Social science research methodology AB 32192

ASSIGNMENT

B.Mahilmoly
AB 32192
SSRM
 Social science research methodology AB 32192
Study title - Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Brand Equity: Private
Hospitals in Jaffna
Introduction
CRM had mostly impact on brand equity dimensions, such as brand loyalty and brand image. Customer
relationship management (CRM) is theirs only viable option for raising brand equity. CRM implementation
increases a firm's efficiency and also provides better goods and services to the customers. In the current business
world, companies are increasingly concentrated on managing customer relationship. Customer relationship
management (CRM) can assist organizations and manage customer interactions high effectively to maintain
competitiveness in the current economy. CRM, a combination of information technology (IT) and relationship
marketing, provides the infrastructure that facilitates long-term relationship building with customers at an
enterprise-wide level. One of the sets of abundant tools aimed at aiding the interaction between suppliers and
Strong customers are the customer relationship management methodologies.
Enterprise attitude to enlarging full-knowledge about customer behavior. The Development of many hospitals
leads into strong and competitive surroundings, so that there are competitions with other hospitals in attracting
the customers. Customer relationship management can align business processes with customer strategies, so
increase customer loyalty and profits. A variety of environment changes caused hospitals to be extra active to
the customer’s desires, requires, and anticipation. So the hospitals are not only focus on upgrading the
organization’s structure and service quality. Hospitals should be able to create the competitive advantages over
its competitors in order to survive. The embody of CRM is to obtain customer and customer retention. CRM
also gives profits such as customer loyalty, customer trust, and service quality.
Branding plays a special part in service firms because strong brands amplify trust in intangible products,
enabling customers to excellent visualize and understand them. They decrease customers' perceived monetary,
social, or safety risks in buying services, which is an restriction to evaluating a service precisely before
purchase. A high level of brand equity increases consumer satisfaction, repurchasing intent, and degree of
loyalty. Brand equity is the energy of a brand in consumer’s mind, experience, and knowledge. Hospital
reputation is the citizen's view of a hospital that judged good or bad. It makes high effective patient exceed and
improves efficiencies through multiple parties. Trained employees are key to a positive patient experience and
hence to a provider's reputation. Reputation, apart from brand equity, also influences the customers’ deliberation
in liking a brand, as well as the potential to strengthen or weaken the impact of brand equity on customer
relationship.
Aim of Research
 CRM is aimed at building strong long-term relationship to maintain customers coming back repeatedly.
 It aims to assist organization build individual customer relationship in such a way the both firms and
customers get most out of exchange, providing both parties with long-term profits.
 CRM is aimed increases a firm's efficiency and also provides goods and services for customers.
Objectives of the Study:
 To determine out variables or factors that effect on brand equity.
 To assess indicators for the customer relationship management.
 To determine out relationship between the dimension of brand equity (brand loyalty, brand trust/ image,
Brand preference) and customer relationship management (revisit, positive word of mouth, contentment)
 To suggest the government officials, educationist, potential entrepreneurs and policy makers to energize
 Social science research methodology AB 32192
2. Review of Literature
2.1 Brand equity
Brand equity means “the total accumulated value or worth of brand the palpable and impalpable asset that the
brand contributes to its appendant parent, both financially and interest of selling leverage” (Upshaw in
Muhammad Adam, 2018).Brand equity is defined as the power of the brand. It is built in the minds of the
consumers on the basis of what they have learnt, seen, felt, and heard about the brand (Keller, 1998). Although
in marketing, consumer aspect of brand equity, which focuses on the cognitive aspect of consumer, is frequently
followed; but is conceptualized differently by variable authors. Many variable views of brand equity have been
proposed in the literature. Some describes brand equity from a financial perspective while others defines it from
the customer viewpoint (Rios & Riquelme, 2010).
Keller (1993) view brand equity from the customer's perspective and describes it as the positive differential
effect a brand has on a customer reaction to a product or service. Positive brand equity means that the customer
reactions more favorably to a product or service from a brand they know of than from an unknown brand
(Keller, 1993). Pinar, (2014) says that the main objective with all branding strategies is to build Robust brand
equity and this is mainly concerned by what the customers have experienced, heard and descovered about the
brand. Christodoulides (2006) describes brand equity as the customer’s knowledge, perceptions and attitudes
towards a brand that allow the company to differentiate themselves and get a competitive advantage towards
competitors. There is a disagreement within the customer-based brand equity literature regarding what factors
that affects brand equity (Rios & Riquelme, 2010). There have been proposals for several various brand equity
models and there is a great diversion of what and how many factors that influence brand equity (Rios
&Riquelme, 2010). The distinct of this study is however only on the customer-based brand equity.
2.1.1Relationship commitment
Commitment is a key characteristic combined, with successful marketing relationships (Morgan and Hunt,
1994a,b). According to Berry and Parasuraman (1991), relationships are built on the foundation of mutual
dedication. As noted by Rusbult (1983), dedication level has been found to be the strongest predictor of the
voluntary judgment to remain in a relationship. It follows, then, that the exploration of antecedents of the
likelihood of relationship dissolution can also be viewed as the study of the determinants of relationship
Dedication. The streams of research in the medical literature on patient– physician connection in general
(including patient–physician roles, patient–physician communication styles, and patient satisfaction) have not
focused on enhancing the knowledge of what motivates patients to continue connections with their physicians
(Barksdale et al., 1997). To Reach the trust and satisfaction of patients, physicians need to stable a connection
that meets patients' expectations in term of being supportive and actively involving them in decision-making
(Montaglione, 1999). Clearly, this suggests that patient commitment should be linked to empowering patient–
physician connection (Ouschan et al., 2006).
2.1.2 Brand loyalty
Aaker (1991, 1996) argues that brand equity is a multidimensional construct that includes of brand loyalty,
brand awareness, and other proprietary brand assets. Yoo et al. (2000) suggest that brand equity can be made by
strengthening those dimensions. Oliver (1999, p. 34) defines brand loyalty as “a deeply held responsibility to
rebuy or to behave in a condescending a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing
repetitive same-brand or same brand set purchasing, although situational influences and marketing efforts
having the potential to cause switching behavior.” Chaudhuri (1997) has proposed that brand loyalty is the
preference of a customer to buy a single brand, or to buy a specific brand name in a product class regularly. The
consumer repurchases the brand and opposes switching to another.
 Social science research methodology AB 32192
Jacoby et al. (1974) suggest that brand loyalty differs from brand attitude and habit, despite the latter can
mention brand loyalty. Brand attitude is a consumer's feelings or habit toward a brand. Jacoby et al. (1977)
found that brand loyalty can be a separate build from brand attitude, but that multiloyalty, or loyalty toward
more than one brand, involves attitudes that can be more all-inclusive. A level of brand loyalty indicates a
tendency to buy only a signal brand in a product category, not a multi-loyalty purchase purpose. Aaker (1991)
proposes estimating brand equity through price premiums, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand
awareness.

2.1.3 Customer satisfaction

Satisfaction results from customers' well experiences. According to (Westbrook 1981), satisfaction is “a state of
recognition to feel proper or improper experience for the sacrifice adequately,” or an “emotional reaction which
is not only affected by the whole market, but also affected by products' characteristics, service, and seller when
shopping or doing amicable behavior.” Oliver (1997) reveals satisfaction as “a common psychological state
which is about the expectation for feelings and experience from shopping behavior.” Different studies note that
when products or services greater than customers' expectations, the repurchase rate is high. Customers who have
assured in a company will continue to buy its products or services that satisfy them. Francken and Van Raaij
(1981) noted that satisfaction is determined by the perceived difference between the actual and the desired
situation and by perceptions of internal and external limits that block the attainment of the desired situation.
Moreover, if people do not gain their expectations, they will become dissatisfied.
2.2 Customer Relationship Management
CRM is a business strategy using information technology to generate companies which are competent, trusted,
and integrated to customers on their side so all process and synergy with customers can assist to maintain and
develop profitable relationship (Zikmund, 2003). CRM is also defined from a by Reference [3], which is
referred as “A managerial strategy that supports organizations collect, analyze, and manage customer related
information through the benefits of information technology tools and techniques in order to satisfy customer
requirement and constitute a long term and mutually beneficial relationship”.
Patrick, (2012), states that the banking sector in Nigeria went through various reforms in the last few years and
this has resulted in stiff contestation in the industry. The connection between customer relationship management
and performance on the banking sector. The study construct a model using continuous product development to
average the effect that CRM has on bank performance. Urbankiene, Zostautiene and Chreptaliiciene (2008),
found client relation management system by discovering the role and place of connection marketing in
formation of CRM theoretical foundations. it is more essential to perceive relationship management and
development. Parvatiyar , Jagdish and Sheth (2002), Customer Relationship Management is a comprehensive
strategy and process of acquiring, retaining, and partnering with selective customers to make superior value for
the company and the customer. It involves the integration of marketing, sales, customer service, and the supply
chain functions of the organization to achieve higher efficiencies and effectiveness in delivering customer value.
Yuliani (2011), states the growth of higher new hospitals causing environmental change into a dynamic and
competitive surrounding, so that there is competition among hospitals in attracting customers. An effort to deal
with the hospital’s competitive surrounding is to maintain a good relationship with customers. Customer
Relationship Management (CRM), brand equity, and reputation are intangible assets which essential to gain
competitive advantages. Shang and Shan Lu(2012), inspect that experiential identifies customer relationship
management (CRM) and examines its affect on firm performance in the context of freight forwarder services.
Using data collected from a survey of 144 freight forwarding firms in Taiwan, a structural equation modeling
exercise was conducted to identify crucial CRM dimensions and their influences on the perceived financial
performance.
 Social science research methodology AB 32192
Methodology
Data collection
Primary and secondary data were used for this study. Primary data were collected through the questionnaire &
direct personal and semi structured interviews, and review of customer complaint books of each private due to
the private hospital presence of quantitative nature. Secondary data were collected from, texts, journals,
magazines.
Research Design and model
In this study, brand equity is a function of the information technology infrastructure, Human capital,
Organization Architectural frame work and Quality of services.

 Yi = βo + β1 X1i + β2 X2i + β3 X3i + β4 X4 …..

According to the above model, we can develop the new research model for the study.

 BE = βo + β1 X1 + β2 X2+ β3X3 + β4 X 4 …..

Where,
CRM – Customer Relationship Management (Independent variable).

 BE – Brand equity (Dependent variable).

 X1 – Information Technology Infrastructure.
 X2 – Human Capital.
 X3 – Organization Architectural Frame Work.
 X4 – Quality Of Services.
Sampling Frame Work
In the quantitative approach, the survey instrument in the form of close-ended questionnaire was developed for
the purpose of collecting the important data for the study. The study was bounded to in Jaffna city, Sri Lanka.
Therefore, random sampling method was adopted to choose respondents. Researcher has issued one hundred
and forty (160) questionnaires for choosing the respondent. Out of one hundred and forty (160) questionnaires,
one hundred and thirty two (132) was returned; the response rate was 82.5%. Then, Out of one hundred and
thirty two(132), one hundred and twenty eight (128) was used for the study purpose. This method was most
appropriate to gain valid and compares result. This study concentrate on customers of medical service providing
hospitals who belong to all the choosed hospitals such as Northern central hospital, Yarl hospital, Holy cross.
Questionnaire
An instrument/ questionnaire were used to gather data. This questionnaire consists of three sections. A, B, and
C.
Section A - includes personal details such as sex, status, age, education, monthly income, hospitals name, and
length of time customer has been in brand, kinds of medical services.
Section B – includes of twenty statements such as information technology infrastructure, human capital,
organization architectural framework, and quality of services to measure the customer relationship management.
Section C – includes of twenty statements to evaluate the brand equity with the assist of following variables
availability of awareness of brand, brand association, perceived quality, loyalty of brand, satisfaction. Above
information/ data were accumulated through the questionnaire which is prepared with five point likert scale
ranging from excellent to poor. Then data were transformed into quantitative and then the analysis was made.
All things were measured by responses on a five-point Likert scale of agreement with statements.