Application of Semantic Web Technologies for Supporting Customer Relationship Management: a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to summarize the current state of the existing research on the application of Semantic web technologies in supporting customer relationship management. Its achievement includes providing answers to a set of research questions as a result of conducting a systematic literature review. A total of 44 scientific publications are identified as relevant to the topic and included in the review. Information is extracted from the selected literature sources, which is then summarized, systemized and analyzed according to the predefined research questions and finally reported. The conducted systematic literature review determines that the development of Semantic web technologies is provoked interest among researchers, as a result of which the advantages of using them for descriptions useful for various CRM purposes are investigated and practically confirmed. In addition to defining semantic models for descriptions supporting a variety of CRM activities and processes (such as customized products and services; supporting users of CRM systems; integrated offerings across channels; improved and innovative products and services; customer complaint management, etc.), various research works identify new approaches to support CRM, that can be achieved through the application of appropriate Semantic web technologies. The detailed study represented in this paper contributes to familiarization with the existing experience in the application of Semantic web technologies in supporting customer relationship management, as well as facilitates the discovery of trends and directions for future research. This is the reason for the expected interest from scientists whose research area cover the considered and similar fields; software engineers implementing CRM systems; data analysts exploring CRM domain.