SUPERCHARGING CRM WITH AI: THE POWER OF READINESS, SUPPORT, IDENTIFICATION, AND TRUST DYNAMICS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63878/qrjs980Keywords:
artificial intelligence adoption, technological readiness, organizational support, customer relationship management, customer identification, customer trustAbstract
This study examines the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, technological readiness, and organizational support on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), with Customer Identification as a mediating variable and Customer Trust as a moderator. Drawing on a sample of 300 respondents across technology, finance/banking, healthcare, and retail sectors in Pakistan, the study employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test eleven hypotheses. Findings reveal that AI adoption (β = .456), organizational support (β = .403), and technological readiness (β = .329) significantly predict Customer Identification, which in turn strongly predicts CRM (β = .699). Customer Identification fully mediates the relationships between the three antecedents and CRM. However, the moderating effect of Customer Trust on the Customer Identification–CRM relationship was not statistically significant (β = .136, p = .057). The study contributes to the literature by integrating resource-based and social identity theories in the context of AI-driven CRM. Practical implications for managers and directions for future research are discussed.
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