Department of Computer Science and Electronics

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENTS IN PROJECTS AND ITS EFFECT ON MARGINS. WITH A VIEW TO SATISFACTION, COMMITMENT AND CUSTOMER RETENTION.

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE DEGREE WITH FOCUS IN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

PREPARED BY ADARAN AYODOTUN OLUKUNLE

SUPERVISOR

BENGT-INGE ANDERSSSON

EXAMINER

ASA LUNDKVIST

Adaran Ayodotun Olukunle E-Mail: [email protected] Phone: +46737826345

TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgment………………………………………………………………….3 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..4 1.1 Research Problem………………………………………………………………….6 1.2 Research Significance……………………………………………………………..7 1.3 Aims And Objectives………………………………………………………………7 2. Literature Review………………………………………………………………….9 2.1 Relationship Management………………………………………………………...9 2.2 Organizational Perception of Relationship Management…………………………11 2.3 Customers Perception of Relationship Management……………………………..12 2.3.1. Customers Satisfaction and its effect on commitment…………………………….13 2.4 Differential Analysis of Customer and Organisational Perception……………….14. 2.4.1 Commitment –Satisfaction- Defection. Intention Interrelationships……………...14 2.4.2 CRM in Project Management…………………………………………………..…15 2.5 Conceptual Framework …………………………………………………………...18 2.6 Analysis Link………………………………………………………………………20 3.1 Research Methodology……………………………………………………………22. 3.2 Positivism………………………………………………………………………….22 3.3 Phenomenology……………………………………………………………………24. 3.4 Quantitative and Qualitative Research……………………………………………25 3.5 Quantitative Research……………………………………………………………..26 3.6 Qualitative Research………………………………………………………………27 3.7 Characteristics of Quantitative and Qualitative Research…………………………27 3.8 Research Methods…………………………………………………………………29 3.8.1 Questionnaires……………………………………………………………………..3 0 3.8.2 Structured Interview……………………………………………………………….32 3.9. Characteristics of Structured, Semi-structured and Unstructured Interviews……..34 3.10 Secondary Data…………………………………………………………………… 35 3.11 Triangulation ……………………………………………………………………...34 3.12 Validity and Reliability …………………………………………………………...38 3.13 Methods Applied………………………………………………………………….39 3.14 Procedures and Sampling ………………………………………………………...40 4.0 Findings & Analysis……………………………………………………………….41 4.1 Methods 1 Questionnaire………………………………………………………….41 4.2 Semi-structured Interview ………………………………………………………...44 4.3 Analysis Of The Questionnaire Results……………………………………………52 4.4 Summary of Findings………………………………………………………………55 5.0 Conclusion And Recommendation………………………………………………....58 5.1 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………58

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 5.2 Recommendation…………………………………………………………………..60 6.0 Part Two……………………………………………………………………………62 6.1 Critical evaluation of the dissertation……………………………………………...62 Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………65 Questionnaires……………………………………………………………………..65 7.0 References…………………………………………………………………………71

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to acknowledge the help received from some people in the course of doing this program and writing this thesis. A big thank you to God Almighty for making this possible, it is an age long ambition, my parents for always being there, my able supervisor the person of BIA for his constructive criticism, patience in writing this thesis and to all my friends. Thanks for everything.

1. INTRODUCTION Relationship management is neither a concept nor a project. Instead, it is a business strategy that aims to understand, anticipate and manage the needs of organization current and potential customers. Relationship management is an approach to building and maintaining open and effective communication between an organization and it customers, whoever they may be. It involves developing on going two-way conversation with those customers, a relationship rather than a one-off exchange; it means keeping them and building loyalty through involvement, quality project performance and creating a win-win situation with them. For organizations with wide ranging appeals and fund-raising campaigns, and good relationship management can mean thousands of dollars in donations; for others it may mean regular customers coming back to you for Christmas cards and gifts and for others it may mean a statutory turning into a repeat, purchaser choosing you as a supplier or service provider instead of rival organization down the road. [3] Relationship management involves the means, technology and capabilities, which assists organizations in effective customer relationships. This research work tends to analyze critically the relevance of relationship management in projects management context, a customer satisfaction appraisal and its effect on project margins. Businesses are subjected to stronger and more rapidly changing forces, globalization, deregulation, convergence of industries to name a few, with ever changing market and business face, business have rediscover that more than ever, in the face of increasing competition, mature markets and ever demanding customer, treating existing customers well is the best source of profitable and sustainable revenue growth, simply stated when an organization has a customer, they must do everything within their capacity to keep them. This invariably causes revenue to increase due to additional sales or more projects, which leads to profitable and sustainable revenue growth. [2]

Department of Computer Science and Electronics There is a wide spread of criticism of customer satisfaction measurement and the rationale behind relationship management. Is it worth it? Does relationship management have any effect on project margins? Is a satisfied customer going to increase margin or bring in more revenue. Does good relationship management have any correlation with repeat purchase

or patronage, customer retention or profitability? It is logical that if customers are satisfied with us, they will return to us. They will be less inclined to switch sides when occasion warrant for them to request for our service or expertise, it would also follow that if customers switched, they are not happy with our service or dissatisfied with a particular thing with our organization, but if less customer switched, the cost of marketing or getting another business will be reduced thereby making the organization more profitable. Almost by defection, we would expect customer satisfaction or proper relationship management to relate to loyalty and profitability. If good relationship management does not accomplish these, then from a business point of view, there would be little or no point in following this thinking; it simply shows from a face value that customer satisfaction or good relationship management is irrelevant to business. This statement lacks face validity and does not make intuitive sense. Why would a satisfied customer not patronize us again? Why would they not stay longer with us? He contends that customer satisfaction is “one of the least reliable and most common measure in use today” admits that it is not that customer satisfaction does not matter, it matters a great deal, and it is the manner, context and priority of satisfaction in measurement that has become the problem. [2] Organizations are now seeking to formalize the management of customer relations. Many organizations have appointed relationship managers whose responsibility is to act as the interface between client and the various services provided by the organizations. Customers are the starting points and an organization needs to deal with a high value customer managed relationship because the cost of doing business can be reduced and customer loyalty can be enhanced. Some organizations use the concept of key management in the same way but whichever way an organization calls it, it still remains basic that it is all relationship management, both with customers and employees of the organization. For this approach to be meaningful and not just cosmetic, it is essential that the relationship manager be given authority to manage the relationship. [3] 5

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Customer relations should be more than progress chasing and customer care. Its primary concern must be to plan and manage moments of truths or the encounters with customers that occur at every stage from the placement of orders to the final delivery of the process or services and beyond. However, before considering the full concepts of relationship management, it is imperative to also make mention of relationship marketing which is otherwise a precursor to relationship management because a customer must be first won over before being managed. Relationship marketing is therefore necessary and is emerging as an actionable framework for developing enduring long-term (and hence more profitable) relationship with customers. Relationship management is not only beneficial to organization; it is equally good too for the customer because it saves them some cost in looking for a contractor or organization to handle their project any time they have something doing. But it is only a well managed relationship or customer that could make them come back for more patronage, when they are sure about the quality of previous projects or services handled for them, they will be quick to make a referral or request for more service from you. Customer satisfaction and relationship management works hand in hand, a customer must be satisfied with the previous project you handled for them for you to be able to manage the relationship after the project. If a satisfactory job is not done, it will be difficult to manage such a customer. Within organizations, every department has their own operational system and different customers, e.g. customers for purchasing and supply have a different system to sales department and installation and commissioning engineers but they all work under the same organization. [3]

1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM

This is actually a problem because organisations are becoming carried away with the sharp cutting edge business ideas that they forget all the ideas revolve round the customer and they forget that whatever the idea they are generating, if the customers relationship is not well managed, they are going to be useless in the long run. How well are customers relationship management given priority in organisation, do they believe they contribute to the margin at the end of the fiscal year, are they well treated and how does that affect their satisfaction, commitment and loyalty. All this will be critically examined in the research. . CRM which is Customer relationship management is the values and strategies of relationship marketing-with 6

Department of Computer Science and Electronics particular emphasis on customer relationships –turned into practical application [3] he also explains relationship management as the infrastructure that enables the delineation of and increases in customer value, and the correct means by which to motivate valuable customers to remain loyal-indeed to patronize again.

1.2 RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

The relevance or significance of this research is to open up organisations to ideas that are germane to good business development. Proper relationship or customer relationship management could be the gap that needs to be filled to make them achieve the desired result in the margin, that is not only the sharp cutting ideas and business goals that can improve the profit margin and standpoint of an organisation. If properly managed, it could really go a long way in boosting the morale and account of organisation practising it and their customers as well. The research will be of immense benefit to organisations that can improve on their relationship management and also to large corporations that are having dwindling fortunes with some strategic improvement in their business orientation and ideas and implementing a good CRM strategy and it will be of benefit too to customers that work with the organisations and corporation implementing this.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This research project, a piece of work which analyzes and evaluates the relevance of relationship management in projects and its effect on margins. Project management being the case study for this thesis, it has given the author the theorical knowledge about what is obtainable in projects, the risk inherent and ways to minimize those risks and at the end of the day give a reasonable margin back to stakeholders. Based on these, the aim is to use this research to bring out answers to how organizations can increase their margin by focusing on relationship management, the effects it has on focusing on short run analysis of profit in projects to rationale behind retention and customer satisfaction as a tool of better increased profit margin for projects in the long run. It will answer various perceptions and expectations

Department of Computer Science and Electronics of values behind sales, purchasing and whole project management as well as customers in evaluating the essence as well as the benefits of relationship management to organization who keep them well. [1]

The following are the various objectives to be considered. The first two representing a qualitative piece of work and the last a quantitative piece of work because of the differential and inferential analysis involved.

1. Customer perception of relationship management 2. Organization perception of relationship management 3. Differential analysis of customer and organizational perception. [3] For an organization to be successful and make a meaningful impact through relationship management, he needs to focus on three key issues which if properly implemented will give an improved margin for the organization and a lot of good will among their customers:  Operational – This must be included and made a part of organizational norms and business procedures.  Analytical – This help to analyze customer behaviour and assists in implementing business intelligence  Collaborative – This bridges the gap between customer and organization by phone, e- mail, sms and fax. [1] When these three key issues are worked on, it helps the organization in customer acquisition and retention, helps in reducing customer service costs, and makes an efficient customer relationship within the two parties. To show that proper relationship management will improve interactions and business with customers but not only this but improved customer service also. To show that when a good customer relationship management is done, it helps to acquire more customers, manage the existing ones, improve on the value of the customer to the organization, ascertain which customer to retain and the level of priority to be given to each customer. [1]

2. LITERATURE REVIEW The aim of this chapter is to analyze and review literatures relevant to relationship management as well as the various objectives of this research work through perceptions as viewed by customers, its impact and effects on performances from the organizational standpoint and its relative effect on projects. At the end of the chapter, the models are combined into a conceptual framework and the relevance of this framework to the research is also discussed. It is imperative to understand that the most important thing any organization undertaking a relationship management initiative must realize is that relationship management is a way of life and a fundamental business philosophy. Therefore undertaking it means that an organization is committed to best practices and a belief that the customer comes first because they are what drive the engine or vehicle of revenue in organization. This will also serve as a precursor to understanding the logical development of a relationship management culture in the business world today and therefore help to analyze the effect it has and could have on project management.

2.1 RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT The term customer relationship management (CRM) gained widespread recognition in the late 1990s.Various various researchers have shared views of application. It has attracted such great attention because of the emphasis that it can give both the customer and organization. For the organization, it is said that customer retention can enhance profitability, it was suggested that there are benefits of lowered sales costs and increased revenues, which are supported by the surveys done by [4]

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Using the concept of relationship marketing (RM) as the basis, it is stressed that this approach can create long-term value for customers. It explains that CRM is about management of the lifetime value relationship with customers through the use of information technology. “The relationship between rate of effective IT use and relationship effectiveness would be positive” Nevertheless, technology is an enabler of the process required to turn strategy into business results. The most significant part of CRM is human aspects- the long- term relationship between the customer and organization. [4]

According to research, “The drive for quality in products and services is apparent worldwide and that the pursuit of customer satisfaction increasingly is becoming a corporate goal”. Further, recent evidence suggests that quality management programs have had a positive effect on the financial performance of organizations. This is the bases of relationship management which according to [7] “CRM is the values and strategies of relationship marketing-with particular emphasis on customer relationships turned into practical application” also defines relationship management as “the infrastructure that enables the delineation of and increases in customer value, and the correct means by which to motivate valuable customers to remain loyal indeed, to patronize again” [3] It is about more than simply managing customers and managing their behaviours. Customers’ relation’s management has the potential to change customer’s relationship with an organization and increase revenues in bargain. He also explained that the most forward thinking companies have recognized from the past failures that CRM smacks of strategy, and thus technology alone can’t address high profile issues such as new-customer acquisition and web based marketing. To these organizations, CRM is much more than just a stand –alone project accounted for by a single organization; it is a business philosophy that affects the organization at large. He also made us to understand that there are not one but many visions for CRM success. CRM held a lot of promise by helping organizations to get to know their customers well enough, understand their values, their motives, which one to keep and which ones they are willing to lose and why- and how not to overspend in the meantime. It means automating many of the business processes and the accompanying analysis and saving precious time in bargain. In this analysis, we are not dwelling on loosing any customer, no matter the level of importance or projects they bring to an organization, they could be much more valuable in the referral market if they are well managed and happy with the organization. 10

Department of Computer Science and Electronics However keen, the discussions on CRM have been in fragments. There is no one generally agreed approach. Different scholars have various points of view. However, this part of the research work aims to give more in-depth insights into the concept of CRM and its perception as well as expectations from both the organizational and customer point of view. [3]

2.2 Organizational Perception of Relationship Management

The management of long-term customer relationship, in industrial and organizational markets should be the primary concern of marketing strategists. This requires the recognition by managers that strategic advantage is achieved between mediums of relational interaction, the management of the relationship cycle, rather than the product of life cycle. The perceptions of an organization’s climate are linked to both employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction and consequently to customer retention. Customer retention is being increasingly viewed as an issue of strategic importance. There are several reasons for this. First and perhaps most important, loyal customers are more profitable than newly acquired customers. It has been suggested that as little as a five percent increase in customer retention can increase profits by fifty percent or more. [11] Secondly, retaining customer through close, long term, cooperative relationships can impart a competitive advantage to the organization or supplier of service, which is increasingly important given an ongoing trend of customers dramatically decreasing their number of clients. Organizations who do not sustain strong relationship with their customer base will often be the ones that are eliminated during this streamlining process. While businesses agree that improving customer retention is important, customer still defect. One reason is because little is known about why buyers leave suppliers. On the other hand, while inter-firm relationship is important, the relationship between sales person and the buyer also has strategic implications. Sales people typically represent a firm’s key interface with its customer base, playing a critical role in the formation and maintenance of long-term buyer- seller relationships through this interaction; sales people influence the customer’s perception

Department of Computer Science and Electronics of the selling organization. Indeed, a customer may have greater loyalty to a sales person and to the selling organization [7] The high cost of sales people has already been noted, what is less often realized is the high cost of other revenues allocated to sustaining customer relationships. In industrial and organizational markets, buyers value personal contact and the availability of technical advice, which reduces their perceived risks. The network of contacts between organizations is

often complex and can involve large numbers of people from different functions performing a wide range of communication and exchange roles. Without a system to control customer contact patters based on the strategic orientation of the organization and the potential represented by the customer, there is no obvious danger that scarce resources are dissipated. He also identified that whilst call frequency is often prescribed for sales and marketing staff, rarely is such control exercised over technical, manufacturing, research and development staff over senior general management. Some of the factors which influence the level of resource allocation to a specific customer are under the control of the seller; others are the result of environmental and competitive forces. The requirement is for sales and marketing managers to identify these factors and take strategic decisions that allow key customers to be appropriated direct appropriate levels of resources towards the defense of vital relationships. [14] A relationship management focused upon the analysis of individual customers in this way will facilitate the integration of marketing and selling strategies, allowing decisions to be made as to which customers have the potential to demand the attention of key account managers, and which should be approached in less costly and perhaps more efficient ways. In light of the relational development pattern suggested by here and the recommendations for marketing and sales strategy integration suggested by the researcher, a fruitful area for empirical observation may be the exploration of marketing and sales strategies throughout the relational life cycle, which takes account of both the complexity of their inter-organizational relationships and the nature and importance of intelligence gathering within that context. [9]

2.3 Customers Perception of Relationship Management

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Valuing the customer has been a well-advocated concept since nearly half a century ago .In the 1950s, some management gurus, gained high reputation for preaching the paramount importance of customers. Yet, the irony is that CRM become aged. The rationale towards customer relationship is as old as the merchant trade, focusing on the need of customers. But the point is that this concept has to be changed. Customers should no longer be treated as passive groups and assigned “to” some categories. It is important to take the new concept and put it into action. Even though many companies accept the new idea of treating customers as an active group, their practices are largely the same when conducting businesses. The old problems towards customer relationship can be found in today’s implementation of CRM. [6] The key point is that CRM should be started from taking customers as an active group. As pointed out earlier, only a few researchers have looked from Customers viewpoint and hear customers’ voices to conduct their studies. Customers determine what is important. Those factors that are important in influencing customers to buy must be the basic agenda. This is what recruiting and retaining customers is all about. Strategy is not about beating the competition but in serving customers better than the competition. However, selecting which customers to serve is the starting point of business strategy while, matching customers’ capabilities to customers needs is the essence of good strategy.

2.3.1 Customers Satisfaction and its effect on commitment. As earlier mentioned, customer satisfaction with sales person or project manager and customer commitment to the sales person or organization are both important to the on going maintenance of an employee-employer relationship and a buyer-seller relationship. Given the importance of these variables, it is noteworthy that relationship-marketing studies have not examined the simultaneous effects of customer satisfaction with the sales person and customer commitment to the sales person. While employee turnover and organizational behavior researchers believe that satisfaction and commitment are important in reducing turnover, there is no consensus regarding the casualty of satisfaction and commitment. There are basically three theoretical perspectives regarding the relationship of these constructs. The first perspective (Perspective one) maintains that satisfaction leads to commitment. This is empirically supported in both the organizational turnover [15] and the sales force turnover

Department of Computer Science and Electronics literature. A meta-analysis in the sales literature concluded that the primary casual sequencing is from satisfaction to commitment, not from commitment to satisfaction [16] Another perspective (Perspective two) holds that commitment leads to satisfaction. Some empirical studies have found support for this new [12] while others have not [16]. The final perspective (perspective three) implies no particular casualty between satisfaction and commitment. This perspective was tested in a personal selling setting. He hypothesized a

non-recursive relationship between satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, he found the best fitting structural model was one in which job satisfaction had a direct effect on organizational commitment. The relationship was also supported by another researcher and. Thus, existing empirical result that satisfaction leads to commitment. [11] The lack of agreement regarding the casual sequencing of satisfaction and commitment makes model development different. However, according to empirical research in both marketing and organizational behavior, literature provides for more support for the first perspective, which suggests that satisfaction is an antecedent to commitment. Therefore, we assume “Buyer satisfaction with the sales person will be positively related to the buyers’ commitment to the sales person.” [15]

2.4 Differential Analysis of Customer and Organisational Perception The customer not the organization is the business. The major focus of CRM is customer, yet this approach only concern the ways of companies to manage customer relationships and many of today’s organization structures do not reflect this, especially in their dealings with customers. Customer’s priorities often differ significantly from what managers think they are. It is believed that the longer a business has been in existence, the more likely it has lost sight of what is important to the customer. Meeting a customer’s expectation through service reliability is a vital element in providing service excellence. Reliability is the most important factor in service as perceived by customers, but some managers do not perceive it. It is believed that service reliability is the heart of service market excellence. [8]

2.4.1 Commitment –Satisfaction- Defection. Intention Interrelationships 14

Department of Computer Science and Electronics As with the relationship between satisfaction and commitment, there is no consensus regarding the casualty of these two constructs and defection intentions. With the help of the three perspectives for guidance, the first perspective maintains that commitment has a direct influence on intention to leave, whereas satisfaction has an indirect effect. This view is empirically supported in both the organizational turnover literature [15] and the sales force turnover. [17] The second perspective holds that the effect of satisfaction on intention to leave is direct, whereas, the effect of commitment in indirect. Some empirical studies found support for this view [12] while others have not [16] the third perspective maintains that both satisfaction and commitment contribute uniquely to intention to leave. Some empirical support has been found for this perspective. It appears that there is considerable evidence that commitment leads directly to intention to leave relationship. However, there is conflicting evidence about whether satisfaction has a direct or indirect effect [16] Given the absence of consensus in the employee turnover literature, we looked at the relationship marketing literature for guidance. We found that commitment to the relationship had a direct and negative effect on the customer’s intention to leave the relationship. However, satisfaction was not examined in their model. Some research indicates that long- term customer satisfaction captures information about expectations of leaving the relationship. Additionally, satisfaction has been found to be negatively associated with customer intentions to defect. [17] However, none of these studies examined the role of commitment. Consequently, they concluded that there is a sufficient theoretical grounding to hypothesize direct, negative paths from both satisfaction and commitment to defection intentions. Therefore, the following hypothesis was offered: Buyer satisfaction with the sales person will be negatively related to the defection intentions. Also, buyer’s commitment to the sales person will be negatively related to buyers’ defection intentions.

2.4.2 CRM in Project Management The project management profession is an emerging profession but it has been in existence since time immemorial but the profession itself is an embodiment of all activities we do every day. Everyday projects are managed, either for someone or for ourselves. The analysis here is,

Department of Computer Science and Electronics if as an individual and we are managing our projects, the project depends on what we are doing, either building a house, buying a car, supplying some products or distributing goods or we are rendering services, how well we manage the projects. Financial institutions manage projects on behalf on their customers or for themselves from time to time, every successful planned work of man is a result of good project management and it does not exist on his own, it exists with people who are stakeholders and partners in the particular enterprise or project we are referring to here. We are not going to be particular about the magnitude or the extent

of the projects being managed but how good relationship management affects the overall result is what we are trying to justify or propound for in this thesis. Service markets have undergone major transformation in recent years likewise the project management profession. With the introduction of new technology, among others, the business environment has become more competitive and complicated. Many service providers or organizations have implemented or improved their policies in order to strengthen their relationships with customers. This is one reason why the subject matter is picked up for analysis. There could be an improvement in organizations using cut back systems and various economic indices to increase their margin but Customer is actually an asset if properly managed and this will reflect positively on projects margin in the short run and organizational balance sheet at the end of business year. In addition, the vast majority of business spending is made by more complex categories of service. It is therefore worthwhile to take a closer look at service industry which according to [3] are organizations established to attract and retain customers through service. The leadership qualities of an organization have also been as a result of the changing nature of its approach to relationship management, which has graduated, from the old to the new form of customer relationship management. The era of B2B which involves dealing with customer relationship passively to a new perspective of C2B that involves dealing with high value customer-managed relationship (dealing with customers actively). In this system of relationship management, the customer is the starting point of relationship development not the organization. Here, customers are king and customers take control of relationship development while the organizations targets and concentrates on high valued customers.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The pattern of relationship, which is in existence are many, one-to-one and became a one network one or customer network organization. The first “one” is a customer. The word “Network” meaning that the customer deals with a lot of suppliers whereas and the organization needs to handle numerous relationships with their customers. [13] The strategies of management approach in the old perspective was that of enterprise approach with customer modification and customer differential treatments while that of the new perspective is cooperative approach which means that existing profitable customers are vital. This allows organizations to work hand in hand with the customer to develop an ongoing relationship. In essence, this policy also allows organization to differentiate the profitable groups of customers from the unprofitable ones. The corporate resources can be redirected from the lesser value customers to group with high long-term value whereas in the past, most organizations made service improvements on a flat basis. For example, the old system in which managers holds no much importance or significance to how a customer responds to services rendered or project done for them, it is of much importance now because organizations are getting to realize how bad talk could result to dwindling fortune for an organization that does not treat his customers well. Organizations now provides customers with quality service with in-depth customer management policies like quick response to complaints, better and quality project delivery within delivery time, better claim management which in the end makes the customer happier with the team or the organization at large thereby creating a high long-term value and relationship. Organizations need to spend more time to understand their customers need. The resources allocated to these customers are better enhanced to give better returns through the customers’ involvement with the organization. CRM application is not just focusing one-to-one relationships but also the linkages to other parties that are involved in the project and basically the whole clientele base of the organizational under a well-structured relationship management structure. In addition, the linkages of customers to customers too are significant. It is pertinent to understand that when customers are satisfied with projects handled for them, they will be glad to see the organization move forward and join any kind of Customer forum or meeting the organization is having. The platform of customer community can be used as a channel for strengthening their relationships with the organizations and also for improving the services.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The focus needs to switch back to relationships with customers. It is critical to remember that most of the customers do not forget how well they are treated on a particular project or business transaction you had with them and your continued relationship after the end of the project. It is a good way for organizations to have a way for feedback and also crate a co-creative environment, which allows customers to involve more and provide useful suggestions to how the organizations can improve on areas they need to improve on. If customers are treated well and they leave the organization satisfied, the cost of doing business can be reduced and customer loyalty can be enhanced. [9] Customers are part of the organization and their support is indispensable for the organization’s future development and sustainable growth.

Finally, the key concept in CRM can be fully implemented in the organizational norms, customers are the starting points and an organization needs to deal with them with a differential manner because they are assets and an assets that is not properly managed will be utilized in a bad way which will make it lose its value and depreciate too fast.

2.5 Conceptual Framework

“ Either graphically or in a narrative form, there are things to be studied to make a good relationship management framework.” They also talk about the structure of research being formulated as a conceptual framework either that describes in narrative but often in graphical format, the key factors, constructs and variables being studied and the presumed relationship between them. Of course, whether this relationship exists is one of the elements of the study. They conceive of this conceptual framework as a series of intellectual `bins` containing key events and behaviors. Therefore the framework of this dissertation, will concentrate on two models of relationship management which is commitment and satisfaction and these models will be viewed from the organizational and the customer’s perceptions as well as the existing relationship between the two [13]

Customer Perception Organizations perception Of CRM of CRM

Customer Satisfaction CRM policies &Strategies

Customer commitment Review to organisation

Customer Retention Uptake of service

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 2.6 Analysis Link This conceptual framework tends to analyze the customers and organizational perception of relationship management as well as the differential analysis of both. It aims to analyze the relationship between the three objectives of this research work The first objective as shown in the conceptual framework is the customer’s perception of CRM. Perception from this point of view aims at analyzing the measure of satisfaction customer derives from the gains of relationship management. Customer commitment to the organization is achieved through satisfaction gained from the CRM motive. When a customer is committed to the organization, the customer is automatically retained by the organization. The second objective as shown in the conceptual framework is the organizational perception of CRM. Organizations need strategies and strategies are backed by policies, necessary to run the organization. The aim of this policies and strategies is to gain customers commitment to the organization, through satisfaction with the project handled by the organization and this also led to customer retention. Organizations policies are reviewed from time to time in a competitive and changing environment to facilitate services rendered by the organization thereby acquire new customers as well as retain the old ones while identifying the various stakeholders who will be involved in the uptake of the services they rendered. The last objective is the differential analysis of customer and organizational perception of relationship management. This has to do with how this measurement is done. From the customer point of view, it is quantitative approach because it will involve numerical analysis of data aimed at determining customer perception. From the organizational point of view, it is qualitative approach because strategy and policy formulation involves an array of techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning not the frequency of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction to the organization, commitment and therefore retention. To really sum this all up and buttress the main theme of this research work, all the three objectives are designed from customer satisfaction and when a customer is satisfied with our project, organization, they will be willing to stay on with us as partner in progress which will lead to retention and being committed to us. We operate in a varying markets where you never know where the next project might emanate from or next business could come from, but

Department of Computer Science and Electronics the concept of CRM is not an exercise in futility, it is aimed at something, it is aimed at gearing up the profit margin organizations have and improve on project margins. It is not by satisfying them that brings the improved margin, but the overall effect of their continued patronage, referral and more businesses because we handled a project well the last time.

3.1 Research Methodology This part of the research studies and identifies the various methods used to guide this research work. The essence is to throw more light on the understanding and application of management research philosophy, the study of relationship management. Methodology can be described as a system of explicit rules and procedures upon which research is based and against which claims of knowledge are evaluated. Methodology is important because it provides a sense of direction for the author to complete framework as well as the methods used. It also provides a guideline to research and gives focus and answer to the objectives. [29] The following two paradigms, phenomenology and positivism will be considered in this part of the work. The research methods used (qualitative and quantitative) through secondary and primary data will also be assessed, as well as there benefits and drawbacks summarized. Triangulation, which is the rationale for using a multiple sources of evidence, will be assessed including the validity and reliability tests of data. [29]

3.2 POSITIVISM Social science understood here, as the study of human society in the wildest sense, is a rich source of research problems. This important and sometimes controversial, branch of science was first defined by [30] and named by Auguste Comte, the nineteenth century French philosopher. Comte maintained, “Society could be analyzed empirically just like other subjects of scientific enquiry and social laws and theories could be on the basis of psychology and biology”. He based his approach on the belief that all genuine knowledge is based on information gained by experience through the senses, and can only be developed through further observation and experiment. He turned his back on pure reason, seeing it as a means of speculation and metaphysical exploration. Hence, the positivist social scientist believes that the methodological procedures of natural science may appropriately be applied to social services and its results can be expressed as laws or empirical generalizations similar to those developed for the natural sciences. Social scientists can thereby achieve a clear, well-founded analysis and interpretation of social phenomena, based on testable and verifiable data. [30]

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Durkheim is famous for his enquiries into the division of labour, suicide, religion and education, as well as for his philosophical discussions on the nature of sociology. Unlike Marx, who tended to define the moral and social aspects of humanity in terms of material forces, Durkheim argued that society develops its own system of phenomena that produce collectively shared norms and beliefs. These social facts as he called them, e.g. economic organizations, laws, customs, criminality etc, exist in their own right, are external to us and are resistant to our will as constrain and behaviour.

“ The task of the sociologist…. Is to describe the essential characteristics of social facts, demonstrate how they come into being, enter into relationship with one another act on each other and function together to form social wholes” [19]

In order to do this, the social scientist must reject all popular conceptions of the processes in society and look at the social world as if for the first time. Having “Delivered” and defined social facts using scientific observation techniques, the social scientist should seek their causes amongst other social facts rather than in other social domains such as biology or psychology. But thus maintaining sociology as an autonomous discipline, the social scientist may use the knowledge gained to understand the origins of and possibly suggest the cures, various forms of social ills. In summary, this approach looks at the society as the focus of research and through understanding its internal laws and establishing relevant facts, we can then understand how and why individuals behave as they do. However, not all philosophers agreed that human society was amenable to such a disembodied analysis.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 3.2.1 Advantages of Positivism: [23] 1. Easily comparable data 2. Economical collection of large amount of data 3. Greater opportunity for researchers to retain control of research process 4. Clear theoretical focus.

3.2.2 Disadvantages of Positivism: [23] 1. Inflexible-direction often cannot be changed once data collected has started 2. Weak at understanding social factors 3. Often does not discover the meaning people attach to social phenomena.

3.3 PHENOMENOLOGY The phenomenology approach to research is so called because it is based on the way people experience social phenomena in the world in which we live. It can be contrasted with the positivist approach which treats the social world in the way it would be approached by the natural scientist, something with which the phenomenologist would feel uncomfortable. Phenomenology is characterized by a focus on the meanings that research subjects attach to social phenomena; an attempt by the researcher to understand what is happening and why it is happening. [18] Such research would be particularly concerned with the context in which such events were taking place. Therefore, the study of a small sample of subjects may be more appropriate than a large number as with the positivist. Researchers in this tradition are more likely to work with qualitative data and use a variety of methods to collect this data in order to establish different views of phenomena [18] The essence and the importance of this research project as suggested was and given three reasons by him. Firstly, it enables you to make a more informed decision about your research design, which is more than simply the methods by which data are collected and analyzed. It is the overall configuration of a piece of research: what kind of evidence is gathered and from where were the evidences and how such evidences is interpreted in order to provide good answers to the basic research questions. Secondly, it will help to think about those research approaches that would work for you and crucially, those that will not. For

Department of Computer Science and Electronics example, if you are particularly interested in understanding why something is happening rather than being able to describe what is happening, it may be more appropriate to adopt the phenomenological approach than the positivist. Thirdly, knowledge of the different research traditions enables you to adapt your research designs to cater for the constraints. These may be practical, involving, say, limited access to data. Or they may arise from lack of prior knowledge of the subject. [18]

In this research project, the researcher intends to adopt the positivist and the phenomelogical forms of philosophical approach because while the phenomelogical approach is interpretive, customer perception of satisfaction can be achieved. The positivist philosophy will be used to measure customer’s commitment to organizations. The following are the advantages and disadvantages of phenomenology.

3.3.1 Advantages of Phenomenology: [24] 1. Facilitates understanding of how and why. 2. Aids researchers to be alive to changes that occur during research process. 3. Good at understanding social processes.

3.3.2 Disadvantages of Phenomenology: [23] 1. Data collection can be time consuming. 2. Data analysis is difficult. 3. Researcher has to live with the uncertainty that clears patterns may not emerge. 4. Generally perceived as less credible by non-researchers.

3.4 Quantitative and Qualitative Research. The type of data found depends largely on the type of data wanted as well as methods used to collect them. The proceeding discussion about data emphasized the need for a clear definition of the research objectives and a clear definition of the conditions and admissibility of data. The type of data collected partly determines the methods used to analyze them in order to develop an answer to the research problem. However, it is also the type of research approach

Department of Computer Science and Electronics adopted that determines the nature of the data considered to be of value. The two major research approaches are thus labeled qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative and qualitative research are said to be two diametrically opposed research approaches. They differ not only in data sought, and the subsequent methods of data analysis, but also in their philosophical rationale.

3.5 Quantitative Research. This describes, explains and tests relationships. It emphasizes on the examination of cause and effect relationships. The basic feature of quantitative methods is that it always generates numerical data. The data collected is analyzed in simple mathematical terms involving the production of tables, charts and diagrams. [26] According to [27] the use of quantitative data in research has its attractions: it carries with an aura of scientific respectability because it uses numbers, presents findings in the form of graphs or tables and conveys a sense of solidity. Only one of the key features of quantitative research is the precision with which research designs are established at the outset of the study.

3.5.1 Advantages of Quantitative Research: 1. The interpretation of measurements is based on measured quantities. 2. Presentations are well organized with tables and charts in order to communicate the findings with others. 3. Analyzes are instant, and results can be quickly interrogated by researchers. 4. Confidence-credibility in terms of interpretations.

3.5.2 Disadvantages of Quantitative Research: 1. Data overload-analysis can be complex and researcher can get swamped. 2. Technicist can have overbearing concern with technical aspects of analysis. 3. Quality of data only as good as the method used to collect them. 4. False promise can achieve data fix with manipulation to show significance levels

3.6 Qualitative Research According to Van Mannen [28] qualitative research can be described as “an array of techniques which seek to describe, decode translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.” It is the descriptive numerical way to collect and interpret information. Even though some of the methods used, such as interview or focus groups, are used in quantitative research, the difference is that qualitative research involves the use of non-mathematical procedures when interpreting and explaining the data [26]

3.6.1 Advantages of Qualitative Research 1. Data and analysis are grounded and reality based. 2. Tolerance of ambiguity and contradiction, acknowledges social existence. 3. Richness and detail of data in-depth and focused towards small-scale research. 4. Prospect of alternative explanation, draws on skill sample.

3.6.2 Disadvantages of Qualitative Research 1. Data may be unrepresentative, due to small sample. 2. There is a possibility of de-contextualing the meaning, if interpretation taken out of context. 3. Interpretation is bound up with the “self” of the researcher, findings more cautious and tentative 4. There is danger of oversimplifying the explanation.

3.7 Characteristics of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Quantitative research is typically taken to be exemplified by the social survey and by experimental investigations. Qualitative research tends to be associated with participant observation and unstructured, in-depth interviewing. [22] Until the mid 1970s the tendency was to associate valid research almost exclusively with scientific method, and with the collection and analysis of measurable data, the attributes of

Department of Computer Science and Electronics quantitative: “To do any research, we must be able to measure the concepts we wish to study [25] Qualitative approaches were given scant attention because of their inability to conform to the condition demanded of scientific method, and tend to be regarded as rather marginal in the researcher’s repertoire of data collection techniques. There was a clear distinction between quantitative and qualitative research and the merits of qualitative and the results of qualitative analysis were regarded as limited, unreliable and lacking in solidity. This judgment relied principally on judgment on the technical adequacy of the techniques used. It was particularly in the field of sociology, with its focus of research on the complexities of people and the society they live in, that the appropriateness of scientific method, developed for the study of natural sciences, was questioned. Research methods were required which could reveal and investigate the unique complexities and ambiguities of human subjects and their interaction in society without imposing on them an inappropriate conceptual framework.

“Increasingly, the terms `Quantitative research ´ and `Qualitative Research´ came to signify much more than ways of gathering data; they came to denote divergent assumptions about the nature and purposes of research in the social sciences” [22]

Qualitative research develops significantly differences in its assumptions and principles from those of quantitative research. This inevitably resulted in the two approaches from those of quantitative research. This inevitably resulted in two approaches tending to operate with divergent tenets about the nature of knowledge, particularly that of the social world and about how knowledge could legitimately be produced. Intellectual positions in qualitative research evolved, the main ones being phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, Max Weber’s idea of vestehen, naturalism and ethogenics. These all stress the importance of contextual and holistic understanding with an emphasis on description, and a commitment to seeing through the eyes of the people being studied. The fear that researcher may fail to do justice to the subject’s orientation to the world led to the tendency for conceptual and theorical reasoning to be left aside, or used only in the final stages of the research enterprise.

[22] Presented a useful comparison of a contrasting feature of quantitative and qualitative research. Whilst qualitative research is used to construe the attitudes, beliefs and motivations within a subject, it can also perform a preparatory role in quantitative research. The researcher doing a qualitative research will attempt to obtain an inside view of the phenomenon, getting as close as possible to the subject of research in order to collect resonant, fertile data to enable the development of a social construct through the dynamic process of research. The quantitative researcher, on the other hand chooses to remain distant as an outsider, collecting hard and reliable data, as reality is considered to be exoteric and static. The qualitative approach tends to be unstructured, allowing concepts and theories to emerge, while the quantitative approach begins with concepts and theories and test them in a rigorous, structured fashion with the result that they are supported amended or rejected.

“This research project will contain elements of both quantitative and qualitative researches because while customer perception of relationship management through customer satisfaction, customer commitment to organization as well as the number of customer retained by organization can be measured by quantitative research method,, organizational perception of relationship management through constant review of policies and strategies adopted can be measured by qualitative research. This will help to achieve the objective of the research methodology adopted for this research.

3.8 Research Methods An essential ingredient of this dissertation is to show the range of the research method available to the researcher, to describe the nature of the different research methods used for collecting qualitative and quantitative data and to indicate the appropriate methods necessary for the researcher’s analysis in line with this empirical piece of work. Therefore the following are the various research methods necessary and possibly relevant for this piece of work.

3.8.1 Questionnaires Self-Administered interview have over the past century become a common method of gathering information. [20] Adopts a definition of [31] as a “ general term to include all terms of data collection in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in a predetermined order” Questionnaires can therefore be used for descriptive or explanatory research. Descriptive research such as that undertaken using attitude and opinion questionnaires and questionnaires on organizational practices will enable you to identify and describe the variability in different phenomena. In contrast explanatory or analytical research will enable you to examine and explain relationships between two variables in particular cause and effect relationships. These two purposes have different research design requirements [21]. The design of questionnaires differs according to how it is administered, in particular, that amount of contacts you have with the respondents. The respondents usually complete self –administered questionnaires. Such questionnaires are either posted to respondents who return them by post or e-mail after completion or deliver by hand to each respondent and collected later (delivery and collected questionnaires)

In dissertation, Self administered questionnaires will be adopted. The aim is to get customer’s view on relationship management of an organization as well as measure their level of satisfaction with the services rendered by the organization. The first objective of this research is therefore achieved. The advantages and disadvantages of self-administered questionnaires are as follows:

3.8.1.1 Advantages 1. They provide a relatively simple and straightforward approach to the study of attitudes, values, beliefs and motives. 2. They may be adapted top collect generalizable information from almost from human population. 3. High amounts of data standardization. 4. Often this is the only, or the easiest way of retrieving information the past history of a large set of people.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 5. They can be extremely efficient at providing large amounts of data, at a relatively low cost, in a short period of time. 6. They allow anonymity, which can encourage frankness when sensitive areas are involved.

3.8.1.2 Disadvantages 1. Data are affected by the characteristics of the respondents (e.g. their memory; Knowledge; experience; motivation; and personality. 2. Respondents won’t necessarily report their beliefs, attitudes etc, accurately (people Responding in a way that shows them in good light). 3. Typically have a low response rate. 4. Ambiguities in, and misunderstanding of the survey questions may not be detected. 5. Respondents may not treat the exercise seriously, and you may not be able to detect this. However, it is noteworthy that advantages 5 and 5 may be disadvantages if they seduce the researcher into using this when it may not be the most appropriate strategy to answer the research question(s). [35]

3.8.1.3 Piloting the Questionnaire

According to [24] research instruments such as interview schedules can be modified if certain questions appear to be ineffective, but questionnaires, particularly if used for large surveys, are a ‘one-short’ attempt at data gathering .It is therefore essential that they are accurate, unambiguous and simple to complete.

[36] as well as [37] explained that piloting is very essential before carrying out the actual survey. This is because piloting is a way of filtering out the unwanted and misleading materials from the raw questionnaire and to refined and purifies it. This makes the survey more effective and data collected through it more valid and reliable. [38] Suggests that the pilot sample may be roughly representative of the actual sample being targeted. If it is difficult to get even a small sample size, the questionnaire may be piloted upon whichever respondents are available. This means that the piloting can even be done on one’s colleagues, friends or relatives.

In this regard, [39] stresses that in a social research study (such as the present study), however short of time the research may be and however scarce his resources, there is need to find time to carry out a pilot test before administering the actual survey.

3.8.2 Structured Interview

A structured interview (sometimes known as interview schedules) refers to those questionnaires where interviewers physically meet the respondents and ask the questions face to face. These differ from semi-structured and in-depth interviews as there is a defined schedule of questioned from which the interviewers should not deviate. It involves tight control over the format of the questions and answers. In essence, the structured interview is like a questionnaire, which is administered face to face with a respondent. The researcher has a predetermined list of questions, to which the respondents is invited to offer limited option responses. The tight control over wording of questions occurs and the ranges of answers that are on offer have the advantage of ‘standardization’. Each respondent is faced with identical questions and the range of pre-coded interview, in this respect, lends itself to the collection of the qualitative data.

Structured interviews are often associated with social surveys where researchers are trying to collect large volumes of data from a wide range of the respondents.. Here, we are witnessing replacement of interviews armed with clipboards and paper questionnaires with interviews using laptops computers to input information direct into a suitable software program. Such computer assisted personal interviewing has an advantage of using software with built in checks to eliminate errors in the collection of data. And it allows quick analysis of data. This is better suitable for large budgets, large number surveys than to small scale research because it is cost effective caused by the purchase of laptop computers.

3.8.3. Semi- structured Interviews

[24] explained that semi structured interviews are non-standardized, are often used in qualitative analysis. The interviewer has a list of issues and questions to be covered, but may not deal with all of them in each interview. The order of questions may also change depending on the direction the interviewer takes. Indeed, additional questions may be asked, including 32

some which are not anticipated at the start of the interview, as new issues arise. Responses will be documented by note taking or possibly by tape-recording the interview. The semi- structured interviews allows for probing of views and opinions where it is desirable for respondents to expand on their answers. This is vital when a phenomenological approach is being taken where the objective is to explore subjective meanings that respondents ascribe to concepts or events. Such probing may also allow for the diversion of the interview into new pathways that, while not originally considered as part of the interview, helps towards the meeting research objectives.

In this dissertation, semi-structured interviews will be adopted. The question line would be directed to the organizational-structured interviews will be adopted. The question line would be directed to the organizational perception and it will be aimed at clarifying the second objective and understanding the policies and strategies adopted by the bank as well as the various reviews and the reasons behind the policy reviews aimed at customer retention.

3.8.4 Unstructured Interviews

Unstructured interviews go further in the extent to which emphasis is placed on the interviewers thoughts. The researcher’s role is to be as unobtrusive as possible to start the ball rolling by introducing a theme or topic and then letting the interviewee develop his or her ideas and pursue his or her train of thoughts. Unstructured like semi-interviews are on a continuum and in practice, it is likely that ant interview will slide back and forth along the scale. What they have in common, and what separates them from structured interviews is their willingness to allow interviewees to use their own words and develop their own thoughts. Allowing interviewees to ‘speak their mind’ is a better way of discovering things about complex issues and generally semi structure and unstructured interviews have as their aim ‘discovery’ rather than ‘checking’. They lend themselves to in-depth investigations, particularly those that explore personal accounts of experiences and feelings.

3.9 Characteristics of Structured, Semi-structured and Unstructured Interviews.

Structured Semi Structured Unstructured (Non directive, focused and

Information conversation

Quick to data Slow and time consuming As for semi-structured

Capture data capture and analyze

Use of Random The longer the interview, the Opportunity and snowball sampling

more advisable it is to use often used. In organizations,

random sampling. targeting of key informants.

Interview schedule Interview refers to a guide Interviewer uses aide-memoire of topic Followed exactly containing mixture of open and for discussion and improvises. closed questions interviewer Improvises using own judgment.

Interviewer led Sometimes interviewer-led Non directive interview sometimes informant-led

Easy to analyze Quantitative part easy to analyze Usually hard to analyze

Tends to positivitists Mixture of positivists Non positivist view of knowledge View of knowledge and non-positivist.

Respondent’s Harder to ensure Researcher tends to know the informant. anonymity anonymity. easily guaranteed.

Table: 3.1 Sources: Adapted from [40] Cited in [24]

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 3.10 Secondary Data Secondary data includes qualitative and quantitative data. This data may be raw or compiled. This type of data is mostly used in case study type of research, where a particular organization is being examined. [20] Describes three types of secondary data:

3.10.1 Documentary Secondary Data: This includes written documents like letters, memos, reports and invoices and also includes books magazines articles, Internets etc. Documentary data can be analyzed quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

In this dissertation, documentary secondary data will not be fully used since a particular organization is not being examined but it will used on the questionnaire given out to a particular organization to understand how their relationship management strategies and policies has being able to affect the objective of this thesis which is customer relationship management with a view to satisfaction, commitment and retention and its aggregate effect on margin.

The problem with this data is that it requires high levels of access inside the organization under research if we are using a case study. Unless access is available, this data can’t be obtained. The following are the other types of secondary data:

3.10.2 Survey Secondary Data: This includes the information from the surveys that might have been carried out specifically for the organization under research. This data might be used to contextualize a case study approach [41]

This will further aid the author to get information’s regarding the exact analysis on the objective that prompted the study.

The problem here is that the date of the publication may be a few years after the surveys were done. Also it is not possible that all the required information is obtained from only one survey.

3.10.3 Multiple Source Secondary Data: This data exists where different sets have been combined to form another big data set before the user uses it. A very good example is the MINTEL Industry reports which gives information about the retail and supermarkets industry in which the organization under research falls [41]

3.10.3.1 Advantages of Secondary data [32] 1. The data was already collected without the need to fund and manage its collection. 2. The data is speedy and unobtrusive, as experienced in this research study. 3. Secondary data can help the author to overcome time constraints and add historical depth to this research. 4. It provides comparative and contextual data for the research. 5. Re-analyzing secondary data can result to unforeseen discoveries or unexpected new discoveries.

3.10.3.2 Disadvantages of Secondary data: [32] 1. Some of the data collected was incongruent to the research objectives. 2. Some of the data was useless and inappropriate to the research. 3. Sometimes the access may be difficult or costly. 4. There was no control over the quality of the data obtained. 5. Aggregations and definitions may be unsuitable.

3.11 Triangulation Triangulation of research data refers to the method of checking its validity by approaching the research question from as many different angles as possible and employing redundancy in data collection. [42] 36

The word triangulation emanates from navigational practice where a number of reference points can be used to locate an exact position [45]. The principle is that if different research approaches lead to the same conclusions, our faith in the validity of those conclusions is increased. [35] Triangulation is a valuable and widely used strategy. [42] has distinguished four types of triangulation.

Data Triangulation: The use of more than one method of data collection (e.g.) Observation, interviews, documents.

Observe triangulation: Using more than one observer in the study.

Methodological triangulation: Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Theory triangulation: Using multiple theories or perspective. To obtain triangulation, two or more methods are going to be adopted in this research: Semi- structured interview, questionnaires.

Advantages of Multi method research [34] - Deviant or off-quadrant dimensions of a problem may be uncovered, leading to enriched explanation of the research problem. - Synthesis or integration of theories is facilitated. - Triangulation may serve as the critical test, by reason of its competitiveness, for completing theories. [34] The methods used in this dissertation are synthesized into one research methodology and they will be used to collect data for each objective. To this extent, triangulation would have been achieved.

3.12 Validity and Reliability Validity can be said to be the extent to which the research findings accurately represent the situation. In this dissertation, the methods used are identified with either of the qualitative and the quantitative approach; hence validity of this research is context specific and cannot be based on general phenomenon [44] It should also be feasible that the quality of design can be judged through logical testing. Reducing the possibility of getting the answer wrong, more attention should be paid to particular emphases on research design: reliability and validity [33]

Validity is concerned with whether the findings are “real” what they appear to be about. What do we mean by claiming that a piece of qualitative research is valid? This in effect has to do with it being accurate, or correct or true.

Reliability is the consistency or the stability of a measure, such as, if it were to be repeated, would the same result be obtained? [35] It is concerned with the findings of the research and is one aspect of the credibility of the findings of the research and is one aspect of the credibility of the findings [44]

3.12.1 Threats to Validity in Flexible designs Description: The main threat to providing a valid description of what you have seen or heard lies in the inaccuracy or incompleteness of the data. This suggests that audio or videotaping should be carried out wherever feasible. Interpretation: The main threat to providing a valid interpretation is that of imposing a framework or meaning on what is happening rather than this occurring or emerging from what you learn during your involvement with the setting. Theory: The main threat is in not considering alternative explanations or understanding of the phenomena you are studying. This can be countered by actively seeking data, which are not consonant with your theory [35]

3.12.2 Threats to reliability According to [35] there are four threats to reliability. The first is subject to error. That means that the questionnaires completed will be totally different at different times. The second, three maybe subject bias. This is a particular problem in organizations, which are characterized by an authoritarian management style. Third, there may be observer error, and finally there may be observer bias. [33]

There are several ways to test the reliability of research; such as demonstrating that you have the detailed evidence available (for example, taped interview, transcripts and coding) and that you have analyzed that in a systematic way that others could repeat is a key reliability test. [43]

3.13 Methods Applied To find out the perception of customers and organization to relationship management in organizations, it is possible to observe how they really felt through mapping and analyzing their customer satisfaction, commitment and therefore retention. In this dissertation, questionnaires, semi structured interviews and perhaps secondary data shall be used to triangulate the result. The literature on relationship management provided the basis for developing a questionnaire for this study. The questionnaires were based on the sample indicators of preceptors. [46] and information a sampled organization.

3.13.1 Questionnaire Design The questionnaire was divided into three sections: A. Questions about customer satisfaction in organization. B. Question about customer commitment in organization. C. Questions about customer retention.

In section A, the respondents were requested to answer first if they were customer of the organization and why they choose the organization. They were asked if they were satisfied with their relationship managers. Respondents indicated the level of importance of statements with responses that ranged from [1] Very low satisfaction to [5] Very high satisfaction for relationship management by answering the questions. Secondly, the respondents were requested to assess if they are committed to the management of the organization, the answers were also given on a five point scale that stretched from likely [1] to very likely [5]. In this section C, the respondents were requested to assess if the management style of he organization has contributed to their being retained as customers. The answers were also given on a five-point scale that stretched from not likely [1] to very likely [5].

3.14 Procedures and Sampling The target population of customer survey was the customers with the organization. The questionnaire will be given to a contact to be given to the relationship manager of the organization. He/She will be required to give it to the customers who transact business with the organization.

The target population of the management survey was all managers (ranging from relationship managers to the group head) who worked in the organization. At least 10 managerial staffs are going to be interviewed. The guides assigned shall pick them randomly. The guides shall be responsible to send all feedbacks to the author. The author will also rely on secondary data (documentary secondary data) as well as interviews. Theses will also be conducted on phone or through the internet.

4.0 FINDINGS & ANALYSIS In this part of the thesis work, the author aims to portray the results from the research methods used, for example questionnaire and semi-structured interview. These results are related to the stages in the conceptual framework. The results obtained through the research methods used will be explained.

4.1 Methods 1: Questionnaire The questionnaire were distributed to the customer for their response towards their suppliers and they responded with their candid opinion on the questions which forms the core part of the chapter and this will be used later for further analysis.

The sample of suppliers varies from onshore to offshore suppliers, big equipments, office materials and industrial materials. About 70% of the respondents were (M.S.U) major supplier unit and all other suppliers were treated as same regardless of their status and what kind of group they are classified into. The questions asked would include Satisfaction, commitment and retention. They will be treated from the suppliers, which is the organization and the customer point of view.

About satisfaction The Customer Q1. Are you a customer to this supplier?

A. Yes B. No

Here the customer answered yes.

Q2. Does your organization maintain a supplier profile data bases? A. Yes B. No

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The Customer answered yes to this for supplier analysis and evaluation.

Q3. In your opinion, would you recommend your supplier to another organization? A. Yes B. No The customer responded that some that have good track record yes and others no

Q4. Are you satisfied with the relationship management of your supplier? The scale is: Very Satisfied [5] Satisfied [4] of some satisfaction [3] of little satisfaction [2] of no satisfaction [1] No Idea [0]

Here the customer replied that he is satisfied [4] with the relationship management of the supplier

Q5. Are you satisfied with their work and quality of services rendered? The scale is Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

The customer replied Excellent [5] here since he affirmed that is the yardstick to measure if they stay on as supplier to the organization.

Q6. In your opinion, how would you rate your supplier’s ability to meet delivery time and responsiveness to changes? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

He responded as Good [4] here because he explained, they always check if they work within time schedule and their responsiveness to change in the previous projects before choosing them

ABOUT COMMITMENT Q1. In your opinion, how has your satisfaction with your supplier helped your commitment to them? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]. Here the customer responded Excellent [5] because he explained that it is the measure of the work or services they performed, if they are satisfied with them, they are going to be committed to them.

Q2. How would you rate your commitment to this supplier? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

He responded Good [4] to this because people are still given opportunity to submit quotation so it is still open and the commitment is in giving them the opportunity based on their previous track record on previous supplies and if their price is right.

Q3. How would you rate your commitment to the supplier because you consider their CRM Policies/strategies favourable? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Here he responded Not bad [3] because he explained that their policy does not determine the quality of services rendered but it helps in getting things done and subsequent relationships.

Q4. Are you committed to the supplier because you are satisfied with their services? A. Yes B. No The customer responded yes to this question because he explained the reason for being committed to a supplier is because of their good services and the can be relied on to work with minimum supervision.

ABOUT RETENTION. Q1. In your opinion, has your satisfaction and commitment to the supplier contributed to Your decision to remain with the supplier? The scale is: Extremely likely [5] Likely [4] A bit likely [3] Not likely [2] Extremely Not likely [1]

Here he responded Extremely Likely [5] because it is satisfaction that brings out the commitment which invariably ends up in retention.

Q2. How has your expectations versus delivered quality affected your retention of Supplier? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

He answered Excellent [5] because if their expectation is met both in quality and time frame, it surely makes it more interesting to work with the supplier again or look forward to working with them.

ABOUT SATISFACTION THE SUPPLIER

Here the helped distributing the questionnaire to 10 suppliers and they assured them of their anonymity based on their response

Q1. Are you satisfied with your Customers? The scale is: Very Satisfied [5] Satisfied [4] of some satisfaction [3] of little satisfaction [2] of no satisfaction [1] No Idea [0]

Table: 4.1.1 distribution of Q1 Respondents 5 4 3 2 1 0 10 Total 5 4 1 0 0 0

Here 5 of the suppliers answered very satisfied while four answers satisfied while just one supplier answered of some satisfaction.

Q2. How would you rate performance of services rendered by you to your customers? The scale is Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Table: 4.1.2 distribution of Q2 Respondents 5 4 3 2 1 0 10 Total 9 1 0 0 0 0

Here 9 suppliers answered that their services is excellent while one answered good.

Q3. In your opinion, how easy is it to convince a new customer or your responses to RFQ? The scale is: Extremely easy [5] Good [4] A bit easy [3] Not easy [2] Extremely not easy [1]

Here 7 suppliers responded good while 1 responded excellent and two answered a bit easy to convincing a new customer with their RFQ

Q4. Does your organization measure and track Customer satisfaction?

A. Yes B. No

They all responded yes here

Q5. Does your organization keep a customer satisfaction management handover Checklist after each project?

A. Yes B. No

They all answered yes here to the questionnaire.

Q6. Does your organization determine or assess customer acquisition rate using customer satisfaction as yardstick?

A. Yes 45

Department of Computer Science and Electronics B. No

Here 8 suppliers answered yes while 2 answered no.

Q7. Does your organization develop more effective customer-focused strategies?

A. Yes B. No

Here 9 answered yes while only one says No.

QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMITMENT:

THE SUPPLIER

Q1. In your opinion, how would you rate the responsiveness of customers to satisfaction of services you rendered? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Here one of the suppliers answered excellent to this question while the remaining 9 suppliers answered good.

Q2. How would you rate your customer commitment to your organization? 46

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Here they all answered yes to the question.

Q3. In your opinion, do you think customers are committed to you because they are satisfied with the services you rendered to them? The scale is: Extremely likely [5] Likely [4] A bit likely [3] Not likely [2] Extremely Not likely [1]

Here six of the suppliers answered extremely likely to this question while the remaining four answered likely.

Q4. How would you rate the effect of CRM policies/strategies with regards to customer commitment to your organization? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Table: 4.1.7 distribution of Q4 Respondents 5 4 3 2 1 0 47

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 10 Total 4 5 1 0 0 0

Here four of the suppliers answered excellent and five of the suppliers says good and one answered not bad..

QUESTIONS ABOUT RETENTION

THE SUPPLIER

Q1. In your opinion, has customer satisfaction and commitment to your organization contributed to their decision to remain with the organization? The scale is: Extremely likely [5] Likely [4] A bit likely [3] Not likely [2]Extremely Not likely[1]

Table: 4.1.8 distribution of Q1

Respondents 5 4 3 2 1 0 10 Total 8 2 0 0 0 0

Here 8 suppliers answered extremely likely to this question and the remaining 2 answered likely to the question.

Q2. How would you rate your customer satisfaction analysis to your retention ratio? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Table: 4.1.9 distribution of Q2 Respondents 5 4 3 2 1 0 48

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 10 Total 0 10 0 0 0 0

Here the entire customers answered good

Q3. Does your organization believe customer retention is synonymous with maximization of organization’s profit? A. Yes B. No Here all the suppliers answered yes here.

Method 2

4.2 Semi-structured Interview Interviews were conducted over the Internet and on the phone by the author. Two relationship managers were interviewed that works in a telecommunication and oil marketing company and the suppliers to the oil marketing company were given the questionnaire who kindly helped in filling and replying to them two were also interviewed which they suggested. A sample of interview can be found in the appendix of this work. During the interview, all relevant questions were asked and all respondents offered their answers to the author through the Internet and phone. Their answers were sorted out and analyzed by the author at the later part of this work to buttress the point of this research work and each question that were asked were very critical and relevant to the research work to be able to arrive at a conclusive opinion.

QUESTIONS OF SEMI STRUCTURED INTERVIEW

The following interviews were expected to be conducted to support the methodology of research adopted. It will be between customers and relationship managers. 49

QUESTION ASKED THE CUSTOMER ABOUT SATISFACTION

Q1. What is the most important aspect for you being the customer, when we are talking about relationship customers versus supplier?

Ans. The customer responded here that it gives them a better bargaining position with price and they were able to choose amongst the best and invariably picks the best supplier with the best price and a good terms and condition

Q2. How has your satisfaction with your supplier affected your relationship with them?

Ans. Our satisfaction with the quality of work they rendered and within other stated functions gives them an edge over other suppliers when their is a new RFQ and this actually is the yardstick to determine if a supplier stays with us or not..

Q3. How long have you been a customer to the supplier?

Ans. Most of our suppliers are old but we take new suppliers regularly too to forestall any disappointment but this supplier has been with us for eleven years.

Q4. How beneficial has your choosing this supplier being compared to other suppliers?

Ans. They have always been beneficial in their respective areas since they have areas they specialise on because we always choose on expertise and track record.

QUESTIONS ASKED THE CUSTOMER ABOUT COMMITMENT

Q5. Are you committed to the supplier and why?

Ans. We are committed to this supplier being that they know what they are doing, have a good relationship with them and deliver on time. 50

Q6. How has the strategies adopted by the supplier to make sure customers are satisfied won over your commitment? Ans. It has been of very good of them with their follow up on satisfaction and quick response to any complaint and this has made us more committed to them.

QUESTIONS ASKED THE CUSTOMER ABOUT RETENTION

Q7. What would you like your supplier to do in order to guarantee your continued relationship with them? Ans. We don’t request much of them but total quality work, good terms and condition and delivery on time.

QUESTIONS ASKED THE MANAGERS/SUPPLIER ABOUT SATISFACTION AND COMMITTMENT

Q8. How important is customer to you in this organization?

Ans. Customer is very important to us, it starts with them and ends with them, without them, we are not in business.

Q9. In what ways does your customer contribute to your relationship management efforts? Ans. They have been able to help our effort by cooperating with us and giving us feedback and constructive criticism in our works.

Q10. What is your biggest asset?

Ans. Customer is our biggest asset that is why we try to satisfy them.

Q11. Do you manage your customers like valuable assets?

Ans. Yes, we manage them like valuable assets because to gain a loyal customer is much more difficult than losing one.

Q12. To what extent have the policies and strategies contributed to customer satisfaction?

Ans. The strategies and policies the management adopted has been of immeasurable efforts to our customer satisfaction. 51

Q13. To what extents have the policies contributed to customer commitment to this organization?

Ans. We think it has enhanced their commitment to us but without us doing our job well, the policies will be of no use.

QUESTIONS ASKED THE MANAGERS ABOUT RETENTION

Q14. Are your policies reviewed for customer sake towards acquisition and retention?

Ans. Yes, our policies are geared towards customer acquisition and retention with good services and customer satisfaction.

Q15. Have the policies contributed to customer retention?

Ans. Yes, the policies adopted to measure customer satisfaction against performed services and products delivered have contributed to customer retention.

4.3 ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS In this research project, the questionnaire would be analyzed from the customer’s perspective, as well as from the supplier’s perspectives. The analysis is based on customer satisfaction, commitment and customer retention from the two sides.

Analysis of customer perception of satisfaction Questionnaires Q1 to Q6 treated customer satisfaction from the customer’s perspective and the responses received from the customer shows that the customer have some form of satisfaction with the suppliers and their relationship management, services rendered and also quality of the work done by the suppliers, their ability to meet delivery deadlines and ability to meet responsiveness to changes. The customer was asked to asses the quality of work performed by the supplier and if they can recommend them to another customer which they replied yes to since they have confidence in them and this shows that customers gain some form of satisfaction with them and according to [49] “ the drive for quality and products

Department of Computer Science and Electronics services is apparent worldwide and that the pursuit of customer satisfaction increasingly is becoming a corporate goal.” According to [7] that is the base of relationship management.

Analysis of Customer perception on commitment Questionnaire Q1 to Q4 which is the questionnaires on commitment for the customer asked pertinent questions about how the satisfaction with suppliers has helped them in been committed to them and are they committed to them based on their policies and strategies and also if it was based on their services and the quality with which they perform it. The response from the customer shows that majority of the suppliers to the customer still has one project or business to do with them based on their satisfaction with their previous work and their commitment to them were rated good being that they will be willing to use them again, therefore this assertion supports one of the empirical research in both the marketing and organizational behavior literatures which lends credence and maintains that satisfaction leads to commitment which also suggests that “Buyer satisfaction with the sales person will be positively related to the buyer’s commitment to the sales person” [7]

Analysis of Customer perception of retention Q1 and Q2 explains the customer’s view on retention and how satisfaction and commitment to their supplier contributed to their decision to remain with them and which shows it is a major reason of staying with any supplier because they are satisfied with their work and also because their expectations are met. This confirms the early hypothesis that satisfaction is an antecedent to commitment; therefore it confirms “Buyers satisfaction with the sales person will negatively related to the defection intentions. Also, buyers commitment to the salesperson will be negatively related to buyer defection intentions”

Analysis of Suppliers perception of satisfaction Q1 to Q7 asks pertinent questions about the supplier’s opinion about satisfaction with their customer, how they would rate their performance, how easy it is for them to convince a new customer or win a new RFQ and if their organization has a yardstick for measuring customer satisfaction and the parameter used in doing this. The supplier responded to the satisfaction

Department of Computer Science and Electronics based on their perception that if a customer is not happy with their work, they will not want to use them so being satisfied with them is very important.

Analysis of Suppliers perception of Commitment Q1 to Q4 explains and tries to clear the understand behind the perception of commitment from suppliers point of view since the rate of responsiveness of customers to satisfaction of services rendered has correlation in being committed to them and how has customer satisfaction with them being able to help in their commitment to them. It also helps to analyze the policies and strategies adopted whether it has any direct influence on customer’s commitment to them since they make it their watchword to satisfy customer. This helps to broaden the definition of relationship management as “ the infrastructure that enables the delineation of and increases in customer value, and the correct means by which to motivate valuable customers to remain loyal-indeed, to patronize again” [3]

Analysis of Supplier’s perceptions on retention. Q1 to Q3 asked questions about how customer satisfaction has been able to make them remain with the organization which the supplier knew since if they are not satisfied with them, they will not be committed and without being committed, they can not be retained and the more a customer is satisfied with your work, the higher your retention ratio is and when you have a high retention ration and your customers are happy with you, it will invariably reflect in their organization profit and this was supported by [50] “suggested that as little as a five percent increase in customer retention can increase profits by fifty percent or more”.

Analysis on the semi-structured interview with customer The analysis about the questions asked the customer about satisfaction shows how important it is for a customer to be satisfied with a supplier for onward patronage or future business, it will just be a once off business relationship if they are not satisfied with the service or quality of work done which will result in not being committed to and retained at the end of the day. It shows from the response from the customer that satisfaction is a key factor in a supplier being retained for business. This clearly states too why they could be committed to a supplier not only because of their policies and strategies, although they agreed that their customer relationship management could endear them to them but that will not make them commit to 54

Department of Computer Science and Electronics them but rather the quality of their work and the retention will be based on the satisfaction derived from services render, expected met or surpassed and quality of work done.

Analysis on questions asked the managers about satisfaction, commitment and retention This examines why they are in business and how well they value their customer, is it of any importance to them, and in what ways does customer contribute to relationship management and to what extent has the policies they adopted contributed to their customer satisfaction and retention, the manager was able to explain how important customer is to them, without them, they are not in business and how invaluable they are to them and this shows why they adopted customer relationship management policies, to monitor their progress, get feedback from customer and improve on their margin through more commitment from customer and being retained for more business at the end of the day.. The questions on if their policies were reviewed for customer sake came up with an answer that Yes and No because they gear everything towards customer but they improve on their policies and strategies too because they believe in it and it will benefit them immensely at the end of the day. It will help the organization in staying in touch with the changing environment as well as improving and ensuring that they are one step ahead of their competitors while aiming at customer satisfaction and commitment, combating customer defection and therefore securing customer retention.

4.4 Summary of Findings In this research project, the qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in the research findings. Quantitative data was used as a mathematical representation to present the tables and help for easier analysis of the findings. This was done in the analysis of the questionnaire where perceptions of customers were analyzed. Qualitative research was used to explain the use of non-mathematical procedures when interpreting and explaining and analyzing the data findings of the quantitative techniques. [26]

A triangulation approach was adopted from the recommendations of [26] and [42], the data in this study was collected through questionnaire and semi-structured interviews supported by reviewing the response received from the managers. These different data collection methods were used to provide more detailed idea as well as information about the topic under research.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The principle is that different research approaches led to the same conclusions, our faith in the validity of those conclusions is increased. [35] The objectives of this research project determines the boundary of this research work and in this project, the objectives were customer perception of relationship management, organization perception of relationship management, as well as differential analysis of customer and organizational perception, which explains the interrelations of the two objectives with a view of satisfaction, commitment and customer retention relationship management To arrive at the findings, the research methods were used against the objectives. The questionnaire as well as the semi interviews tested the various objectives from the customer as well as from suppliers’ point of view and according to the results; the suppliers are satisfied with the relationship management of their customer. The result of the semi-interview also shows a high level of customer satisfaction, which makes them still remain on the supplier’s list, commitment and retention from the customer point of view and the suppliers too are satisfied with the customer and this explains their commitment and invariably being retained. Therefore, having arrived at the same inference in all the methodology used by approaching the research questions from different angles, the objective was achieved.

From a practical aspect, the study attempted neither to test existing theory nor to develop new research instrument. The study tried to study relationship management from the customers and the supplier point of view with emphasis on customer satisfaction, customer commitment as well as customer retention with a view of how interrelated they are in organizational management and how these critical factors affects overall profit margin of projects. The findings of this project show that strategic implications associated with understanding and enhancing customer retention. The reason for this is that loyal customers are more profitable than newly acquired ones [51]. Thus an effective strategy to enhance retention rates can also impact a competitive advantage. This research indicates that suppliers or organizations plays important role in enhancing customer retention and which invariably

increases the margin. It also indicates that the retention process is far more complex than merely keeping customer satisfied and should address concepts such as customer commitment

Department of Computer Science and Electronics and building equitable and long lasting relationships. There is constant need to review organizational policies and strategies to enhance customer satisfaction, commitment and therefore retention thereby enhancing competitive advantage. Organizations particularly need to focus on developing reasonable relationships to create a sense of commitment and satisfaction, one way to do this is to be open in communications with the customer and not use information in an opportunistic manner. This research study indicates that high levels of customer commitment to the organization (directly) and satisfaction with the organization (indirectly) are important in enhancing customer retention. If satisfaction and commitment are high, it is unlikely that the customer will determine that the benefits associated with leaving a supplier or an organization justify the costs involved in making such a move. Low levels of commitment make it more likely that customers will evaluate favourably the level of benefits obtained by leaving. However, high commitment level as well as satisfaction in the project handled for them reflects favourable retention rate. Management follow up and follow up on projects finished and making checklist of customer satisfaction are ways to help build greater level of satisfaction and commitment by increasing the quality of communication with the customers and responsiveness to request for changes or correction or default on a finished project or supplied materials. An important contribution of current research is the inclusion of both satisfaction and commitment with the organization in a model that explains a large portion of variance in customer defection intentions. When a customer is satisfied with work done or service rendered, that does not mean they cannot defect, but satisfaction plays a plays a less role in established customer relationship so commitment to an organization plays an increasing important role once a relationship is established.

5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 57

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 5.1 Conclusion From a practical aspect, this research study attempted to gain an insight and in depth into the perception of customers and organizations on customer relationship management and the effects it has on project margins. The study simply tried to identify customer as well as the organizations perception of relationship management. It also tried to explain the differential analysis between the customer and the organizations perceptions of relationship management. It tries to show from the analysis that customer should be carried like a valuable assets, the way organizations take their most valuable assets, if well managed, it has the power to turn the scale of profit on favour of whoever managed it properly. The various findings were analyzed separately each from the customer and organization point of view and the findings analyzed customer satisfaction, commitment and retention from the customer and organizations perspective as well as the interrelations needed by the organization to avoid customer defection, thereby achieving a high level of customer retention.

Although customer satisfaction is in the eye of the beholder, common ways of monitoring customer satisfaction do not allow suppliers to “speak their own mind “ More often than not, a pre defined set of aspects is measured, thereby –even if advertently shaping the context within which the suppliers expresses themselves. However, the measurement of customer satisfaction from the customer and the organization point of view in this case was done from the frame of the relationship that exist between the two.

Results from the responses of the customer’s perception of satisfaction with their supplier’s shows a consistent feeling of satisfaction and its effect on relationship management. The level of satisfaction the customer has in a supplier determines the business or projects they handle for the customer. It has a direct correlation with the assertion that the more a customer is satisfied with a supplier, the more business they get and this invariably reflects on their balance sheet at the end of the year and from the authors point of view, proper customer

relationship management has benefits to both party involved both the customer and the suppliers too and it reflects positively for both party at the end of the day.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The assertion here that to convince a new or potential customer is not too difficult but experience has shown that, getting a new customer might not be difficult but holding on to one is where the actual benefits stays and in the long run, it reflects on the balance sheet because the cost of acquiring a new customer is far more expensive than keeping an old one happy and retained. Customer analysis of commitment to suppliers shows that most of their customers that are on the suppliers list must have been good in managing the relationship between them and also they must be good in their services, whether in quality or prices being competitive or responsiveness to changes or meeting time schedule but in all, it shows that for a customer to be committed to a supplier, their must be a very high sense of satisfaction with them. From the customer analysis of commitment, it shows that they must be satisfied with the services of the supplier. It also shows that customer satisfaction is a precursor to customer commitment. Measuring the perception of customer retention with the suppliers, it can be seen that from the analysis that form the customer perspective, customers can only be committed to suppliers if they are satisfied with their services or work done and this can lead to the supplier being retained due to the fact that the customer is satisfied with them. However, in this research work, results shows a high level of customer satisfaction and commitment to the supplier and according to the results from the questionnaire on customer retention, the customers retain the suppliers because of their satisfaction and commitment to them while they look for key functions like meeting and exceeding expectations the customer has for prospective suppliers.

In summary, the result of this study shows that relationship management is an essential part of management. It also explains and identifies the various subjects of a meaningful customer relationship management. From customer satisfaction to customer commitment and finally to customer retention. While each of these subjects can be perceived differently between customers and the suppliers, it also shows the interrelations between customer and the organization perception. From a marketing perspective, both parties (customers and

organization) are very important and must be considered if a more thorough understanding of CRM is to be gained.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Results in this project identify a high level of satisfaction amongst the customer’s suppliers. It also indicates that as satisfaction with the organization increases, customer commitment to organization increases. Customers are committed to the organization they do business with because they are satisfied with the services the organization offers them and this makes them decide to remain with them which results in retention. Organizations also reviews managerial policies in line with customer need and perception of services rendered from time to time with a view of enhancing their performance in the market and giving themselves a competitive advantage over their competitors.

5.2 Recommendation

Taking the results in this dissertation into consideration, results of the questionnaire showed that most of the respondent suppliers agreed to be satisfied with the relationship management of the customer and vice versa and were committed to each other because of the mutual satisfaction. However, it must be noticed that it could have been more appropriate if the questionnaire were given to the suppliers from a different entity and has no link to their customer whatsoever because they could respond quite independently without fear or favor but they all promised they responded with utmost truth and their opinion on the questions.

According to the author, here are some recommendations for both organizations and customers for successful relationship management.

1. General research survey will provide a better picture of customer and organization perceptions. According to the result of this study, most suppliers agreed to being satisfied with the relationship management of their customer and committed to them because it reflects in their being retained. This easily gives an impression that the customer or the supplier is a perfect one and their relationship is very cordial without any problem or weakness. However, it is noteworthy that this research survey was carried out on the suppliers that have a long time relationship with the organization and a recent supplier could not actually claim if the customer is going to retain their service or patronize them again. Therefore questions will

Department of Computer Science and Electronics arise; how will an average customer or supplier rate satisfaction and commitment and how will the assessment be carried out. Therefore in authors opinion, a general survey would give a better idea of relationship management to customer about their suppliers and the relationship between them and also the suppliers, their customer, the relationship assessment criteria.

2. Extend relationship management to Suppliers both old and new Result from the customer retention questionnaire shows that their suppliers were retained due to many factors not basically on their policies or strategy towards relationship management. They assess suppliers basically on their delivery terms and ability to do what is required of them correctly without much supervision but in the context of this research work, it is imperative that the customer have a well focused relationship management policy for their organization and also ways of assessing if a supplier makes the point and this will help keep in view the good ones to be retained rather than keep everybody when their satisfaction is okay with this work or services rendered.

3. A well-devised retention plan should be put in place As part of a good retention plan, the suppliers should make a follow up call for each customer they have had or did business with and have proper laid down organizational procedures to follow up on customer satisfaction after any completed project and should make efforts to put in place self assessment exercise for themselves after each project or supplies handled for a customer so they can keep themselves abreast of things they need to work on and where to build bridges and develop on in the future.

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 6.0 PART II

6.1 CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE DESSERTATION Introduction The aim of this part is to evaluate the suitability of the methodology, concepts theories and techniques applied. It also identifies particular problems faced during the course of the research investigation and explains how they were overcome. In addition, the personal skills developed by the author while carrying out this dissertation are evaluated.

1. In this dissertation, the conceptual framework was based on customer and organizational perceptions of relationship management. The perceptions were viewed ad analyzed from various perspectives in management. They were viewed from customer satisfaction, commitment and retention. Differential analysis, which had to do with how organizations react to changing customer needs were also analyzed. During these findings and analysis, certain difficulties were encountered and they are outlined below:  Inability to distribute the questionnaires randomly among few suppliers of the customer.  Inability to assess the findings from a larger number of respondents.  The respondents responded favourably to questions asked thereby putting the author in a difficult position to evaluate from an impartial perspective

Evaluation of Methods applied. The research study tried to evaluate the perception of customer and organizations towards customer satisfaction, commitment and retention. Different methods were used to evaluate the perspectives, they include questionnaire survey, semi structured interview and qualitative and quantitative methods were applied in this study for different objectives and different methods. Quantitative analysis sought to gain insight and to understand customers and organizations perception of relationship management with respect to satisfaction, commiment and retention. The questionnaire was solved quantitatively while a qualitative approach was adopted for the semi-structured interview. In addition, quantitative approaches tend to relate to positivism and seek to gather factual data and study relationship between facts and how such facts

Department of Computer Science and Electronics relationship agrees with theories and findings of researches carried out previously. However, the author encountered a few setbacks in the various methodology used particularly in the questionnaire area where you can not be too sure of the reason for respondents answers and how serious they took the questionnaire. And the semi- structured interview was carried out with two respondents from the customers and organizations point of view. They both responded well but may have been too few to have an effect on the outcome of the findings.

Study limitation While the study helps us better to understand customer relationship management and its effects on margin if properly managed with the various objectives as discussed from the customer and organization s point of view. Firstly, the number of respondents used was too small and the managers too interviewed were relatively small. Secondly, the study was only concentrated on suppliers or particular group of suppliers that has being with the customer long which could have had a different result if new suppliers were used. therefore the current findings may not represent a general idea. Thirdly, the relationship manager distributed the questionnaire to the suppliers on behalf of the author. This may have led to it being not objective in giving out the questionnaire to the right people. Lastly, the semi-structure interview was carried out on two respondents from the customers and two respondents from the organizations. This number might not represent a true reflection of what the situation is truly is.

Implications The important feature of this study is that it focuses on customer and organization perception of relationship management with a view of the effect on customer satisfaction, commitment, and retention. The inference shows the importance of the relationship management to the organization and customers and the effect it could have on their margin if properly managed.. It shows that without satisfaction, customers cannot be committed and without customer commitment, it is impossible to retain. Areas for Future Research Additional research needs to focus on providing greater understanding of the antecedents of the customer retention processes. For example, research could examine how organizations 63

Department of Computer Science and Electronics bring “value” to a relationship and discourage turnover. Variables such as volatility of the environment and organizations. Finally, additional research needs to focus on other customers and other suppliers as well as their level in satisfaction, commitment and consequently retention by the customer.

Personal Skills development My study and previous work experience helped me a lot in carrying out this study. In conducting this research, it gives me good opportunity to improve myself in the following aspects:

Communication skills: To conduct an interview or discussion successfully, it was imperative to have a good communication with different people. In this dissertation, I learned to start friendly conversation with strangers from various backgrounds. Furthermore, I developed skills like sorting out main information’s from a relevant complicated conversation. At the same time my listening skill was also improved during the process of communication.

Writing Skills: English Language is my first language for as long as I can remember, I have always worked hard to improve on my writing skills and improve on my fluency and clarity in discussion and writing this thesis was an additional task and looking back to the previous work. I would say I have improved my writing skills as well as developed my skills with vocabulary.

Time management: Time management is a key to success in project management and I conducted this study by setting goals and deadlines for different stages. I made efforts to finish every stage according to the schedule. This study provided a good chance for me to improve on time management. Therefore, working under tight schedule and time limit with an increased workload, I had to plan my time and to have achieved this gives me great confidence. Looking back to when I started this dissertation, I have enjoyed every bit of it. I have enjoyed learning, researching, talking to people and sharing my ideas and experiences. Finally, I am convinced I have acquired good and sound knowledge of time management and hope to apply it to my future endeavours

Appendix 1 Questionnaire QUESTIONNAIRE A

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am a MIMA student in International Project Management in Malardalen University. Here is a questionnaire designed by me for my Masters degree thesis dissertation, analyzing customer Perception of relationship management, with a view of customer satisfaction, commitment and retention. By finding out your opinion, I believe that I will be able to get more useful information for the research work and improve organization’s relationship management means with and improve customer satisfaction yardstick thereby getting better and enhanced services. By taking a few minutes to fill in this questionnaire, we can build up a current picture of your perception of the customer. Please return the completed questionnaire as soon as possible. Your views are highly valued.

ABOUT SATISFACTION

THE CUSTOMER:

Q1. Are you a customer to this supplier?

A. Yes B. No

Q2. Does your organization maintain a supplier profile Data bases?

A. Yes B. No

Q3. In your opinion, would you recommend your supplier to another organization?

A. Yes B. No

Q4. Are you satisfied the with relationship management of your supplier?

Department of Computer Science and Electronics The scale is: Very Satisfied [5] Satisfied [4] of some satisfaction [3] of little satisfaction [2] of no satisfaction [1] No Idea [0]

Q5. Are you satisfied with their work and quality of services rendered? The scale is Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q6. In your opinion, how would you rate your supplier’s ability to meet delivery time And responsiveness to changes? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

THE CUSTOMER

Q1. In your opinion, how has your satisfaction with your supplier helped your commitment to them? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0].

Q2. How would you rate your commitment to this supplier? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q3. How would you rate your commitment to the supplier because you consider their CRM policies/strategies favourable? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q4. Are you committed to the supplier because you are satisfied with their services? C. Yes D. No

QUESTIONS ABOUT RETENTION:

THE CUSTOMER

Q1. In your opinion, has your satisfaction and commitment to the supplier contributed to your decision to remain with the supplier? The scale is: Extremely likely [5] Likely [4] A bit likely [3] Not likely [2] Extremely Not likely [1]

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Q2. How has your expectations versus delivered quality affected your retention of Supplier? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

QUESTIONNAIRE B

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am a MIMA student in International Project Management in Malardalen University. Here is a questionnaire designed by me for my Masters degree thesis dissertation, analyzing Supplier’s Perception of relationship management, with a view of satisfaction, commitment and retention. By finding out your opinion, I believe that I will be able to get more useful information for the organizations analysis and a way to improve the management of relationship within organization with best service thereby increasing their margin.

By taking a few minutes to fill in this questionnaire, I can build up a current picture of your perception of the customers services/satisfaction at it affects the supplier. Please return the completed questionnaires as soon as possible. Your views will be highly valued.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Please tick your answers

QUESTIONS ABOUT SATISFACTION:

THE SUPPLIER

Q1. Are you satisfied with your Customers? The scale is: Very Satisfied [5] Satisfied [4] of some satisfaction [3] of little satisfaction [2] of no satisfaction [1] No Idea [0]

Q2. How would you rate performance of services rendered by you to your customers? The scale is Excellent [5] Good [4] Not bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q3. In your opinion, how easy is it to convince a new customer or your responses to

Department of Computer Science and Electronics RFQ? The scale is: Extremely easy [5] Good [4] A bit easy [3] Not easy [2] Extremely not easy [1]

Q4. Does your organization measure and track Customer satisfaction?

A Yes B No

Q5. Does your organization keep a customer satisfaction management handover Checklist after each project?

A Yes B No

Q6. Does your organization determine or asses customer acquisition rate using customer satisfaction as yardstick?

A Yes B No

Q7. Does your organization develop more effective customer-focused strategies?

A Yes B No

THE SUPPLIER

Q1. In your opinion, how would you rate the responsiveness of customers to satisfaction of services you rendered? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q2. How would you rate your customer commitment to your organization? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q3. In your opinion, do you think customers are committed to you because they are satisfied with the services you rendered to them? The scale is: Extremely likely [5] Likely [4] A bit likely [3] Not likely [2]Extremely Not likely [1]

Q4. How would you rate the effect of CRM policies/strategies with regards to customer commitment to your organization? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

QUESTIONS ABOUT RETENTION

THE SUPPLIER

Q1. In your opinion, has customer satisfaction and commitment to your organization contributed to their decision to remain with the organization? The scale is: Extremely likely [5] Likely [4] A bit likely [3] Not likely [2] Extremely Not likely [1]

Q2. How would you rate your customer satisfaction analysis to your retention ratio? The scale is: Excellent [5] Good [4] Not Bad [3] Poor [2] Very poor [1] No idea [0]

Q3. Does your organization believe customer retention is synonymous with maximization of organization’s profit? A Yes B No

QUESTIONS OF SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW

QUESTION ASKED THE CUSTOMER ABOUT SATISFACTION

Q1. What is the most important aspect for you being the customer, when we are talking about relations customers versus supplier?

Q2. How has your satisfaction with your supplier affected your relationship with them?

Q3. How long have you been a customer to the supplier?

Q4. How beneficial has your choosing this supplier being compared to other suppliers?

QUESTIONS ASKED THE CUSTOMER ABOUT COMMITMENT

Q5. Are you committed to the supplier and why?

Q6. How has the strategies adopted by the supplier to make sure customers are satisfied won over your commitment?

QUESTIONS ASKED THE CUSTOMER ABOUT RETENTION

Q7. What would you like your supplier to do in order to guarantee your continued relationship with them?

QUESTIONS ASKED THE MANAGERS/SUPPLIER ABOUT SATISFACTION AND COMMITTMENT

Q8. How important is customer to you in this organization?

Q9. In what ways does your customer contribute to your relationship management efforts? Q10. What is your biggest asset?

Q11. Do you manage your customers like valuable assets?

Q12. To what extent have the policies and strategies contributed to customer satisfaction?

Q13. To what extent have the policies contributed to customer commitment to this organization?

QUESTIONS ASKED THE MANAGERS ABOUT RETENTION

Q14. Are your policies reviewed for customer sake towards acquisition and retention?

Q15. Have the policies contributed to customer retention?

7.0 REFERENCES

1. Wikipedia, “customer relationship management” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/customer 2. Chuck .Chakrapani, “How to measure service, quality & customer satisfaction”, (1998) 3. Dyche J. “The CRM handbook: the business guide to customer relation Management” Boston Pearson (2002) 4. Greenberg P. “ CRM at the speed of light: Capturing and keeping customers in Internet”. Real Time, McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, CA (2001) 5. Gummesson E. “The new Marketing developing long term interactive relationships , Long range planning” (1987) 6. Gummesson E. “Total Relationship Marketing – Rethinking Marketing management “Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford. (1999). 7. Gummesson E. Total Relationship marketing –Marketing management, Relationship Strategy and CRM Approaches for the Network Economy. (2002) 8. Ryals L. & Knox S. “Cross Functional Issues in the implementation of relationship Marketing through Customer relationship Management”, European Management Journal, October (2001) 9. Sheth J. N, Sisodia R.S and Shama A. “The antecedents and consequences of customer-centric marketing” (2000) 10. Abdell D.F “Defining the Business: The starting point of Strategic planning”. New Jersey: prentice Hall. (1980) 11. Bashaw E.R and Stephen G.E “Exploring the Distinctive nature of Work Commitments: Their relationship with personal Characteristics, Job performance, and propensity to leave” Journal of personal selling & Sales Management (1994) 12. Bateman T.S and Strasser “ A longitudinal Analysis of the Antecedents of Organizational commitment” Academy of Management Journalism (1984) 13. Miles M.B & Huberman A.M “Qualitative and data analysis and expanded Sourcebook”, Thousands Oaks: SAGE Publications (1994) 14. Cunningham M.T and Homse E. “Controlling the marketing –purchasing

Department of Computer Science and Electronics Interface: Resources Development and Organizational implications, Industrial Marketing and Purchasing, (1986) 15. William & Hazer “Informal Relationships in the Workplace: Associations with Job Satisfaction Organisational Commitment and Turnover Intentions” (1986) 16. Brown and Peterson “Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management” (1993)

17. Mark W. Johnston, A. Parasuraman, Charles M. Futrell, William C. Black. “A Longitudinal Assessment of the Impact of Selected Organizational Influences on Salespeople's Organizational Commitment during Early Employment” (1990) 18. Easterby-Smith “Handbook of qualitative research methods for international Business” (1991) 19. Hughes L.“Working knowledge: Work Based learning and Education Reform” (1990)

20. Saunders M, Lewis P. & Thornhill A “ Research Methods for Business students”

Great Britain: F:T. Prentice Hall (2002)

21. Gil and Johnson “Understanding management research: An introduction to

Epistemology” (1991)

22. Bryman .A “Organizational Research methods” Rutledge London (1988)

23. Smith C. “The phenomenology of perception” New York, Humanities press (1975)

24. David B.Gray “ Doing research in the real world” Sage publications (2004)

25. Kidder and Judd “ Research methods in social Relations (1986)

26. Sarah White “Streetwise Do it yourself Advertising” (1997)

27. Yvonna .S Lincoln “Handbook of qualitative Research “ Sage Publications (2000)

28. Van Mannen “Unobtrusive measures in organizational theory: A reminder. In

Qualitative research” Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage (1983)

29. Frankfort .Nachmais and C. Nachmais “ Research methods in the social sciences”

5th Edition London Arnold (1996)

30. Beck R. N.” Handbook in Social philosophy” New York, Macmillan (1979).

31. De Vaus D “ Surveys in social Research ” 5th Edit Allen & Unwin Sydney (2002)

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 32. Saunders M, Lewis P. & Thornhill A “ Research Methods for Business students”

Italy: F:T. Prentice Hall (2000)

33. Saunders M, Lewis P. & Thornhill A “ Research Methods for Business students”

Britain : Bitman Publishing (1997)

34. Jick, T.D. “ Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods: triangulation in action”. (1979) Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 602-611

35. Robson C. “Real World research: A resources for social scientists and practioners researchers”. Blackwell Oxford (1993)

36. Uma Sekaran. “Research Methods for Business” A skill building approach

International Edition, Not for sale in North America (2002).

37. Gillman B. “Developing a questionnaire” London continuum International Publishing group (2000)

38. Fowler F. “ Improving Survey questions: Design and Evaluation”, London: Sage

Publication (1995).

39. William Foddy. “Constructing Questions for Interviews and questionnaires” Theory and practices in social Research, New York Cambridge University Press (1993)

40. H. Arksey, P. Knight. “Interviewing for social scientists ” An introductory Resource with example (1999).

41. Scott D. “Researching Education: Data Methods and theory in education enquiry “ London Cassell. (1999)

42. Denzin N. “Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative methods, Triangulation in action” (1989)

43. Schneider B and B Parkington, Buxton V.M. “Employee & Customer perceptions of Service in Banks” Administrative Science quarterly Vol. 25 No 2

44. Hussey J and Hussey R. “ Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate Students” London Macmillan Business (1997)

45. White B. “Writing your MBA Dissertation” London Continuum. (2002)

46. Brooks I. “Organisational Behaviour, individuals, groups and the organisation

London Financial Times Management (1999

Department of Computer Science and Electronics 47. Gillham B.” Developing a questionnaire,” London: Continum (2000)

48. Fowler F “ Improving survey questions: design and evaluation,” London sage

49. MJ Bitner, AR Hubbert “ Service Quality: New Directions in Theory and Practice” 1994

50. Reichheld and Sasser Loyalty business model - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

51. M. U. Kalwani, N.Narayandas.” Long-Term Manufacturer-Supplier Relationships: Do They Pay off for Supplier Firms” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59, No. 1 1995