| Summary: | The pharmaceutical industry is in the midst of a challenging period. It is laden with critical issues such as increased research and development (R & D) cost, stiffer regulatory requirements, patent expirations, decreased R & D yield, public cost containment pressures, government interference and increasing media and public scrutiny. In this light, it is crucial for pharmaceutical (pharma) companies to adopt Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as a strategic initiative to improve sales and marketing effectiveness for sustainable growth.
Previous studies involving other industries showed that relational information processes are critical for CRM. Consequently, this study would address the adoption and the status quo of CRM in Singapore pharma industry from the perspective of relational information processes. A local cross-sectional survey was conducted, resulting in data from 162 sales and marketing executives from 26 top pharma companies in Singapore. Although these companies have implemented relational information processes that play a vital role in enhancing organizational performance, only 12 percent of them have adopted CRM technology.
The results show that relational information processes are positively associated with perceived performance improvement as well as enhanced marketing capabilities. It was also found that customer relationship orientation and customer-centric management system would positively influence the organization's attitude toward the implementation of the necessary processes of CRM. Another key outcome is that there is no statistically significant difference in responses to the CRM measures between companies that adopted CRM technology and those that did not. These findings could provide guidance to managers in monitoring and assessing organizational routines such as relational information processes that are critical for CRM implementation. They should also take note that CRM technological initiatives are much more than technological innovations and are not solely technology-driven.
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