Customer relationship management and QM maturity: an examination of impacts in the health‐care and non‐health‐care setting

Investigates the relationships between organizational adoption and extent of use of quality management (QM) programs and customer relationship management systems (CRM) in health‐care and non‐health‐care organizational settings. In referring to QM, recognizes that there has been widespread adoption, across organizations generally, of programs aimed at delivering superior quality to the customer. Focuses on this group of programs when considering QM, and looks at how adoption of QM may impact the CRM programs. Specifically, contends that organizations from the two settings may vary considerably in QM maturity. Begins by considering whether there are differences in the paths which health‐care and non‐health‐care organizations have used in approaching and implementing QM. Finds no differences, however, in this research. Instead, finds that there were systematic changes which appeared to accompany higher‐quality QM implementations in both health‐care and non‐health‐care organizations.