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Electronic CRM and perceptions of unfairness

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An Erratum to this article was published on 30 January 2015

Abstract

Electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) aims to fulfill customers’ individual needs in order to increase the value for both the customers and firms alike. However, this individual treatment has potential negative effects for the firm. As it seemingly neglects other customers deemed less worthy, it provokes customer perceptions of unfairness and unethical concerns towards the firm. Despite these damaging consequences, few studies have examined the role of fairness in eCRM. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate how differential treatment of customers may affect their perceptions of fairness in a firm and its personalized eCRM activities; (2) to develop an integrated model of fairness in eCRM that incorporates four key variables internal to the firm—service quality, price, communication efforts, and differential treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The research is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (71472119, 71102030), the Project of Philosophy and Social Science of Shanghai (2014BGL013), and the Project of ‘Social Development of Metropolis and Construction of Smart City’ (085SHDX001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyu Yu

  2. East China University of Science and Technology, School of Business, 130 Meilong Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200237, People’s Republic of China

    Bang Nguyen

  3. Southampton University Business School, University of Southampton, Building 2, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    Sung Ho Han & Cheng-Hao Steve Chen

  4. Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA

    Fei Li

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  1. Xiaoyu Yu
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  2. Bang Nguyen
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Correspondence to Bang Nguyen.

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Yu, X., Nguyen, B., Han, S.H. et al. Electronic CRM and perceptions of unfairness. Inf Technol Manag 16, 351–362 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10799-014-0210-4

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