A framework for customer relationship management strategy orientation support in higher education institutions

Abstract

A number of generic CRM implementation frameworks have been developed, yet no systematic framework has been developed to help HEIs orientate CRM strategy to align with university business strategies and stakeholder needs. This research iteratively develops the CRM Strategy Orientation Support (CRM-SOS) framework, which aims to support HEIs in orientating their strategic CRM system at the pre-implementation stage and align CRM strategy with the business strategy; thus, reducing the chance that HEIs will experience CRM implementation failure. To reach our proposed CRM-SOS framework, we employed Design Science Research (DSR) methodology steps (Vaishnavi and Kuechler 2004) by analysing UK HEIs specific CRM implementation case studies, conducting semi-structured HEIs-based interviews, followed by evaluation of the resulted framework by HEI Information Systems (IS) experts. We concluded with a new CRM-SOS framework for HEIs consisting of five stages. The framework can be used to personalise the stages until they fit the strategic outputs and match the top management KPIs. Although existing research agrees that intensive attention should be given to CRM planning, there is no consensus or developed framework, for use within HEIs, demonstrating how CRM strategy can be orientated to align with university strategies and customer needs.

Analysing enterprise resources for developing CRM framework in higher education institutions

“…Although CRM solutions are increasingly adopted by education providers it is critical that HEIs implement CRM solutions that align with their top-down business strategy. Khashab et al, (2020a) presented a high-level CRM Strategy Orientation Support (CRM-SOS) framework to support HEIs in developing and orientating their CRM strategy. Although the CRM-SOS presented four core stages, and two option stages, no consideration of practical processes, methods, and practical tools was presented within this paper.…”

“…Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, no CRM strategy orientation framework has provided a systematic set of processes, methods, and practical tools to support CRM requirement capture and alignment with existing university methods. In this paper we build upon the work presented in Khashab et al (2020a), which presents a CRM Strategy Orientation Support (CRM-SOS) framework to support HEIs in development and orientation of CRM strategy. Although Khashab et al, (2020a) defined the need to analyse DEN requirements, no detailed steps and / or practical methods were effectively considered.…”

“…In this paper we build upon the work presented in Khashab et al (2020a), which presents a CRM Strategy Orientation Support (CRM-SOS) framework to support HEIs in development and orientation of CRM strategy. Although Khashab et al, (2020a) defined the need to analyse DEN requirements, no detailed steps and / or practical methods were effectively considered. In another study, Khashab et al (2020b) addressed possible practical step for scoping and aligning CRM strategy in HEIs, however steps 2 to 4 remain unconsidered.…”

“…movement between high-level stages (represented by dotted arrows), was validated within framework design, and was found to facilitate CRM strategy orientation. Although Khashab et al (2020a) CRM-SOS framework presented high-level stages that are required to support CRM strategy definition and orientation, definition of specific steps and / or practical methods needed to support practical application was ignored. Khashab et al, (2020b) considered the practical steps of how to scope and align CRM strategy in Higher Education Institutions, however stages 2 to 4 are still missing.…”

Improvement of Quality of Higher Education Institutions as a Basis for Improvement of Quality of Life

“…KPIs are becoming increasingly important since they enable monitoring and assessing the situation in various areas to conclude quality objectively [56]. Well-selected and measurable KPIs should be carefully defined and used to determine which parts must take specific actions, i.e., where quality can be improved [57]. Quality KPIs represent empirical information that gives a picture of how a HEI realises its goals and ensures continuous monitoring of its quality level [58].…”