Technology based management of customer relational capital: human-touch still a necessity

This paper examines the role of information communication technology (ICT) in customer relation management(CRM). It explores organizational intellectual capital (IC) based on CRM by analyzing the efficiency and the effectiveness of ICT for social interaction and relationships between organizations and their customers. In doing so it seeks to understand the impact of ICT on the exploration or exploitation of knowledge or a combination of both. It asserts that ICT enables organizational efficiencies but compromises effectiveness and customer relational capital. It concludes that, although strong ties are costly; they foster stronger customer relationships--hence enabling competitive advantage. An organization's customers are more likely to be satisfied with interactive communication and direct contacts than by passive interaction using ICT-oriented processes such as process management, websites for online commerce and automated calling centres. The study concludes that organizations that emphasise efficiencies merely for cost-cutting may find their customers less satisfied, build weak relationships with their customers, and ultimately face diminishing organizational learning and innovation capabilities.