Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Practices towards Customer Brand Engagement: Evidence from the Hotel Industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practices and its effects on Customer Brand Engagement (CBE) are an emerging trend in many industries including the hotel industry. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine whether there is a relationship between customer relationship management practices and customer brand engagement in the Sri Lanka hotel firms. The population is senior and middle managers of the hotel industry with a sample comprised of 183 managers. The data was gathered using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. The key findings of the study showed that customer relationship management practices are significantly related to customer brand engagement in hotel industry of Sri Lanka and consequently, customer relationship management can be utilized as a tool to enhance customer brand engagement in the hotel firms in Sri Lanka. The findings further depict managerial implications and opportunities for future research in the same area.