships.

DataWarehousehasareasontoexistduetotheperceivedneedtointegratebusinessdatainonlyoneplace,sothattheyareavailabletoallusersinvolvedinthedecision-makinglevelsoftheorganization(ANGELO,GIANGRANDE,1999).AsPedronpointsout(2001)thissystematizationprovidestheorganizationwithwaysofknowingwhothecustomersare,whattheirpreferencesare,thelikelihoodofnotdoingbusinesswiththecompanyanymore,aswellaswaysoftrainingthecompanytomeettheneedsandprofilesofotherpreferencesbythesecustomers.Customerknowledge,saysSwift(2001),configuresthestorageofhistoricalinformationindetailandclient-centered,allowingthecompanytobeagileandresponsivetothemarket,enablingsolidmarketingdecisionmaking,suchasthedeterminationofimportantpointsthatrequireresourceallocation.

ForBrown(2001),DataWarehouseisfundamentalandunrestrictivefactortothecustomizationandcreationofone-to-onemarketingenvironment,throughwhichitispossibleforthecompanytosubstantiallyincreasecustomersatisfaction.Srivastavaetal.(2002)saythattheimplementationofDataWarehouseisanessentialsteptotheanalyticalCRM,wheredatasourcesaredesignedforoperationaluse.DayandBulte(2002)explainthatCRMdependsontheorganizationalqualityandperformanceintheextractionandsharedmanagementofinformation,which,convertedintoknowledge,canbeusedinconsumerservice.Theconversionofdatasourcesintoinformationisaresultoftheanalyticalprocessesperformedbythecompany,suchas'DataMining'.

DataMining

DataMining(DM)isresponsibleforanalyzinginformationinaDatabasebyusingtoolsthatseektrendsoranomalieswithoutpriorknowledgeofthemeaningofdata.ItisanessentialprocessinCRMstrategies,especiallyinelectroniccommerce.Inshort,Dataminingistheprocessofextractingandcrossingrelevantinformation,wherecustomerbehaviorpatternscanbemapped(PEPPERS&ROGERSGROUP,2004).

Nogueira,MazzonandTerra(2004,p.3)saythatDMis"aprocessforextractingandpresentingnewknowledge,notpreviouslydetected,selectedfromdatabasesfordecision-makinginaction."AngeloandGiangrande(1999)sayitcanbedefinedasadataextraction,whenrunindatabase,aimingatobtainingusefulandunknowninformation.Bretzke(2000)describesDBasatoolusedinsearchofmoreprofitablecustomersorcustomersegmentsmoresignificanttothecompany.Themainadvantagesofusingitaretheabilitytoguidethedevelopmentofproductstocustomers,reducethedistancefromthefinalconsumer,offerproductsandserviceswithcompetitivepricesand,addextravalueforcustomersthroughsegmentationandanalysisofdifferenttypesofcustomers.

Miningdata,Srivastavaetal.(2002),representsananalyticalneed.Itsprimaryfocusistheinnovativeknowledge,previouslynonexistentorunavailable,usedinordertopredictthefutureandautomatetheanalysisofthedatasets.ForPaasandKuijlen(2001,p.57),DMis"particularlycrucialtotransformtransactionaldatastoredininsightsaboutthecustomerneeds."

DataminingtechniqueisalsoconsideredwhenusingapproachingsocialCRM,sincesocialnetworksarespreadovertheinternet.Fromsocialwebsitescustomersbehaviorcanbeobserved,improvingcompanies’capacitydodifferanddeliverspecificservices(MOHAN,CHOI,MIN,2008).BoltonandSteffens(2004)alsostatethatitisnecessarytoknowwhatkindofcustomerdataareidealtobecollectedbythecompanytomakeavailablecompleteinteractionsatthetouchpointsbetweencompanyandclient,whereisnecessarytoprovidetheappropriatekindoftreatmentandpersonalized

service.Fletchersays(2003,p.249)that,inCRMsystems,"companiescollectandusecustomerinformation"inordertoincreaseprofitmargins.Thereisadirectrelationshipbetweendataanalysisandthesalesprocess.Havingthisprerogativeinevidence,thetheoreticalstageiscompletedwith'SalesAutomation."

SalesForceAutomation

InthedefinitionproposedbyPeppers&RogersGroup(2001),SalesAutomationorSalesForceAutomation(SFA)referstothesoftwaretoautomatethesaleforce,includingtheprocessesofcontactmanagement,forecasting,salesmanagementandgroupsales.Hansotia(2002)saysthatthemainoperationalfocusofCRMisthetechnologicalplatformthatsupportscustomerinteractionsandsalesautomation.Shoemakerreports(2001)thatmostCRMsoftwareprovidersarerootedinSFA.Inthiscontext,itispossibletounderstandthatCRMisdesignedtoincreasesalesandbusinessmanagementfunctionality.TheprimaryfunctionsofCRMdirectedthesalesforcearethecontactmanagement,locationofaccounts,accountadministration,incomingorders,proposalgeneration,supportpresentation,technicalsupportandthesalesprocess.

OneofthemajorpapersonSFA,SpeierandVenkatesh(2002,p.98),saysthat"automationtechnologiesofsalesforceareincreasinglybeingusedinsupportofCRMstrategies,"andthattheirtoolsareoftenimplementedtofacilitateCRMprocesses,rootedinthephilosophyofRelationshipMarketing.Byimprovingthespeedandqualityofinformationflowamongsalespeople,customersandthecompany,SFAtoolssupportbusinessprocesses.SFAtoolsvaryincomplexityanddegreeaccordingtotheintegration,emphasizingineachcasetheorganizationalandexistingITinfrastructure.

ForSpeierandVenkatesh(2002),someorganizationalcharacteristicscanhavesignificantinfluenceonITimplementation,consequently,affectingacceptanceofSFA.Asstudiesingeneralshow,salespeoplereactreasonablypositivelytoSFAtoolsimmediatelyaftertraining.However,thisinitialresponsebecomesnegativeafterlongerperiodsusingthetool.Qualificationandtrainingprocesses,intenseintheearlyadoptionandlaterneglected,canexplainthisdownfallinemployeeadherenceintheautomatedsales.IntheopinionofSpeierandVenkatesh(2002,p.110),"companiesneedtoproactivelyevaluatehowSFAtoolschangetheroleofsalespeopleandtoidentifythemoreappropriatecapabilitiesofthesesalespeople."Theauthorsalsostatethatsalespeoplemaythinkthattheirroleisthreatened,becauseadministratorswillhaveaccesstothesamecustomerinformation,favoringcontrol.Theorganizationsmustbeawareoftheseperceptionstomakedecisionsofatechnologicalnaturetoavoiddifferencesbetweenmiddlemanagementandsalespeople.

SFAtoolscangenerateexcessiveconflictswiththesalesstaff.Theseconflictsresultinsignificantorganizationalcosts,possiblefinanciallossandpossiblelossofthemostvaluableemployees.Ifthemanagersunderstandandcontrolthepotentialityofthisconflict,anddealwithitproperly,companiesmayhavebetterchancesofsuccesswiththeuseSFAalternatives.

ForPeppers&RogersGroup(2004),thetermsalesforceautomationhasbeenwidelyused,butthereisnotafinalconsolidationofwhatthisterminologycomprises.Inthisstudy,SFAisunderstoodasthetechnologicalprocessesthataredirectlyassociatedwiththesalesprocesses,wherepreviouslytherewerepeopleintoday'smechanizedfunctions.Therequirementsoftheapplicationofthesetoolsneedtoevolvefromtheexistentsalesprocessesinthecompany.Whenappropriate,SFAreducesthedurationofthecyclesofcustomer-relatedprocesses,thewaste,andimprovescustomerrelations,followingtheCRMprinciples.Thesalespersondoesnotloseimportanceinthetransactionalprocess,andmustunderstandthesystemasthemanagementofsalesoperationalroutines.Inthiscontext,thesalespersonfocusesdirectlyoncustomerinteraction,especiallywhenbureaucraticsalesprocessesarecomplex.

ByusingtheSFAsystem,thesalespersoncanservethecustomerinapersonalizedway,withmorequality,andaccesstothehistoryoftherelationshipbetweencompanyandcustomer.Thus,asAnderson(2002)mentions,inmanymarketingcontexts,theroleofthesalespersonistoassesscustomerneeds,directtheclienttotheappropriateproductorservice,andthennegotiatewithhim.Shoemaker(2001,p.178)saysthatinmanycompanies“salesforceisthebasisofinteractionswithcustomers."Thetechnologicalintegrationwitheverytouch-pointbetweencompanyandcustomerstrengthenstheabilityofsalesforcetodevelopappropriaterelationshipswithcustomersandprovidefasterresponsestotheirdemands.ForSpeierandVenkatesh(2002)thesalesstaffistheprimarysourceofinformationexchangeintherelationshipbetweencustomerandsalesperson,and,thus,playsacrucialroleintheformationandsustainabilityofcustomerrelationships.AsShoemaker(2001)highlights,thesalesstaffcreatesconnectionswithcustomersandunderstandstheimportanceofpreservingtheserelationships.

MethodologyUsedintheEmpiricalStageoftheStudy

Researchofaqualitativeapproachwasconductedinacomparativeway,veryclosetotheconceptofaCaseStudy.ThefocusconsistsoftheanalysisofCRMintwohigh-techcompanies,whichwillbecalled“Company1”and“Company2”tokeeptheirnamesconfidential.Thefirstcompanyisdevotedtodigitaltechnologyfocusingonsoftwareandhardwareproducts.ItisamultinationalcompanyandoneoftheleadersintheITmarket,withoperationsinBrazil.AsoftwaredevelopmentunitlocatedinsouthernBrazilwasinvestigated.Theothercompanyisanationalleaderinitssegment,workinginmediaandentertainment.Thebusinessunitinvestigatedwasitsheadquarters,locatedinSaoPaulo.

TheconductionandelaborationoftheinstrumentfordatacollectionandtheanalysisofresultsoffieldcollectionwerebasedonYin’sprinciples(2001).Zaltman(1997)saysthattheresearchmethodologyrequiresattentiontotheenvironmentandtypesofcommonphenomenaasliteraturerecommends.Consideringtheauthor’sprinciples,thefirststageofthestudywasthedevelopmentofatheoreticalframeworkusedasareferenceforthestageofdataanalysis.Bruggen,LilienandKacker(2002)recommendthatbothinformantsandtheprocedureforcollectionandanalysisoftheircontributionsshouldbespecified.Meetingtheseprinciples,theCRMexecutivemanagerswereidentifiedastheappropriateinformantstotheprovisionofinformationofinterest.

Althoughtheresultsareconsolidatedpercompany,threepeoplewereinterviewedintheconstructionoftheresultsofCompany1andtwointervieweesinCompany2,selectedbyrecommendationandmeritcriteria