This is the first chapter of the empirical section beginning with the research methodology and presentation of the collection methods. The objective is to explain how and why the research data was collected. After that the interviewees are presented at the end of this chapter.
3.1 The Methodology of this Study
There is two research methods used in general, qualitative and quantitative. Where as quantitative method is often described as statistic analysis, qualitative research tries to add understanding of actions by defining qualitative data. (Koskinen et al. 2005a, 16) Simplified explanation of qualitative research is that it describes the form of the database. The two research methods are often seen as opposites which can be misleading when it comes to the goodness or weakness of a study. Therefore regardless the different aspect of qualitative and quantitative research when studying empiric phenomenon qualitative research should be seen as an excellent instrument. (Eskola & Suoranta 2003a, 13-15)
The meaning of this study is to find how the implementation of a CRM system supports managing customer relationship. Therefore the study is done by using qualitative research methods hoping that it will also find causal connections between the concepts. In addition to qualitative researches flexibility nature, the limitations need to be precise to describe the purpose of the research as well as an appropriate research method has to be chosen (Hirsjärvi et al. 2008, 81-82; Koskinen et al. 2005b, 155). The concepts applied are variable which also supports the use of qualitative research method in this study. Yet the limitations in are described strictly and specified in order to make the generalizations possible for further research.
3.2 Methods of Data Collection
Qualitative data enables different types of methods used for data processing; case study method, the grounded method and the functional research method. The case study method is used in this study to define business economics that are complex and can not always be theoretically explained (Koskinen et al. 2005c, 154-156). According to Yin (1989) case study
analyses a certain event or action in a certain limited environment by using diverging information. The main goal for case study is to make theoretical and analytical generalizations in the case study and there by generalizations can be seen valid beyond the case study. (Yin 1984, 23-38)
Interviews are one of the most popular methods used in case study (Koskinen et al. 2005d, 158) and due to the subject, also used in this study. Interviews can be seen as a conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee. Though the conversation is directed by the researcher, it can be seen as an interplay between the participants. Typical features are that it is planned beforehand, organized and maintained by the interviewer and the roles in the interview are strictly defined. The interviewee has to also be able to trust that the information is confidential. (Eskola & Suoranta 2003b, 86) The results are based on theme interviews of the companies employees in different levels to build a deeper comprehension of the implementations support on managing customer relationships.
Eskola and Suoranta (2003c) define the interview types into four categories: structured interview, half-structured interview, theme interview and open interview. Structured interviews are based on the same questions and question orders despite the interviewees position (Eskola & Suoranta 2003d, 86). If the interviewees are from different levels of the company structured and half structured interviews can be too strictly defined. Theme interviews are used in this study due to the appropriate approach to the research objective.
Even though the questions were written beforehand the conversation was free and additional opinions were allowed. The questions are based on the framework of the study and the aim is to summarize the interviewees opinions to form answers to the research questions. The questions used in the interviews can be found at the end of this study.
3.3 The background of the Interviewees
It was crucial for the research that the interviewees were able to give insight to the study results by answering questions about the customer relationship management and the CRM systems. Both of the interviewees worked in the sales team which means that they both work in the customer surface. Therefore the chosen interviewees were in different levels of positions. The interviewees had both a good knowledge and were able to add value to the
interview with their own opinions. They both also had good ideas and were eager to find ways to improve the processes in the organization.
The first interviewee was a manager of the sales team and worked as a superior to four sales people. Therefore he was better at defining strategies for managing customer relationships and for example determining how closely the administration observed customer visits. He has worked in the positions for 2 years and was for example in charge of defining what products to sell what customers and pricing methods.
The second interviewee was a sales representative who had been working in sales for 9 years.
Her daily work was situated in the customer interface and she had good examples about how the companies strategy of CRM was fulfilled in practice. She could also answer to questions about how the system supported sales and CRM, where as the first interviewee was more capable on explaining why were the investments made and what was the wanted outcome.
These two interviews gave a great insight on the company’s customer relationship management and the experience of the system implementation and its support in managing the relationships with customers.