Developing a Framework to Integrate Customers’ Knowledge Management and Customer Relationship Management in the Banking Industry

Abstract

Objective With the emergence of private banks in the Iranian banking system during the last decade, there is an intense competition for monetary resources in the country's financial markets. In the meantime, state banks have also struggled to attract and retain customers. The emergence of competitors in this industry highlights the need to use customers’ knowledge and manage it to reach a new source of competitive advantage. The banking environment needs such a management due to high a competition, relatively mature customers’ expectations, and the significant interaction between the bank and the customer. Although there is general agreement on the importance of the role of customers’ knowledge management and customers’ relationship management, there is a lack of an integrated model that measures the role and impact of all functions of such managements. Therefore, the present study seeks to explain an integrated model of customers’ knowledge management and customers’ relationship management based on a competitive approach in the Iranian banking industry. Methodology This fundamental research is exploratory in nature. The semi-structured in-depth interview approach along with library studies were used for data collection. The statistical population of this study includes experts in managerial, banking, and academic topics. Purposeful sampling and snowball sampling were used to identify the experts, where the adequacy of the data was obtained after 16 interviews. Findings The analysis of the interviews indicated that the ultimate extracted codes were classified into 50 concepts and 18 main categories. Finally, based on the systematic approach in grounded data theory, the identified codes were placed into 6 nuclear classes, including phenomenon-orientation, causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, strategies, and consequences Conclusion According to the results, the following factors were extracted: causal categories (rapid response of the bank to the external environment, implementation of international standards in customer orientation and social responsibility of the bank), central categories (determining the management framework, manpower supply, determining strategies, and value creation for the customers), strategic categories (integrated marketing, development of technology and novel banking services, strategic alliance, and delta model), contextual categories (changing the approach of senior management, liberalization, and deregulation by the government), interventionist categories (culture of bank empowerment and dynamic competition), and consequential categories (gaining competitive advantage for the bank, customer satisfaction, and strengthening banking services in the community). Hence, these categories are influential for the success of the integrated customer knowledge management and customer relationship management

Keywords

• customer knowledge management
• customer relationship management
• foundation data theory