Proposed Analytic Framework for Student Relationship Management based on a Systematic Review of CRM Systems Literature

Abstract

Notwithstanding the research attention given to the importance and capability of the student relationship management strategy in higher education sustainability, there is no any systematic framework for implementation. This research as one of the preliminary studies has been undertaken to provide a structural framework of strategic practices for positioning this strategy at an operational level. In doing so, a methodological approach was implemented in two tiers. Firstly, a systematic review of the leading-edge literature on the customer relationship management systems was performed owing to the lack of significant research on the topic, as well as the structure and nature of the concept. Then, the principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation, which is a method of exploratory factor analysis was used to finalize the research. The findings revealed an articulated structural framework with five hypotheses, which may partially or fully be applied to narrow the major gap in the current knowledge. The measurement scale has also been developed for simplification in implementation of the application. Limitations and directions for future research were accordingly discussed.

Critical Success Factors of Student Relationship Management

“…On the other hand, the growing scientific communities and institutions are increasingly engaging themselves in maximizing value for both students and universities to go beyond the triple-bottom line, seizing the initiative to embed and develop sustainability into higher education systems in order to expedite the transition to sustainable development. Due to these totems, it is evident that universities need new strategic approaches and leadership to succeed [1,[4][5][6][7].…”

“…In pursuit of this aim, it is believed that the establishment of a successful student relationship management (SRM), which has been coined by Hilbert et al [2] and Ackerman and Schibrowsky [8], in higher education institutions is strategic and crucial for the sake of the aforementioned totems [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Implementing such an approach offers numerous benefits to universities, as thoroughly enumerated in the theoretical framework of this article.…”

“…Implementing such an approach offers numerous benefits to universities, as thoroughly enumerated in the theoretical framework of this article. Gholami et al [7], by reviewing the relational managerial literature, found that an effective SRM can contribute to constituting "a strategic orientation for maximizing the student value through meeting the students' needs as well as for advancing the institutional sustainability through sustainable relationships development" (p. 2).…”

“…As the discourse on this topic is insufficient [7,13], the inquiry for this investigation is made into the debate about SRM due to its importance, capability, and philosophy. By reviewing the literature, it is found that institutions have mainly perceived the concept as a technological initiative for solving the problems in individual domains, accompanied by uncoordinated efforts.…”

“…However, there is a lack of understanding about the impacts of other critical factors on the success of SRM. A study has theoretically analyzed the vital role played by knowledge management (KM) initiatives as determinants of the SRM success [7], along with other factors (organizational and technological factors); however, they have yet to address the concept empirically. This indicates that a generally accepted model to guide universities to their successful implementation is still missing, which accords with the investigations of [2,7].…”