Mark Jeffery, Robert J. Sweeney and Robert J. Davis
In this return on investment (ROI) for customer relationship management (CRM) case scenario, students must calculate the ROI for analytic CRM enabled by an enterprise data…
Abstract
In this return on investment (ROI) for customer relationship management (CRM) case scenario, students must calculate the ROI for analytic CRM enabled by an enterprise data warehouse. The case is based upon a real-life consulting engagement with a major Fortune 100 telecommunications company. In this case the executive management team's strategic objective is to grow the customer base by 5 percent annually by customer acquisition. The internal rate of return calculated from the data given in the case is more than 800 percent for one year, and sensitivity analysis shows this is a robust projection, suggesting it should be funded without question. However, the strategy of the firm is customer acquisition in an environment of high customer churn. As a result of these dynamics, the revenues and net income of the firm are actually decreasing by hundreds of millions of dollars each year. A better solution would realize that the executive team has the incorrect strategic objective. Customer acquisition is the wrong approach in an environment of high customer churn and executives should focus on customer retention and cross-sell and up-sell to high-value customers. The case discussion therefore takes students beyond CRM ROI to focuses on the key strategic concepts of customer relationship management.
Students learn how to calculate return on investment (ROI) for analytic customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. The case also discusses in detail the difference between operational CRM and analytic CRM. The case solution is relatively straightforward with a very good ROI. However, the true learning of the case is for students to understand the strategic context of analytic CRM and to question assumptions in any ROI model.
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Mark Jeffery, Chris Rzymski, Sandeep Shah and Robert J. Sweeney
Technology projects are inherently risky; research shows that large IT projects succeed as originally planned only 28 percent of the time. Building flexibility, or real options…
Abstract
Technology projects are inherently risky; research shows that large IT projects succeed as originally planned only 28 percent of the time. Building flexibility, or real options, into a project can help manage this risk. Furthermore, the management flexibility of options has value, as the downside risk is reduced and the upside is increased. The case is based upon real options analysis for an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and analytic customer relationship management (CRM) program at a major U.S. firm. The firm has been disguised as Global Airlines for confidentiality reasons. The data mart consolidation or EDW marginally meets the hurdle rate for the firm as analyzed using a traditional net present value (NPV) analysis. However, different tactical deployment strategies help mitigate the risk of the project by building options into the project, and the traditional NPV is expanded by the real option value. Students analyze the different deployment strategies using a binomial model compound option Excel macro, and calculate the volatility using Monte Carlo analysis in Excel. A step-by-step tutorial is provided to teach students how to accomplish the real options analysis for a simplified project, and this tutorial is easily generalized by students to the case scenario. In addition to the tactical options, the case also has the strategic growth option of analytic CRM. Students must therefore analyze both the tactical and strategic growth options and make a management recommendation on funding the project and also recommend an optimal deployment strategy to manage the project risk.
The case teaches real options for technology projects. Students learn how to calculate real option values, where the key input of volatility is obtained by Monte Carlo analysis in Excel. Students also learn that the real option value is “real,” resulting from active management mitigating the risk of the project and improving the upside. Most important, students understand the difference between tactical vs. strategic growth options and the important management issues to consider.
Details
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Materials requirement planning (MRP) systems have severallot‐sizing rules, of which the periodic order quantity rule is the mostwidely used in practice. With this rule groups of…
Abstract
Materials requirement planning (MRP) systems have several lot‐sizing rules, of which the periodic order quantity rule is the most widely used in practice. With this rule groups of items are ordered on a common order cycle or frequency. This article presents empirical evidence to show that when the order cycles are set in a geometric progression then they are indeed optimum.
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Bhavin. J. Shah and N. Ravichandran
The case presents a customer's experience during the purchase of a pair of shoes in an upmarket retail outlet of Bharat Footwear Limited (BFL), in Ahmedabad, wherein he was…
Abstract
The case presents a customer's experience during the purchase of a pair of shoes in an upmarket retail outlet of Bharat Footwear Limited (BFL), in Ahmedabad, wherein he was offered a discount coupon meant for shareholders, at a shared consideration of 60 (buyer) and 40 (agent). The customer needs to decide on the acceptance or otherwise of the deal. Adequate data is provided to discuss this central issue in a business context along with an estimate of the secondary market of discount coupons. The analysis of the case leads to a debate on whether the discount policy should be continued or otherwise. While several sharing arrangements for the discount amount are considered, the key to the situation is not such arrangements but a robust system in dispensing these coupons.
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Mark Jeffery, Robert J. Sweeney and Robert J. Davis
This case is based on a real-life consulting engagement with a major Fortune 100 telecommunications company. The name of the firm has been disguised for confidentiality reasons…
Abstract
This case is based on a real-life consulting engagement with a major Fortune 100 telecommunications company. The name of the firm has been disguised for confidentiality reasons. Completing the case teaches students how to develop a cost-containment ROI analysis and develop a business case for a large enterprise technology project. The class discussion focuses on strategies to understand and manage the risks of the project and organizational issues. In addition, the case teaches students good questions to ask when reviewing a complex project business case, and how to present a project for funding approval. This case is the second in a series of three cases designed to teach students ROI analysis for technology projects; the first is “B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal” and the third is the case “ROI for a Customer Relationship Management Initiative at GST.”
The case objective is for students to learn how to compute a return on investment (ROI) analysis for a large cost-containment technology project. Students learn the best practice of computing the range of possible outcomes (the best, worst, and expected case), and how to present the results to senior management. In addition, students learn how to incorporate important management issues of personnel reduction and technology project risk into an ROI analysis.
Details
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Tejas R. Shah, Pradeep Kautish and Sandeep Walia
This paper aims to establish and empirically investigate a research model examining the effect of four dimensions of the technology readiness index – optimism, innovativeness…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to establish and empirically investigate a research model examining the effect of four dimensions of the technology readiness index – optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity – on customer engagement that further influences purchase intention in the context of online shopping through artificial intelligence voice assistants (AI VAs).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected in India from 429 customers in a self-administered online survey. Data analysis uses the structural equation modelling technique.
Findings
Technology readiness dimensions, e.g. optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity, are critical factors driving customer engagement. Customer engagement further results in purchase intention in online shopping through AI VAs.
Research limitations/implications
This study adds to the literature by understanding how customers’ technology readiness levels drive engagement and purchase intention. However, this study includes customer engagement as a unidimensional construct. Further research can consist of customer engagement as a multidimensional construct.
Practical implications
The findings offer guidelines for e-retailers to enhance customer engagement that matches their personality traits, thereby strengthening their purchase intention through AI VAs.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the literature by empirically investigating a research model, revealing optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity as crucial parameters for customer engagement and purchase intention.
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C. Sulochana and G.P. Ashwinkumar
The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of thermophoresis and Brownian moment on MHD two-dimensional forced convection flow of nanofluid past a permeable stretching…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of thermophoresis and Brownian moment on MHD two-dimensional forced convection flow of nanofluid past a permeable stretching sheet in the presence of thermal diffusion.
Design/methodology/approach
The flow governing PDEs are reduced to ODEs by utilizing pertinent transmutations and then resolved by employing a fourth-order Runge-Kutta-based shooting technique. The energy and diffusion equations are incorporated with Brownian motion, thermophoresis and Soret parameters. The velocity, thermal and concentration attributes along with skin friction factor, local Nusselt and Sherwood number are discussed under the influence of sundry pertinent parameters and presented with the assistance of graphical and tabular values.
Findings
The results infer that Sherwood number is accelerated by Soret parameter but it controls the thermal transport rate. And also, Brownian and thermophoresis play a vital role in enhancing heat conduction process.
Originality/value
Considering the industrial applications of flow of magnetic nanofluid over a stretching surface, this paper presents the solution of the flow problem considering thermophoresis, Brownian motion, magnetic field and thermal diffusion effects. In addition, the aim and objectives of this paper fills a gap in the industry.
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Sandeep Goyal, Sumedha Chauhan, Yuvraj Gajpal and Amit Kumar Bhardwaj
A food delivery app (FDA) is a technological advancement connecting restaurants and consumers, making it possible to deliver food home conveniently. The current study seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
A food delivery app (FDA) is a technological advancement connecting restaurants and consumers, making it possible to deliver food home conveniently. The current study seeks to identify the factors affecting consumers' continuance intention and sharing intention toward the FDA in the USA and Canada using an integrated framework built using trust transfer theory and a variety of constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data/inputs from 476 respondents in the USA and Canada who had used FDAs in the past and analyzed them using the structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The results indicate that trust in FDA, trust in the user community and commitment affect continuance intention and sharing intention. Interestingly, trust in the seller does not influence commitment, continuance intention and sharing intention. Additionally, the trust disposition and reputation of the FDA play an important role in building trust in FDA.
Research limitations/implications
The present study combines the trust transfer theory with various important constructs such as commitment, trust disposition and reputation of the FDA to build an integrated framework to elucidate the continuance intention and sharing intention toward FDAs.
Practical implications
This study facilitates the FDA providers to understand how trust disposition, the reputation of the FDA and trust in the Internet build trust among FDA consumers. The study also helps them to fine-tune their trust-building strategy by considering several trust targets. It further enables them to appreciate how commitment results in continuance intention and sharing intention toward FDA.
Originality/value
It is an original study investigating the role of various constructs and trust transfer theory in shaping the consumers' continuance intention and sharing intention toward the FDA.
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Kushagra Kulshreshtha, Saeed Aldulaimi, Vivek Devvrat Singh, Sanjeet Singh, Azizul Jamaludin, Anas Ratib Alsoud, Sandeep Sharma and Ati Priye
This study aims to propose and test a conceptual model that represents customer perceived ethicality (CPE) and customer perceived website service quality (CPWSQ), in which both…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose and test a conceptual model that represents customer perceived ethicality (CPE) and customer perceived website service quality (CPWSQ), in which both are combined to investigate the underlying mechanism by which hotel website quality (HWQ) influences customer loyalty (CL).
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses quantitative and partial least square structural equation modeling to analyze the data collected from 457 hotel guests.
Findings
The findings confirm that HWQ is positively associated with CL, CPE and CPWSQ. Moreover, CPE and CPWSQ mediates the relationship between CPE-CL and CPWSQ-CL. This study also validated that CPE and CPWSQ are positively associated with CL.
Originality/value
This study contributes to ethical and consumer behavioral literature by demonstrating the influence of HWQ on CL, CPE and CPWSQ. Furthermore, it uncovers the mechanisms through which HWQ affects CL, using signaling theory and stakeholder theory, which prior studies ignored.
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Muhammad Sohail and Sana Tariq
Thermal and species transport of magneto hydrodynamic Casson liquid over a stretched surface is investigated theoretically in this examination for the three-dimensional boundary…
Abstract
Purpose
Thermal and species transport of magneto hydrodynamic Casson liquid over a stretched surface is investigated theoretically in this examination for the three-dimensional boundary layer flow of a yield exhibiting material. The phenomenon of heat and species relocation is based upon modified Fourier and Fick’s laws that involves the relaxation times for the transportation of heat and mass. Conservation laws are modeled under boundary layer analysis in the Cartesian coordinates system. The purpose of this paper is to find the influence of different emerging parameters on fluid velocity, temperature and transport of species.
Design/methodology/approach
Reconstructed nonlinear boundary layer ordinary differential equations are analyzed through eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Due to the complexity and non-existence of the exact solution of the transformed equations, a convergent series solution by the homotopy algorithm is also derived. The reliability of the applied scheme is presented by comparing the obtained results with the previous findings.
Findings
Physical quantities of interest are displayed through graphs and tables and discussed for sundry variables. It is discerned that higher magnetic influence slows down fluid motion, whereas concentration and temperature profiles upsurge. Reliability of the recommended scheme is monitored by comparing the obtained results for the dimensionless stress as a limiting case of previous findings and an excellent agreement is observed. Higher values of Schmidt number reduce the concentration profile, whereas mounting the values of Prandtl number reduces the dimensionless temperature field. Moreover, heat and species transfer rates increase by mounting the values of thermal and concentration relaxation times.
Originality/value
The phenomenon of heat and species relocation is based upon modified Fourier and Fick’s laws which involves the relaxation times for the transportation of heat and mass. Conservation laws are modeled under boundary layer analysis in the Cartesian coordinates system.