Abstract
Customer relationship management in electronic commerce (e-CRM) is one of the fastest growing management techniques adopted by online enterprises (Letaifa & Perrien, 2007). Much research has been done on topics such as e-CRM management (Romano & Fjermestad, 2003; Letaifa & Perrien, 2007), e-CRM marketing techniques (Jackson & Wang 1995; Pan & Lee, 2003), the adoption of e-CRM in organizations (Wu & Wu, 2005), and e- CRM applications that facilitate Internet business (Wang & Head 2001; Adebanjo, 2003; Joo & Sohn, 2008). Still, many online enterprises encounter difficulties implementing effective e-CRM because they tend to overlook customer’s perspective on e-CRM issues (Woodcock & Starkey, 2001).
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Overview of Web-Based Customer Relationship Management
E-CRM is a newly developed customer-oriented business philosophy that reorients online enterprise operations in order to improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention (Adebanjo, 2003; Pan & Lee, 2003; Letaifa & Perrien, 2007). Many of the e-CRM facets that are analyzed in the literature correspond to the stages discussed in Oliver’s cognitive-affective-cognitive-action model for loyalty (1980). In the next three sections, e-CRM is explained in terms of the cognitive, affective, and cognitive stages that lead to the final stage of “action loyalty.”
Explanation of Cognitive Belief
Purchasing stages in Internet shopping can be classified into five phases: information research, placing an order, requesting post-purchase services, delivery options and online payment (Nour & Fadlalla, 2000). Through these experiences, customers have a cognitive response related to the perceived benefits and costs of a purchase from a specific retailer (Zeithaml 1988). Cognition can also be described as awareness, knowledge, or beliefs that may or may not have been derived from previous shopping experiences (Fishbein, 1967).
According to the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), an individual’s performance is determined by his or her behavioral intentions, which are jointly determined by cognitive factors such as attitudes and subjective norms. As an extended model of TRA, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was derived by adding the perceived behavioral control as a determinant of behavior (Ajzen, 1985). Davis (1989) proposed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), based on TRA and TPB, to explain and predict the user’s acceptance of information systems or information communication technology (ICT). In TAM, cognitive beliefs such as the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are counted as key factors for technology acceptance. The three theories (TRA, TPB, and TAM) have been widely validated and are widely used to predict or explain the cognitive behavior in social psychology.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Commitment: is defined as customer’s behavioral intention to continue a business relationship. It refers not only to a customer’s future transactional intentions, but also to the purposefulness of these intentions, distinguishing a committed relationship from a mere transactional one. It reflects the affective and cognitive motivations that maintain a long-term relationship and the tendency to resist changing preferences.
Perceived Value: is defined as cognition about attributes and benefits directly related to perceived needs or wants in the shopping experience.
Perceived Service Quality: is defined as customer’s judgment about the extent to which a Web site facilitates efficient and effective shopping, purchase, and delivery of products and services.
E-CRM: is defined as customer relationship management techniques adopted by online enterprises in the electronic commerce. It is based on the belief that developing long-term relationships with customers is the best way to gain customer loyalty.
Perceived Price Fairness: is defined as an evaluation of the overall price fairness when considering both monetary and non-monetary costs of acquiring the product or service.
Perceived Product Quality: is defined as the customer’s judgment about the superiority or excellence of a product.
Satisfaction: is defined as the extent to which customers perceive their prior expectations of a product or service to be confirmed during actual use.
Trust: is defined as a set of specific relationship intentions dealing primarily with integrity, benevolence, competence, and predictability of a retailer.