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Factors influencing the adoption and implementation of customer relationship management strategies by small and medium enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal

Purpose The aim of this study is to identify and investigate the factors that influence the adoption and implementation of CRM strategies by SMEs in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. Background Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the development of economies both in the developed and developing countries. SMEs face many obstacles in their path to survival and much has been discussed in terms of helping the small enterprises to survive and grow to fulfil their economic potential and derive the benefits that come with it. However, there is limited literature when it comes to the use of CRM as a tool for survival. This study suggested that CRM can also be used to help SMEs to grow and thrive. It was within this scope that this study examined the factors that influence the adoption of CRM by SMEs in KZN. The goal was to move away from the misconception that CRM is a technology but gravitate towards treating CRM as a holistic strategy that should diffuse within the whole organisation. Technology is thus viewed as an enabler of the CRM strategy. Organisational, environmental, technological and information culture factors should all be integrated and help the firm to make a well-informed decision when it comes to adopting CRM strategies. CRM adoption and implementation are not without their problems, but the promises are too good to ignore; and, indeed, the future prosperity of SMEs may lie in CRM adoption and implementation. Methodology The research used a quantitative research approach to evaluate the major factors affecting KwaZulu Natal SMEs in the process of adopting and implementing CRM programs. A questionnaire that was divided into owner-specific and organisational profile demographics and CRM factors was used as the survey instrument to collect the data. The statistical package, SPSS version 25 was utilised to analyse the accumulated data. Logistic regression and t-tests were used to assess validity and reliability Findings The study outcomes revealed that technological, environmental, organisational contexts and information culture factors play an important role in the adoption and implementation of CRM innovations by SMEs in KZN. The study identified education and technological factors like security and complexity as the major drivers of innovation adoption among the SMEs that were investigated. It must, however, be noted that successful adoption can only be realised when all the factors are combined. Recommendations The TOE can be used by managers and practitioners as a guideline for the adoption and implementation of CRM innovations. The outcomes of this study revealed that all the interrelations of the framework are very important when deciding to adopt and implement CRM projects. Adoption of CRM in an incremental manner is needed to allow integration between the innovation and the current needs and culture of the enterprise. Simple technology can be used in the adoption and effective implementation of CRM strategies. Future Research Future research can test the TOE framework on the wider KZN SME population including those not under incubation programmes. This study examined the whole SME sector. It would be interesting to examine one sector and also post adoption research studies can be undertaken. A study can also be commissioned to examine the success and failure of the adopted strategies.