ABSTRACT
In this paper, we will illustrate the use of modern information technology to provide knowledge support to CRM processes. This knowledge support allows for performance enhancements in customer-oriented business processes. We will base our reasoning on a “customer knowledge management” process model, which identifies six CRM subprocesses and four aspects of knowledge management and which integrates epistemological and ontological knowledge models with process-oriented knowledge models. It aims at achieving knowledge transparency, knowledge dissemination, knowledge development, and knowledge efficiency. The application of the different aspects in the model will be demonstrated in several action research cases. These cases were implemented in European companies in the financial services sector and concern the support of customer-facing processes across all channels. They validate the proposed architecture while indicating critical success factors for a successful implementation of customer knowledge management.
