Driving Digital Transformation Through CRM Strategy: An Empirical Study of B2B Sales Performance Organisations in the DACH Region
For many business-to-business (B2B) organisations, customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives present a significant challenge in the context of digital transformation, particularly for sales performance organisations (SPOs) with large user bases compared to the workforce. Recent reports show that around half of all CRM projects in the DACH region – Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH) – are unsuccessful. Existing research reveals that current frameworks are highly operational and technology-driven. This thesis, therefore, aims to investigate how CRM strategies are developed, implemented, evaluated, and controlled in B2B SPOs in the DACH region. The study adopted a qualitative, exploratory approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 participants from two central target groups: CRM strategy consultants and CRM project managers. The linguistic material generated through these interviews was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to develop the thematic structure. Firstly, this research found that five of the nine existing CRM strategy dimensions could be refined and expanded, and four new, underrepresented dimensions were identified. Secondly, the CRM strategy process was considered holistically, with the development, operationalisation, and evaluation of the CRM strategy systematically linked in seven-, eight-, and six-step processes, respectively. Objectives and key results (OKRs) were identified as the central method for aligning the fundamental CRM strategy, development, operationalisation, and evaluation. Thirdly, 13 central, actionable and controllable CRM strategy levers were developed that could be organised procedurally along the CRM strategy and dimensionally in a heat map. This study has successfully transformed the abstract concept of CRM strategy, shifting it from an isolated, technological implementation framework to a coherent, process-based, continuous CRM strategy transformation framework. This thesis contributes to the development of theory in the CRM strategy field, building on the proposed CRM strategy framework and conceptual insights, and provides guidance to management, practitioners, and policymakers in the context of the B2B DACH region.