Abstract
This article examines the issue of electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) in a manufacturing context. ECRM has been described as the fusion of a process, a strategy, and technology to blend sales, marketing, and service information to identify, attract, and build partnerships with customers (Bettis-Outland & Johnston, 2003; Jaworski & Jocz, 2002). Although some customers still pay a premium for face-to-face or voice-to-voice interaction in today’s hightech world, through external (e.g., advertising) and internal (e.g., word-of-mouth) influence, the diffusion of the use of eCRM to build and sustain customer loyalty as a firm’s strategy is on the rise. Manufacturers use the knowledge of their customers’ needs and preferences to manage profitable customer interactions. This increased use of eCRM as a new manifestation (technological consolidation) of firmly established customer relationship management techniques has been shown to improve customer relationships and enhance customization (Kennedy, 2006).
TopThe I-Schools
The I-Schools are a group that has been coming together over the last few years of schools/colleges that are taking a broad approach to the study of information. The deans and faculty of those schools held their first conference in September of 2005 to explore the similarities and differences among the schools present and basis upon which to build a foundation for a new type of College. The I-Schools include a number of schools with traditional LIS programs such as Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and others, plus a number of other programs such as the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. John King describes the I-Schools thusly:
The I-School movement is made up of novel academic programs that embrace new intellectual and professional challenges in a world awash in information. I-Schools move beyond traditional programs, while building on the intellectual and institutional legacies of those programs. I-Schools straddle the academy’s ancient engagement with information and the contemporary challenges of ubiquitous information affecting all aspects of society. (King, 2006)
The I-Schools bring together a variety of disciplines that are scattered among different colleges and departments into one college of information. Some areas of what is traditionally in computer science departments are also a part of this movement (Carroll et al., 2006). The proximity and interaction among these programs by being brought together in a new college should lead to an enriched research and teaching environment.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Connectivity: The interconnections that employees and users have through the use of the Internet or other knowledge management tools.
Knowledge Base: An online repository of information that represents the collective wisdom regarding a product or service.
Digitality: The proportion of a company’s business that is online.
Disintermediation: The process of eliminating intermediaries in the channels of distribution.
eCRM: The fusion of a process, a strategy, and technology to blend sales, marketing, and service information to identify, attract, and build partnerships with customers.