Social customer relationship management model for small and medium enterprises: Factors and challenges

Abstract

Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) has been found to be effective in increasing the performances of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Social CRM in companies is considered a rapidly growing phenomenon to guarantee a high level of service. However, identifying the Social CRM acceptance factors by decision-makers for Umrah services in KSA has been a critical challenge. There are limited studies conducted on Social CRM acceptance factors from Technological, Organizational, Environmental and Human aspects. In case of Umrah companies, the implementation of Social CRM and its effectiveness on their performance is rarely explored. Hence, this study addresses this gap and investigated potential factors influencing Social CRM acceptance by decision makers in the context of Umrah services in Saudi Arabia. This study proposes a research model by using Technological Organizational Environmental (TOE) framework. Eleven hypotheses were developed and the significance of the relationship between the factors were investigated using a quantitative approach. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling and (PLS) technique. The results of this study and the proposed model would assist the decision makers in SMEs companies to better understand the importance of Social CRM acceptance in improving the performance of companies and their services delivery.