CRM collaboration in financial services networks: a multi‐case analysis

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify key issues and successful patterns of collaborative customer relationship management (CRM) in financial services networks. Design/methodology/approach – The study takes the form of a multi‐case analysis. Findings – The paper finds that key issues of CRM in financial services networks are redundant competencies of partnering companies, privacy constraints, CRM process integration, customer information exchange, and CRM systems integration. To address these issues, partnering companies have to agree on clear responsibilities in collaborative processes. Data privacy protection laws require that customer data transfer between partnering companies has the explicit approval of customers. For process integration, companies have to agree on process standards and a joint integration architecture. Web services and internet‐based standards can be used for inter‐organizational systems integration. Data integration requires the development of a joint data model. Either a unique customer identification number or a matching algorithm must be used to consolidate customer data records of partnering companies. Research limitations/implications – Because of the limited number of case studies, generalizability is limited. The findings can serve as a starting point for researchers seeking to further explore the topic with quantitative methods. Practical implications – The findings can be used by financial services networks to improve their collaborative CRM approaches. Originality/value – The importance of collaborative CRM in business networks is likely to increase due to the continuing deconstruction of value chains not only in the financial services industry, but in other industries as well. Nevertheless, the topic has not received much attention in research.