The Development of a Strategic CRM-i Framework: Case Study in Public Institutions of Higher Learning

The mission of Strategic Plan for National Higher Education in Research and Development is the development of human capital to achieve quality research culture and international recognition. The present educational institutions which in the beginning focused on improvement of internal operations began to shift their attention to the human aspect placing importance on customer management. Thus, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is seen as a new approach to help educational institutions maximize centralization of customer resources. Research has shown that there is no specific framework available in application of human based approach utilizing CRM in Public Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTA) in Malaysia. The objective of this research is to develop a strategic framework for customer relationship management. The scope of the research is the Centre for Research and Development, IPTA. The methodology of the research is qualitative, using the iterative triangulation method. The framework is named CRM-i and combines three different approaches; CRM, Strategic Information System Planning and Humanity Management. Additionally, this research introduces a new dimension in CRM approach, i.e the Human dimension. This article shall discuss the development of components and phases for the framework. The CRM-i framework has been acknowledged as a suitable customer management framework.