Social customer relationship management (s-CRM) among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose In this twenty-first century, the emergence of social media has been integral in business-related processes, especially in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which allows businesses to interact and build a relationship with customers to improve their sustainable service quality. Concisely, this study aims to examine the benefits of social customer relationship management (s-CRM) performance from the perceptive of SMEs owned by Muslims. Design/methodology/approach A survey method was used and the data were gathered from 135 SMEs which participated in Halfest (Halal Fiesta Malaysia) trade show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Findings Interestingly, the results revealed that the adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) has both direct and indirect impacts on s-CRM performance. On the other hand, the perceived value of s-CRM mediates the relationship between customer information management and performance of s-CRM. In this context, the perceived value was ascertained to be an influential factor for both ICT adoption and customer information management. Research limitations/implications With a connection to the results, this study concludes that to enhance business performance to sustain in the marketplace, the establishment of s-CRM is crucial, as it has significant implication in marketing, customer service and sales department of SMEs. Originality/value This paper provides new insight into the importance of s-CRM to SMEs to improve interactions with the key stakeholders and convey meaningful insight to instil customer-centric practices.