Human-centredness in customer relationship management implementation research: Towards a holistic perspective

Abstract

The application of information technology (IT) to marketing through customer relationship management (CRM) software is growing rapidly, but the risk of failure remains high. We argue that research in CRM implementation success should focus more on human-centred issues. In this study we introduce a conceptual framework for a holistic view of humans in CRM and apply the framework to earlier research on CRM implementation. The results indicate that in most CRM approaches the prevailing conception of humans is monistic. The human being is seen as consisting of only one basic mode of being in that humans are conceptualized as objects without any mental and social qualities. We suggest that a more holistic approach to human beings as users of a CRM system would benefit CRM implementation.