A CRM performance measurement framework: Its development process and application

We suggest a performance measurement framework called a customer relationship management (CRM) scorecard to diagnose and assess a firm's CRM practice. The CRM scorecard was developed through a rigorous and stepwise development process collaborated with a number of firms in a variety of industries. During the development process, we conducted an extensive literature review to build a theoretical causal map, in-depth interviews with practitioners to extract a hierarchical map from industrial perspectives, feasibility tests to check whether or not Key Performance Indicators (KPI) could be measured, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis to prioritize the evaluation factors on the CRM scorecard. The CRM scorecard contains antecedent/subsequent and objective/perceptual evaluation factors in four different perspectives to comprehensively measure corporate CRM capability and readiness. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed CRM scorecard, we apply the framework to a retail bank in Korea well-known for its exemplary CRM strategy.     

Reviewing and improving performance measurement systems: An action research

Reviewing and updating performance measurement systems (PMS) based on internal and external environmental changes are as important as developing and implementing them. The results of an action research study carried out to improve the PMS of an energy company's maritime transportation area are presented. The findings of this longitudinal study illustrate the difficulty and complexity of reviewing and updating an energy company's PMS for its maritime transportation area. This difficulty is due to the involvement of PMS users, the assessment of performance measures, the establishment of targets, and data availability. The complexity is related to the changes in information technology when implementing changes in procedures for computing performance measures. This article contributes to a better understanding of the process of reviewing and updating a company's existing PMS.     

Uncovering the links between regulation and performance measurement

The aim of the research was to explore and evaluate previous work focusing on the relationship and links between regulation and performance measurement. The objectives were to seek out examples in the literature on the unintended consequences of performance measurement and regulation. Several explanatory frameworks are developed and discussed. It is intended that the frameworks can be developed and used: (a) to assist our conceptual understanding of the unintended consequences of regulation and performance measurement at the firm level; (b) to guide regulators in policy making by showing the issues and opportunities that exist as a result of regulation and performance measurement; and (c) to serve as a platform to identify and recommend areas for future research.     

Linking maintenance strategies to performance

In order to achieve world-class performance, more and more companies are replacing their reactive, fire-fighting strategies for maintenance with proactive strategies like preventive and predictive maintenance and aggressive strategies like total productive maintenance (TPM). While these newer maintenance strategies require increased commitments to training, resources and integration, they also promise to improve performance. This paper reports the results of a study of the relationship between maintenance strategies and performance. Based on the responses from a survey of plant managers and maintenance managers, the analysis shows strong positive relationships between proactive and aggressive maintenance strategies and performance.     

On the design of performance measurement plans in the telecommunications industry

This paper analyzes the design of performance measurement and remedy plans that have been implemented in the telecommunications industry to ensure competitive local exchange carriers are afforded a meaningful opportunity to compete in the provision of local exchange services. It demonstrates that the plans can impose penalties on incumbent local exchange carriers even when the incumbents provide the same or higher level of wholesale service quality to their competitors than they provide to themselves. Simulations are employed to illustrate the magnitude of these penalties.     

A framework for measuring logistics performance in the wine industry

Nowadays, in order for wine companies to reach a world-class standard, it is necessary to implement the industry best practices and continuously adapt their logistics processes. Through benchmarking, these enterprises can find opportunities for improvement. So far, little research in benchmarking and performance measurement has been developed for the wine industry. In this paper a logistics benchmarking framework for the wine industry is proposed. A benchmarking study considering several wineries from Mendoza (Argentina) is presented as a case study, in order to demonstrate the validity of the developed framework.     

Guidance on developing safety performance indicators

This article summarizes a process for developing safety performance indicators. This is a topic of great importance for the measurement of the effectiveness of our PSM systems. The PSM is the OSHA regulation that covers companies in the United States that was issued in the year 1992. Since that time companies in the process industries have made great strides in implementing PSM systems. An important question is “How much progress have we made in actually reducing the number and severity of process events?” Other countries were also concerned about the effectiveness of their programs to address chemical accidents. In response to these concerns, the OECD published the documents described in this article. One of these documents sets out a safety performance indicator process that allows a company to:

• assess whether it is implementing appropriate chemical safety programs and policies,
• evaluate whether these programs and policies are achieving their desired objectives, and
• help determine the extent to which such programs and policies are making a difference.

This will allow a company to identify whether there is appropriate emphasis on different aspects of safety management and provide insights needed for setting priorities for future investment of resources. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2009     

Performance measurement impacts on management and leadership: Perspectives of management and employees

The study focuses on the impacts of performance measurement (PM) on management and leadership—a research area that has not received much attention in the literature. The empirical part of the study is based on 24 interviews from eight case organizations applying the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Representatives of both management and employees were interviewed in each case organization. The study concludes that performance measurement can only support, not replace managers in leading people. The study shows that when operating with a performance measurement system (PMS), the increased interactivity between the management and the employees leads to higher performance.     

A model for R&D performance measurement

R&D activities are increasingly costly and risky and, as a consequence, measuring their performance and contribution to value becomes critical. This paper illustrates a formal model for measuring R&D performance, based upon a balanced and synthetic evaluation of quantitative indicators from five different perspectives of performance: financial, customer, innovation and learning, internal business, alliances, and networks. The model is built in coherence with the suggestions coming from the theory of measurement in soft systems, which gives relevant guidelines for ensuring validity, objectivity and inter-subjectivity of the model. Then, an application in a real R&D setting is described, which helps to understand the model and to enlighten its main advantages and limits.     

Taking operations strategy into practice: Developing a process for defining priorities and performance measures

Enterprises’ operations systems and environments, characterized by their complexity and dynamics, are challenging operations strategic management models. The study presented in this paper develops a process to integrate operations strategy content to operations performance measurement system design. Essentially, the developed methodology is based on Process Approach (Cambridge Approach) technique that systematizes procedures for generating a performance measures set coherent to operations strategy objectives and also produces a consistent strategy implementation process. To illustrate the development and the application of the proposed design methodology, findings of two case studies related to telecom engineering services companies are used. Results are discussed focusing on testing the proposed methodology in terms of its feasibility, usability, and utility. A refined process, organized in phases, steps, and procedures, is the final result of the presented study.     

Modelling quality in replacement and inspection maintenance

Heterogeneity in component and maintenance quality is considered in the context of age-based inspection and replacement for a single component system. A three-state component failure model is assumed, with a defective state preceding the failed state. Heterogeneity in maintenance intervention is modelled by supposing that inspections may induce the defective state. Component heterogeneity is modelled by supposing that the population of components comprises a mixture of the weak and strong, and that the mixing proportion and cost of components vary between suppliers. Within this framework, the impact, on system reliability and cost, of switching component or maintenance supplier is determined. Broadly, our finding is that one is much more inclined to switch supplier in order to obtain higher quality maintenance than to obtain higher quality components. A gas pressure control valve is used to illustrate our ideas.     

Scheduling a maintenance activity and due-window assignment based on common flow allowance

We study a due-window assignment problem on a single machine. The job-dependent due-windows are obtained by the common flow allowance criterion. The scheduler has the option to perform a maintenance activity which is rate modifying, i.e., improves the processing times of the following jobs. We consider a number of versions of this setting: (i) The maintenance requires a constant time, (ii) The maintenance duration is an increasing function of its starting time (linear deterioration), and (iii) The maintenance duration is position-dependent (general deterioration). We study the standard setting of regular job processing times, and investigate also the extension to position-dependent processing times. The set of potential optimal positions for the maintenance activity is fully characterized. Consequently, the problems based on all the combinations of these settings are shown to be solved in polynomial time.     

Developing a performance measurement framework to enhance the impact orientation of the Food Research Institute, Ghana

Research institutions in Ghana are facing various challenges. It is the contention that viable research and development institutions are needed for achieving sustainable change in areas of national importance. A key aspect of institutional viability is strong performance management. This implies clear and workable approaches to performance measurement. This paper looks at the initial experiences in a collaborative effort to develop a performance measurement framework for the Food Research Institute (FRI) and the application of the Balanced Score Card (BSC) at institutional level. The process of diagnosing and analysing institutional monitoring and evaluation capacity and systems is described using a mix of diagnostic tools. Stages in applying the BSC approach are documented and the added value of the scorecard perspectives in highlighting focal areas for performance measurement and management within FRI. These are placed in the context of ongoing changes in the external environment posing both threats and opportunities. Changes implied by the introduction of the concept are discussed in the context of current constraints and the way forward is mapped out in terms of enhancing FRIs' impact orientation through the application of improved performance measurement and management.     

Japanese horizontal keiretsu and the performance implications of membership

Our study investigates the effect of Japanese horizontal keiretsu group membership on firm risk and return. Like prior studies, our results show that horizontal keiretsu membership has a negative effect on firm profitability. However, we find that horizontal keiretsu networks are likely to increase the gap between targeted and realized returns, which we call the outcome–aspiration gap. Moreover, in contrast to prior studies, our results indicate that keiretsu membership does not enable member firms to reduce risks by smoothing profitability. Instead, our findings provide evidence that is counter to the conventional notion that Japanese horizontal keiretsu allows their member firms to trade off profits for reduced risk.

Selection versus evolutionary adaptation: Learning and post-entry performance

This paper examines the maturation process of firms that enter an industry by constructing new plant and investigates the extent to which improvements in the performance of any entry cohort are the result of a selection process that culls out the most inefficient entrants or of a learning process that allows survivors to improve their performance relative to incumbent firms. Both selection and evolutionary learning are found to affect post-entry performance, but selection per se is a more important contributor to the overall growth of a cohort.     

国有建筑施工企业关键绩效指标设计探讨

为建立一个对国有建筑施工企业客观有效的评价体系,以Z公司为例分析了在绩效管理中存在的问题,提出基于平衡记分卡,按照公司级、部门级和员工级3个层次构建基于战略的关键绩效指标体系,把部门、员工与企业的目标相结合,这样构建的考评指标既能体现企业的战略意图,又能起到引导员工行为的作用,可捉高考核针对性和有效性。关键绩效指标是对公司战略目标自上而下层层分解的结果,体现了对企业生存发展以及取得核心竞争力的关键要素的控制。     

Managerial ties,firm resources,and performance of cluster firms

Previous research has documented the relationship among managerial ties, firm resources, and performance in emerging economies such as China. While managerial ties may be embedded in a particular location, some of these ties may be non-location-bound. Therefore, for firms located within one geographically concentrated cluster, how do managerial ties and firm resources affect performance? Using data from 163 firms in two Chinese clusters, we demonstrate that managerial ties and firm resources—independently and in combination—help firms improve market performance. Results support the view that both network-centered strategies (utilizing managerial ties) and market-centered strategies (leveraging firm resources) are critical determinants of firm performance.     

The influence of an optimal control system on salesperson performance and championing

In this study, the effect of a deviation from an optimally blended control system on salesperson performance and championing is investigated. Blended control systems represent combinations of many different forms of control, affording sales managers the opportunity to better match a control system with the overall context in which their firm operates, addressing such things as current salesperson, firm, and environmental variables. The extent to which the blended system represents an appropriate match with the overall context, however, is of primary concern. As demonstrated here, deviations from optimal control negatively affect both individual salesperson performance, as well as salesperson championing. In combination, these findings emphasize the importance of understanding a broader picture of salesperson control than is allowed through simple direct effect analysis.     

Competitive attack,retaliation and performance: An expectancy-valence framework

This research examines how competitive attacks can best reduce the chances of retaliation. An expectancy–valence model is developed that views retaliation as a function of the subtlety of an attack: that is, its visibility, the difficulty rivals might have in responding to it in kind, and the importance or ‘centrality’ to rivals of the market under siege. Motivational theories suggest that all three of these independent variables need to be in place in order to elicit a response—or conversely, that low visibility, substantial response difficulty, or minimal centrality would each by itself be enough to prevent retaliation. This notion was not supported. Each one of the independent variables could serve as the ‘weak link of the chain,’ increasing the chances of retaliation. However, as predicted by expectancy theory, these variables selectively demonstrated some interactions that compound the threat of retaliation. In combination, high visibility and low levels of difficulty were especially likely to evoke responses from rivals. Finally, there appears to be a real incentive to avoid retaliation given its negative associations with performance.