Foundation Assessment of the Influence of IT Management Practices on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in a Large Australian Federal Government Agency

Abstract

The research presented in this paper was motivated by the thrust in Australia to move to whole of e-government. The aim was to determine the level of readiness towards the implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) in Australian Federal Government departments and agencies. As such the research presented in this paper represents an initial phase of research that focusses on CRM implementation in the highest level of government in this country. To address the research objective, data were collected through the distribution of an electronic questionnaire to 23 Australian Federal Government departments and agencies using a previously validated questionnaire. The main finding of the research was that a majority of the departments and agencies are only in the early stages of moving toward implementation of collaborative CRM. This suggests that a concerted effort needs to be made to encourage less developed departments and agencies to make this transition. Until collaborative CRM is accomplished, the ultimate goal of whole of e-government in Australia cannot become a reality. However, a positive aspect of the results is that some departments and agencies are in a position of collaborative CRM. This means that those not so positioned can benefit from the ‘best practice’ processes already adopted in the more CRM advanced Australian Federal government departments and agencies.