The Impact of Customer Relationship Management Systems on Business Performance of Portuguese SMEs

Domingos Martinho (), João Farinha and Vasco Ribeiro
Additional contact information
Domingos Martinho: ISLA Santarém—Instituto Politécnico, Rua Dr. Teixeira Guedes, 31, 2000-029 Santarém, Portugal
João Farinha: ISLA Santarém—Instituto Politécnico, Rua Dr. Teixeira Guedes, 31, 2000-029 Santarém, Portugal
Vasco Ribeiro: ISLA Santarém—Instituto Politécnico, Rua Dr. Teixeira Guedes, 31, 2000-029 Santarém, Portugal

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: A company’s competitive advantage largely depends on the longevity and quality of its customer relationships, making it essential to understand which tools best support these interactions. In particular, identifying the factors that shape the impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems on business performance is crucial. This study examines the influence of CRM on the business performance of Portuguese companies by employing a conceptual model structured around five dimensions: customer-centric management (CCM), CRM organization (CRMO), operational CRM (OCRM), customer service quality (CSQ), and technological turbulence (TT). Data were gathered via a questionnaire completed by employees of Portuguese firms using CRM systems, yielding a total of 228 valid responses. Of the nine hypotheses tested, eight were confirmed. The results indicate that CRM organization (CRMO) exerts the strongest positive influence on business performance (0.457), followed by customer service quality (CSQ), operational CRM (OCRM), and customer-centric management (CCM). The study also confirms that technological turbulence (TT) moderates the relationship between the CRM dimensions and business performance. These findings suggest that the proposed model is well-suited to the context of Portuguese SMEs and provide valuable insights for managers aiming to enhance competitiveness through the strategic use of CRM systems. Additionally, the results offer a relevant contribution to the academic literature on CRM and business performance.

Keywords: customer relationship management; CRM performance; small and medium enterprises; digital transformation; technological turbulence; PLS-SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/12/5647/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/12/5647/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:12:p:5647-:d:1682481

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().