An Empirical Study on the Effect of CRM System on the Performance of Pharmaceutical Companies

Facing a complex environment driven by a decade, many companies are adopting new strategic frameworks such as Customer Relationship Management system to achieve sustainable profitability as well as overcome serious competition for survival. In many business areas, CRM system advanced a great deal in a matter of continuous compensating the defect and overall integration. However, pharmaceutical companies in Korea were slow to accept them for usesince they still have a tendency of holding fast to traditional way of sales and marketing based on individual networks of sales representatives. In the circumstance, this article tried to empirically address current status of CRM system as well as the effects of the system on the performance of pharmaceutical companies by applying BSC method's four perspectives, from financial, customer, learning and growth and internal process. Survey by e-mail and post to employers and employees who were working in pharma firms were undergone for the purpose. Total 113 cases among collected 140 ones were used for the statistical analysis by SPSS ver. 15 package. Reliability, Factor analysis, regression were done. This study revealed that CRM system had a significant effect on improving financial and non-financial performance of pharmaceutical companies as expected. Proposed regression model fits well and among them, CRM marketing information system shed the light on substantial impact on companies' outcome given profitability, growth and investment. Useful analytical information by CRM marketing information system appears to enable pharmaceutical firms to set up effective marketing and sales strategies, these result in favorable financial performance by enhancing values for stakeholderseventually, not to mention short-term profit and/or mid-term potential to growth. CRM system depicted its influence on not only financial performance, but also non-financial fruit of pharmaceutical companies. Further analysis for each component showed that CRM marketing information system were able to demonstrate statistically significant effect on the performance like the result of financial outcome. CRM system is believed to provide the companies with efficient way of customers managing by valuable standardized business process prompt coping with specific customers' needs. It consequently induces customer satisfaction and retentionto improve performance for long period. That is, there is a virtuous circle for creating value as the cornerstone for sustainable growth. However, the research failed to put forward to evidence to support hypothesis regarding favorable influence of CRM sales representative's records assessment system and CRM customer analysis system on the management performance. The analysis is regarded to reflect the lack of understanding of sales people and respondents between actual work duties and far-sighted goal in strategic analysis framework. Ordinary salesmen seem to dedicate short-term goal for the purpose of meeting sales target, receiving incentive bonus in a manner-of-fact style, as such, they tend to avail themselves of personal network and sales and promotional expense rather than CRM system. The study finding proposed a link between CRM information system and performance. It empirically indicated that pharmaceutical companies had been implementing CRM system as an effective strategic business framework in order for more balanced achievements based on the grounded understanding of both CRM system and integrated performance. It suggests a positive impact of supportive CRM system on firm performance, especially for pharmaceutical industry through the initial empirical evidence. Also, it brings out unmet needs for more practical system design, improvement of employees' awareness, increase of system utilization in the field. On the basis of the insight from this exploratory study, confirmatory research by more appropriate measurement tool and increased sample size should be further examined.

고객관계관리 시스템의 수준이 BSC 관점에서의 기업성과에 미치는 영향 : 제약회사를 중심으로

오늘날 치열한 경쟁과 환경변화로 인해 많은 기업들은 고객관계관리(Customer Relationship Management, 이하 CRM)를 경영혁신의 도구로 인식하고 많은 투자 및 노력을 기울이고 있다. CRM 시스템의 개선 및 전략적 보완을 위한 지속적 노력과 더불어 이에 대한 이론적 연구가 활발하게 실시되었지만, 시스템 도입이 기업성과에 미치는 영향에 대한 실증연구는 포괄적으로 다루어지지 않았다. 최근 국내 금융업, 호텔, 항공 등의 분야에서 고객관계관리 도입으로 인한 기업성과에 대한 실증연구가 실시되었고, 외국에서는 병원관리학을 중심으로 균형성과표의 활용에 대한 연구가 실시되었지만, 국내 제약산업에 대해서는 이러한 연구들이 매우 부족한 실정이다. 이에 본 연구에서는 제약회사 고객관리 시스템의 수준이 Kaplan and Norton에 의해 제안된 균형성과표의 이론적 틀에 따라 기업성과에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 연구해 보고자 하였다. 실증분석결과, CRM 시스템 수준은 기업성과에 유의적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 시스템이 제공하는 유용한 분석자료들이 고객유지, 고객만족 및 고객수익성 개선에 유의적인 영향을 주어 결과적으로 기업의 수익성, 성장성 및 주주가치 증대에 폭 넓게 기여하며, 효율적 내부 프로세스로 뒷받침되는 바람직한 선순환구조를 제시하고 있다고 생각된다. 그러나 세부분석결과, 영업사원실적평가 시스템은 단기수익성 증대에만 유의적 영향을 주었고, 고객 분석시스템은 기업성과에 미치는 유의성이 없는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 제약회사 구성원들의 전통적 업무방식 고수, 단기목표 지향성 및 장기적 기업성과지표에 대한 인식 부족에서 기인한다고 생각된다. 연구결과, 제약기업에 보다 적합한 CRM 시스템의 개발과 보완, 인식률과 활용도 제고의 필요성이 제안되며, 표본 확대 및 대표성 개선을 통해 보다 의미 있는 연구결과가 제시될 수 있을 것이다.