Beyond Digital: Organizational Barriers in CRM Implementation in Sales Companies

Whatever efforts organizations make to achieve success, establishing and maintaining a favorable relationship with customers remains a determining factor. In this sense, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that focuses on improving the lifetime value of the customer becomes a benchmark of interest for companies. This research is based on a case study construction that includes the analysis of the implementation period of a CRM system in three branches of a sales and distribution company, but also the following three-year period of use. The data were collected using the triangulation method, coming from organizational documents, reports, and semi-structured interviews with one person from each subsidiary. To conduct the investigation, the logic of the Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement (ADKAR) model, a goal-oriented structure for change management, was used because the specifications of which were suitable for the field under analysis. The main findings highlighted partial compliance with the ADKAR model phases in the CRM system implementation process in the analyzed subsidiaries, accompanied by positive effects at the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) level. This research can provide support for companies in the field of sales and distribution and not only regarding the proper implementation of a CRM system through ADKAR logic, supporting awareness of the possible obstacles they may face throughout this process.