Business Intelligence Systems And Customer Relationship Management In Mobile Telecommunications Firms In Kenya

Abstract

Telecommunication industry especially mobile Telecommunication firms have been forced to devise ways to cope with competition. Managing customer relationships is one of the ways which is considered competitive by Telecommunications firms through use of available communication channels such as the use of email, website and text messages to share important information with the customers. This study was set out to ;-determine the extent to which Telecommunication firms are using business intelligence systems, determine the benefits that Telecommunication firms get from using business intelligence systems, establish the challenges that Telecommunication firms face when using business intelligence systems and establish the relationship between business intelligence systems and customer relationship management in Telecommunication firms in Kenya. The study used a census survey. The choice of this design was because the population is small and thus the researcher can easily study all the three Mobile telecommunication firms in Kenya. The population for this study consisted of the three telecommunications firms in Kenya that are licensed to work and operate in Kenya. They included: Safaricom Limited, Airtel Kenya and Orange. The sample size was 36 respondents who worked in business intelligence departments. Primary sources of data were collected with the help of unstructured questionnaires. The data collected was sorted, cleaned and coded before analysis. Data analysis was done using a regression model for objective one and descriptive statistics for objective two. Analyzed data was presented in tables and charts. A regression model was used to establish the relationship between business intelligence system and customer relationship management of Telecommunications firms in Kenya. The study found that the most popular business intelligence systems included: data mining, extract transform load tools, data warehouses and on-line analytical vi processing tools. Mobile Telecommunication firms benefitted from using business intelligence systems through quick flow of information, faster responses and saved time and labour to a great extent. These firms faced challenges in the implementation of business intelligence systems which included lack of clear business intelligence standards, poor technical expertise, lack of support from users of the system, inadequate funding by sponsors, poor sensitization and lack of good user interface to interact with business intelligence systems. The regression results found that on-line analytical processing tools and data mining were positively related to customer service management. The findings further revealed that extract transform load tools and on-line analytical tools were statistically significant in explaining the influence of business intelligence systems on customer service management. Mobile Telecommunication firms should invest more in modern technologies and innovation. This is important in ensuring that firms have access to customer information which is important in decision making and tailoring products and services to match the growing needs of their customers. The major limitation faced by the researcher was time and cost constraints. Collecting primary data consumes a lot of time and resources. The researcher had to make relevant preparations in order to effectively manage different demands of the processes and at the same time manage time effectively. Future researchers should investigate the influence of factors such as government regulations and industry policies on business intelligence systems or other factors either as independent or moderating variables that can influence the decision of Mobile Telecommunication firms when making a decision on the kind of business intelligence system that a firm should adopt.