Family Business Owner as a Central Figure in Customer Relationship Management

Siniša Arsić, Koviljka Banjević, Aleksandra Nastasić, Dragana Rošulj and Miloš Arsić
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Siniša Arsić: Department for Management and Specialized Management Disciplines, Faculty of organizational sciences, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Koviljka Banjević: Quality Management Department, Belgrade Polytechnic, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Aleksandra Nastasić: Quality Management Department, Belgrade Polytechnic, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Dragana Rošulj: Quality Management Department, Belgrade Polytechnic, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Miloš Arsić: Faculty of Maritime Academic Studies, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: This paper presents theoretical and empirical research on the activities and attitudes of a family business owner regarding marketing as a business function. The development of successful business relationships of a family business is tightly connected with the activities of the business owner. The theoretical review examined numerous family and non-family business studies by analyzing the existing paradigms of marketing management as a whole. The empirical research, surveying 420 family businesses in Serbia, defined the overall role of the family business owner in customer relationship management regarding business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships. Key findings suggest that the main difference in customer relationship management (CRM) between family and non-family companies is related to B2B relationships, which the family business owner is heavily involved in managing, in terms of invested time and responsibility. Future research should cover aspects of internationalization (to regional markets) because it is essential to cross-examine regional with local contacts of a family business owner, to provide full comprehension of the complexity of market relationships in a family business environment.

Keywords: family company; owner; customer relationship management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2018:i:1:p:77-:d:192797

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