Management Dynamics

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Competitive Analysis of CRM Strategies Using Analytic Hierarchy Process


Affiliations
1 Haub School of Business, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA 19131, United States
2 Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, School of Business, George Mason University, United States
3 Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, United States
 

In the era of increasing need for customer-centric marketing, the growth of technology such as the Web-based customer relationship management (CRM) has enabled pharmaceutical firms to develop new capabilities to sustain competitive advantage with superior marketing strategies, which include formulating unique, direct relationships with customers. To compete by integrating the online technologies across all aspects of a firm's operations, translates into the need for developing new skills as traditional ways of competing become insufficient. Towards this end, pharmaceutical firms have seized the opportunity to institute relationships with customers (physicians and patients) with the use of the Web. Our research focused on developing a technique that would allow for benchmarking Webbased CRM strategies of firms in any industry. We used the US pharmaceutical industry as a setting to demonstrate how our technique can be used to avoid the typical blind spots of competitor analysis. We used a method called Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze seven firms, selected by executives from the pharmaceutical industry, to compare their Web-based CRM strategies. Results suggest that three of the seven firms were far ahead in the adoption of the Web related to the CRM. One had more focused efforts in patient relationship where as another had a very high focus on physician relationship. The proposed technique can be utilized for competitive analysis in any industry. Implications and future research directions have been discussed.

Keywords

Competitive Analysis, Multi-Criteria Decision Method, Pharmaceutical Industry, Web-Based CRM Strategies.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Abrahamson, E. and Rosenkopf, L. 1993. Institutional and competitive bandwagons: Using mathematical modeling as a tool to explore. Academy of Management Review, 18(3), 487-517.

  • Amit R, Domowitz I, Fershtman C. 1988. Thinking one step ahead: The use of conjectures in competitor analysis. Strategic Management Journal,9, 431-442.

  • Banerjee AV. 1992. A simple model of herd behavior. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 107(3),797-817.

  • Baum JAC, Korn HJ. 1996. Competitive dynamics of interfirm rivalry. Academy of Management Journal,39(2), 255-291.

  • Brown K. 2000. The Interactive Marketplace. New York: McGraw Hill.

  • Burgelman R, Maidique M, Wheelwright S. 1996. Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation. Chicago: Irwin.

  • Chen, M. 1996. Competitor analysis and interfirm rivalry: Toward a theoretical integration. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 100 -134.

  • Chen, M., Su, K. and Tsai, W. 2007. Competitive Tension: The Awareness-Motivation-Capability Perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 50,1, 101-118.

  • CIBC World Markets, Healthcare Internet Reports, October 19, 1999.

  • DiMasi, JA, Hansen RW, and Grabowski HG. 2003. Price of Innovation: new estimates of drug development costs, Journal of Health Economics, 22, 151-185.

  • Edelman,DC and Singer, M. 2015.Competing on Customer Journeys,Harvard Business Review, November,89-100.

  • Evans P, Wurster TS. 2000. Click boom: The next generation of e-commerce strategy. Ivey Business Journal, 64(4): 35-41.

  • FDA Pink Sheet, May, 1999.

  • Fiegenbaum, A, Thomas, H and Tang, M.J. 2001. Linking Hypercompetition and Strategic Group Theories: Strategic Maneuvering in the US Insurance Industry. Managerial and Decision Economics, 22, 4/5: 265-280.

  • Fleisher CS, Bensoussan BE. 2001. Strategic and competitive analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

  • George P, Blumberg D. 2000. How much are marketing and sales capabilities really worth?: What every Pharmaceutical Executive Should Know, Retrieved from www.accenture.com.

  • Golden BL, Wasil EA, Harker PT. 1989. The analytic hierarchy process: Applications and studies.

  • Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.

  • Hagel J, Armstrong A. 1997. Net gain: Expanding markets through virtual Communities. Boston: Harvard Business Press.

  • Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K. 1989. Strategic intent. Harvard Business Review, 67(3), 63-76).

  • Hopkins, H. D. 2003. The Response Strategies of Dominant US Firms to Japanese Challengers. Journal of Management, 29, 1: 5-25.

  • Hsu, P., Kraemer, K., and Dunkle, D. 2006. Determinants of E-Business Use in U.S. Firms. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 10, 4: 9-45.

  • Jambulingam, T. and Sharma, R. 2010. Estimating the value of Internet marketing in the US Pharmaceutical Industry. Journal of Medical Marketing, pp. 1-12.

  • Jambulingam, T., Kathuria, R. and Doucette, W.R. 2005. Entrepreneurial orientation as a basis for classification within a service industry: the case of retail pharmacy industry.Journal of Operations Management, 23(1): 23-42.

  • Johnson, D. 2009. Dive into Digital. Pharmaceutical Executive, Feb, 64, 66.

  • Joshi, M.P. 2016. Adoption of Corporate Entrepreneurship: Managing Domestic and Global Competitiveness Through the Lens of Entrepreneurial Orientation. International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 8, 3, 307-323.

  • Joshi M, Yermish I. 2000. The digital economy: A golden opportunity for entrepreneurs? New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 3, 15-22.

  • Joshi, M.P., Das, S. and Mouri, N. 2015. Antecedents of Innovativeness in Technology Based Services (TBS): Peering into the Black Box of Entrepreneurial Orientation. Decision Sciences, 46, 2, 367-402.

  • Kathuria, R. 2000. Competitive priorities and managerial performance: a taxonomy of small manufacturers.

  • "Kathuria, R. 2000. Competitive priorities and managerial performance: a taxonomy of small manufacturers. Journal of Operations Management, 18(6), 627-641."

  • Kathuria, R. and Partovi, F. 2000. Aligning work force management practices with competitive priorities and process technology: A conceptual examination. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 11 (2), 215-234.

  • Lee H, Smith KG, Grimm CM. 2003. The effect of new product radicality and scope on the extent and speed of innovation diffusion. Journal of Management, 29(5): 753-768.

  • Leeflang, P. S., Verhoef, P. C., Dahlström, P., Freundt, T. 2014. Challenges and Solutions for Marketing in a Digital Era.European Management Journal, 32, 1, 1-12.

  • Liberatore MJ. 1989. A decision support approach for R & D project selection. In Golden, B. L., Wasil, E. A., and Harker, P. T. (Eds.), Analytic Hierarchy Process: Applications and Studies, Berlin: Germany.

  • Lockett G, Hetherington B, Yallup P, Cox B, and Stratford M. 1986. Modeling a research portfolio using AHP: A group decision process. R&D Management, 16(2), 151-160.

  • McGee, J., Thomas. H. 1986. Strategic groups: Theory, research and taxonomy.Strategic Management Journal, 7, 141-160.

  • Mougayar W. 1998. Opening digital markets: Advance strategies for internet driven commerce. New York: McGraw-Hill.

  • O'Neill, H., Pouder, R., and Buchholtz, A. 1998. Patterns in the diffusion of strategies across organizations: Insights from the innovation diffusion literature. Academy of Management Review, 23, 1, 98-115.

  • Partovi FY., Burton J., Banerjee, A. 1990. Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process in Operations Management. European Journal of Operational Research, 10(3), 5-19.

  • Partovi FY., Burton J. 1993. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process for ABC Analysis. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 13(9): 29-44.

  • Payne, A and Frow, P. 2005. A Strategic Framework for Customer Relationship Management. Journal of Marketing, 69, October, 167-176.

  • Peppers, D and Rogers M. 2004. Managing Customer Relationship, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.

  • Porter M.E. 1980. Competitive strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York: Free Press.

  • Porter, M.E. 2001. Strategy and the Internet.Harvard Business Review, 79, 3, 63-78.

  • Rajendran, R. and Vivekanandan, K. 2008. Exploring relationship between information systems strategic orientation and small business performance.International Journal of E-Business Research, 4,2, 14-28.

  • Saaty, T.L. 1980. The Analytic Hierarchy Process. New York: McGraw-Hill.

  • Seiford L.M. and Zhu J. 2003. Context-dependent data envelopment analysis - Measuring attractiveness and progress. Omega, 31(5), 397-408.

  • Schlemmer, F. and Webb, B. 2009. The Internet as a complementary resource for SMEs: The interaction effect of strategic assets and the Internet.International Journal of E-Business Research, 5,1,1-24.

  • Smith, KG., Ferrier, W, and Ndofor, H. 2001. Competitive dynamics research: Critique and future directions. In M. Hitt, R. Freeman, and J. Harrison (Eds.). Handbook of strategic management(pp. 315361). London: Blackwell.

  • Sollner A. and Rese M. 2001. Market segmentation and the structure of competition: Applicability of the strategic group concept for improved market segmentation on industrial markets. Journal of Business Research, 51(1): 25-36.

  • Soltani, Z. and Navimipour, NJ. 2016. Customer relationship management mechanisms: A systematic review of the state of the art literature and recommendations for future research.Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 667-688.

  • Sota, S., Chaudhry, H., Chamaria, A. and Chauhan, A. 2018.Customer Relationship Management Research from 2007 to 2016: An Academic Literature Review.Journal of Relationship Marketing, Published Online: May 21, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2018.1440148

  • Steinfield, C., Bouwman, H. and Adelaar, T. 2002. The Dynamics of Click-and-Mortar Electronic Commerce: Opportunities and Management Strategies. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7, 1, 93-119.

  • Strojny, J. 2015. Implementation of the AHP and Benchmarking in Strategic Analysis of Polish Regions.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213, 20th International Scientific Conference "Economics and Management 2015 (ICEM-2015), pp. 229-235.

  • Suh, C.K., Suh, E.H, and Baek K.C. 1994. Prioritizing telecommunications technologies for longrange R&D planning to the year 2006. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 41(3), 264-274.

  • Treacy, M. and Wiersema F. 1993. Customer Intimacy and Other Value Disciplines.Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb.

  • Tsai, W., Su, K., and Chen, M. 2011. Seeing through the eyes of a rival: competitor acumen based on rival-centric perceptions. The Academy of Management Journal, 54, 4, 761-778.

  • Tulskie, W., Goulet, M.and Bagchi S. 2000. A proven methodology for developing a portfolio of ebusiness initiatives. Paper presented at the 20th Annual International Conference of the Strategic Management Society. Vancouver, Canada.

  • Verma, V., Sharma D. and Sheth, J. (2016), Does relationship marketing matter in online retailing?A meta-analytic approach.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44, 206-217.

  • Vibert, C. 2000. Web-based analysis for competitive intelligence. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

  • Wright, S., Pickton, D.W. and Callow, J. 2002. Competitive intelligence in UK firms: A typology.

  • Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 20, 6, 349-361.

  • Young, M.A. 1989. Sources of competitive data for the management strategist. Strategic Management Journal, 10: 285-293.

  • Zahra, S.A. and Chaples, S.S. 1993. Blind spots in competitive analysis. Academy of Management Executive, 7, 2, 7-28.

  • Zajac, E.J. and Bazerman, M.H. 1991. Blind spots in industry and competitor analysis: Implications of interfirm (mis)perception to strategic decisions. Academy of Management Review, 16, 37-46.


Abstract Views: 239

PDF Views: 171




  • Competitive Analysis of CRM Strategies Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract Views: 239  |  PDF Views: 171

Authors

Thani Jambulingam
Haub School of Business, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA 19131, United States
Maheshkumar P. Joshi
Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, School of Business, George Mason University, United States
Ravi Kathuria
Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, United States

Abstract


In the era of increasing need for customer-centric marketing, the growth of technology such as the Web-based customer relationship management (CRM) has enabled pharmaceutical firms to develop new capabilities to sustain competitive advantage with superior marketing strategies, which include formulating unique, direct relationships with customers. To compete by integrating the online technologies across all aspects of a firm's operations, translates into the need for developing new skills as traditional ways of competing become insufficient. Towards this end, pharmaceutical firms have seized the opportunity to institute relationships with customers (physicians and patients) with the use of the Web. Our research focused on developing a technique that would allow for benchmarking Webbased CRM strategies of firms in any industry. We used the US pharmaceutical industry as a setting to demonstrate how our technique can be used to avoid the typical blind spots of competitor analysis. We used a method called Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze seven firms, selected by executives from the pharmaceutical industry, to compare their Web-based CRM strategies. Results suggest that three of the seven firms were far ahead in the adoption of the Web related to the CRM. One had more focused efforts in patient relationship where as another had a very high focus on physician relationship. The proposed technique can be utilized for competitive analysis in any industry. Implications and future research directions have been discussed.

Keywords


Competitive Analysis, Multi-Criteria Decision Method, Pharmaceutical Industry, Web-Based CRM Strategies.

References