Critical success factors

The aim of the study was to identify critical success factors in customer relationship management strategy success in the local government authorities in Zimbabwe. A thorough abridgment of the literature was conducted, mainly to understand the nature and structure of local government authorities in Zimbabwe as well as to identify critical success factors in CRM strategy success. A Meta-analysis methodology was employed and explanatory research approach was adopted by means of a survey strategy. 197 questionnaires have been collected from twenty one local government authorities in Zimbabwe. The findings of the study revealed that all of the ten critical success factors are significant and positively linked to CRM strategy success. Furthermore, the statistical tests show that success and failure of CRM strategy success are highly dependent on four major critical success factors including Implementation Approach, Change Management, Metrics and Implementation Strategy. However, process design and Buy-in Approach and Adoption have low significance impact in CRM strategy success in local government authorities in Zimbabwe. The results of the data analysis led to the creation of a framework which outlines the critical success factors in CRM strategy success in local government authorities in Zimbabwe and the CRM implementation Index which need to be followed before implementing the CRM strategy. This study has clearly indicated that customer relationship management forms a powerful strategy that local government authorities should apply to manage long-term relationships with their key stakeholders.

Business Intelligence can bring critical capabilities to an organization, but the implementation of such capabilities is often plagued with problems. Why is it that certain projects fail, while others succeed? The aim of this article is to identify the factors that are present in successful Business Intelligence projects and to organize them into a framework of critical success factors. A survey was conducted during the spring of 2011 to collect primary data on Business Intelligence projects. Findings confirm that Business Intelligence projects are wrestling with both technological and non-technological problems, but the non-technological problems are found to be harder to solve as well as more time consuming than their counterparts. The study also shows that critical success factors for Business Intelligence projects are different from success factors for Information Systems projects in general. Business Intelligences projects have critical success factors that are unique to the subject matter. Major differences can be found primarily among non-technological factors, such as the presence of a specific business need and a clear vision to guide the project. Success depends on types of project funding, the business value provided by each iteration in the project and the alignment of the project to a strategic vision for Business Intelligence at large. Furthermore, the study provides a framework for critical success factors that, explains sixty-one percent of variability of success for projects. Areas which should be given special attention include making sure that the Business Intelligence solution is built with the end users in mind, that the Business Intelligence solution is closely tied to the company’s strategic vision and that the project is properly scoped and prioritized to concentrate on the best opportunities first.

Orientation: Globally, destinations offer various products and services to visitors featuring different attributes and characteristics, making each destination unique. The critical success factors (CSFs) of each of these destinations may differ, making the management process more complex.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify the CSFs for business tourism destinations in South Africa from a supply viewpoint.Motivation for the study: Because of the importance of CSFs, many previous studies have attempted to identify such factors within the tourism industry, but few concentrated on business tourism, especially in South Africa, leaving a gap in terms of knowledge. By means of identifying and understanding what these factors are for South Africa, the country could further develop its tourism sector, which could result in its being more competitive as a destination.Research design, approach and method: To achieve this goal, a qualitative research approach was followed by interviewing seven key business tourism coordinators in South Africa, to determine the key success factors of the business. The data gathered were transcribed and analysed using Creswell’s six steps in data analysis and interpretation.Main findings: Finances, human resources, product and customer-related aspects were identified as the CSFs for business tourism in South Africa.Practical/managerial implications: Educating the market and marketing value add-ons were identified as important for enhancing and making business tourism in South Africa more competitive.Contribution/value-add: The results could guide managers in the implementation of effective key success factors in an effort to mitigate management problems in a very competitive sector.

PurposeThe objective of this piece of qualitative research is to identify the key success factors (KSFs) of the grocery “click and drive” (or drive or drive‐in) model developed by French grocery retail companies and to understand the basis of their competitive advantages.Design/methodology/approachThe authors compare the conclusions of a review of the literature with an analysis of the various grocery drive‐in approaches developed in France. These approaches are studied by applying a multi‐method qualitative perspective comprising semi‐structured interviews with managers and e‐consumer focus groups.FindingsThe research confirms – with the exception of the quality of customer reception, which is particularly valued by managers and consumers – the main key success factors identified in the literature, and reveals a real consensus among the main operators on those KSFs and on the nature of the kind of core competences required in order to obtain competitive advantages.Research limitations/implicationsThe comparison of the real profitability of “drive‐in” sales outlets and a more precise evaluation of the advantages of an integrated multi‐channel approach would provide more accurate results. Moreover, the authors have limited this study to an analysis of the French experience. The research implies that French grocery retailers should develop, along with a more differentiated logistical system, an improved approach to customer relations marketing. Moreover, it implies that “click and drive” outlets enable traditional grocery retailers to sharpen their competitive edge.Originality/valueThis article provides an original analytical approach to the identification of the critical success factors of large grocery retailers developing drive‐in services. In answering this research question, the study should also help large grocery retailers to achieve their development objectives and counter the stagnation of traditional retail formats, especially the hypermarket.

This study explores the success factors of concrete recycling in construction projects, using Malaysia as a case study. The objectives include (1) identifying the critical success factors for concrete recycling in construction projects, (2) comparing the critical success factors between large enterprises (LEs) and small–medium enterprises (SMEs), and (3) developing constructs that group the critical success factors. First, a list of success factors was identified through semi-structured interviews with fifteen construction industry professionals and a systematic literature review of journal articles. This list was then incorporated into a questionnaire and disseminated to industry professionals. Eighty-nine valid responses were collected and analyzed using mean score ranking, normalization, agreement analysis, and factor analysis techniques. The analyses showed ten critical success factors for concrete recycling. The critical success factors include the availability of uniform standards for concrete recycling, adequate awareness among project stakeholders on concrete recycling, appropriate construction waste management plans, government policies to support concrete recycling, good marketing strategy for concrete recycling, good communication among employees, applications for recycled concrete in sub-industries, provisions in work method statements on concrete recycling, positive legislation toward concrete recycling, and availability of concrete recycling infrastructure. However, the percentage of agreement between SMEs and LEs for the ten critical success factors was only 22%. In other words, there is no consensus on criticality across organizational sizes. Finally, the critical success factors can be categorized into two interrelated groups: external and internal. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the necessary success factors for concrete recycling. The study findings allow researchers and practitioners to develop strategies to promote concrete recycling.

A new framework for determining critical success/failure factors in projects

The purpose of this paper is to determine the critical factors that need to be practiced by management of university in successfully implementing the Sustainable Campus Operation (SCO) initiatives at Malaysian universities, as well as to classify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) into several related groups employing factor analysis function by SPSS software. As much as 23 listed governance success factors items in the questionnaire are constructed based on rigorous literature reviews aligned with the objectives of this study. For this study, judgmental sampling techniques are used and the main target of respondents are individuals who hold administrative posts such as Director, Assistant Director, Head of Department/Unit, Assistant Registrar, and other related posts at the Development and Facility Management Office and Sustainable Campus Department/Unit. The analysis allows the factors formation without any early intervention during questionnaire design work. By referring to the descriptive result, only fourteen (14) out of twenty-three (23) success factors are considered as critical factors. Therefore, based on the results from factor analysis, the fourteen (14) CSFs were then classified appropriately under 2 common groups namely; Governance set up to perform SCO initiatives (GovF) and Accountability to improve performance of SCO initiatives (AccF). This study has important contribution to the researchers in the field of campus management related to sustainability by highlighting the importance of the campus to consider the governance support and accountability in analysing and making decision of any potential initiatives towards green campus operations at Malaysian public universities. In fact, it can be a reference in assisting people involved to recognize exactly what factors are most important in implementing the SCO initiatives towards sustainable universities in Malaysia.

PurposeThe successful transition towards the circular economy is a requirement of this technological era. The objective of this study is to identify critical success factors behind the successful transition to the circular economy.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review and experts' inputs are used to identify the major critical success factors of a successful transition towards a circular economy. Further, DANP is applied to discover the interrelationships among the critical success factors dimensions by analyzing causal relations between the relevant critical success factors. Additionally, the ranking of significant critical success factors for the successful transition towards the circular economy is determined.FindingsThis study has used the DANP methodology to understand the relationships among the five dimensions and the twenty-two critical success factors and identified the key influencing critical success factors through their global weights. Research findings suggest that “vision regard to a circular economy” has the highest weights, followed by “financial sustainability” which is regarded as the most important CSF.Research limitations/implicationsThe outcomes of this work may help organizations on issues related to the transition of the linear economy towards circular economy, in understanding the degree of importance of the each critical success factors, based on which the organizations can formulate an effective strategy to systematically emphasize critical success factors as per their importance for the successful transition towards circular economy.Originality/valueThis study tries to explore and analyze critical success factors of the transition from the linear economy to a circular economy. Further, the finding of this study provides deeper insights into academia and mangers that helps to formulate their action plan for moving towards the circular economy.

There is a strong correlation between practised critical success factors and the efficiency of performance measurement systems in delivering satisfactory service. Construction project success is affected by multiple diminution factors, including critical success factors. Determining success factors is a vital tool that leads to project success. However, application of critical success factors alone is not enough but is necessary as a part of performance measurement systems. Despite the significance of critical success factors in the construction industry and the vast amount of research conducted, Saudi Arabia's construction industry in general and its performance measurement in particular have not yet been investigated. The objectives were to investigate and identify the various attributes that affect the performance of municipal construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The study was carried out through review of previous research and postal questionnaire returns from 261 Saudi municipalities. The field work was conducted for three key participants, namely contractors, owners and consultants, to identify performance measures and critical success factors to design performance measurement systems. The review concentrated on critical success factors, performance measures and obstacles associated with their application. Statistical analysis techniques used were mean values and analysis of variance. The survey concluded that the most important critical success factors for three stages reduced from 69 to 20 factors.

The purpose of this study is to identify factors that hinders the implementation of Quality Management Systems(QMS)in selected Public Health Laboratories. The study population was from the targeted seven accredited Public Health Laboratories in Botswana. Data on critical success factors and their respective elements was collected using a questionnaire. The questions were based on the critical success factors for implementation of total quality management identified during the literature review. Ten Critical Success Factors were rated by a group of questions using a five point Likert scale method. Strongly agree was assigned a score of 5, agree is assigned a score of 4, neutral is assigned a score of 3, disagree is assigned a score of 2 and strongly disagree a score of 1. The mean of the assigned ratings is 3.0. Critical success factors which score mean greater than 3.0 will be classified as agree while those mean less than 3.0 will be classified as disagree. All the ten success factors were deemed critical but four of the critical factors had elements that were regarded as barriers to QMS implementation. The ten critical success factors identified were;Employee empowerment Strategic quality planning, Process management, Performance management, Quality culture, Management and leadership, Training, Supplier Management, Customer focus and Information analysis. On the contrary, four critical success factors had elements that scored less than 3.5 mean, so the elements were regarded as barriers to QMS implementation; Effective communication between management and employees, Staff compensation not linked to achieving quality goals, Employees are rewarded for their performance and Employees not taking part in evaluating suppliers.

To assess the critical success factors for franchising a pharmacy business. This thesis is divided into two sections - the former is to determine the critical success factors of the franchise pharmacy industry and the latter is to develop a franchising concept. The first stage of this thesis methodology is to collect information from journals, research reports, human expert interview and questionnaires in order to analyze competition, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the franchise pharmacy industry by means of Porter’s Five Forces Analysis and SWOT Analysis. Then, the obtained result was analyzed by using TOWS Matrix to determine strategic objectives and key success factors of the industry, respectively. The key success factors were weighted in order to determine the critical success factors. The final result of this study indicated that there were five critical success factors of the franchise pharmacy industry such as chain store, product and service, human resource, location, and information. The identified critical success factors were used to develop a franchising concept that consisted of vision, mission, business objectives, and action plan. Moreover, the researcher developed a case study of franchising of Udom Pharmacy that included a business format franchising concept and a model of franchise management. The case study included business concept, marketing mix, investment feasibility study, a model of organization management, operations management and quality management of Udom Pharmacy to be used as a guideline for franchisors or entrepreneurs who interest in franchising a pharmacy business or other businesses.

Since their inception into work organizations, enterprise systems (ES) have proved challenging for many organizations to implement successfully. This study seeks to advance our understanding of the ES success literature by focusing on Harzing Journal ranked articles only that focus on the issue of “critical success factors” for ES implementation. The authors identify 34 key critical success factors that can provide both scholars and practitioners with a more holistic view of ES success.

PurposeA significant amount of digital repository research and development activity is taking place worldwide, which calls for the investigation of issues identified as critical to the development, management and sustainability of these repositories. The purpose of this paper is to establish a comprehensive set of critical success factors (CSFs) that would enable successful digital libraries implementation.Design/methodology/approachThe design of this study is exploratory in nature due to lack of previous research about CSFs in digital library projects. The paper builds the research framework to find CSFs for digital libraries initiatives by collecting possible factors from literature on CSFs of information systems; and feedback from ten experts who have had experience in digital library research and development as well as implementation, through e‐mail interviews. Six dimensions in the enterprise architecture framework (namely motivation, resource, people, process, location and time) needed to create the environment in which digital delivery can be effective and sustained, are mapped with the CSF established from the literature.FindingsThe results revealed six dimensions of CSFs and 36 potential success factor statements contributed by the study participants. Based on these findings, this paper postulates that successful deployment of a digital library implementation may depend on this set of success factors. The identification of these factors has important implications on digital library development.Originality/valueThere has been no comprehensive study on the success factors of digital libraries in the library and information science context, as such, no investigation of the factors in some real‐life contexts of digital library activities. It may help digital library start‐ups to understand what sources and services they need to develop to make their applications successful in an already very populated network. Both researchers and practitioners in the field of digital libraries may value the novelty and results of this study.

PurposeThis paper aimed to identify critical success factors (CSFs) of building information modeling (BIM) implementation among architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms in Malaysia using quantitative statistical methods.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted on the population of all AEC firms in Malaysia to rank the relative importance of 15 success factors (SFs) for BIM implementation in the firm on a 5-point Likert scale. The sampling frame consisted of all members registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) from which 184 responses were received. The distinction between SFs and CSFs was achieved by a normalized mean cutoff value. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the relative groupings of the CSFs and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to examine the underlying relationships between the CSF groupings.FindingsResults of this study validated 11 previously identified CSFs for successful implementation of BIM among Malaysian AEC firms. Non-technical factors such as management, leadership and coordination were found to have higher relevance compared to technical factors such as software and hardware. Ranking analysis of the CSFs found internal coordination factors to have more importance compared to external coordination factors. PCA revealed 4 principal components (PCs) from the 11 CSFs. Together, these four PCs explain 74.3% of the variance in the data. Also, six hypothesized relationships between these groupings were supported using PLS-SEM.Research limitations/implicationsThis study found an interaction between internal and external coordination factors for the implementation of BIM. Future research could explore the dynamics of both intra- and inter-firm coordination, which may create an environment suitable for BIM implementation.Practical implicationsThis study provides Malaysian AEC firms with a general strategy on how to approach the implementation of BIM within the firm. In addition, government initiatives should focus on increasing BIM competency of graduates entering the workforce. This can be achieved through the development of a national BIM curriculum. Apart from that, the implementation of BIM requires a radical shift in the traditional building delivery process, not just simply acquiring new software and hardware.Originality/valueThis study revealed that the interactions between different firms at the industry level can influence successful implementation of BIM at the firm level. CSFs for BIM implementation at the firm level have been extensively studied. However, few studies exist which explore the inter-firm collaborations at the industry level that facilitate successful BIM implementation.

Technological and managerial advances have benefited modern industrial organisations over the last two decades. They strive to become more competitive, cut production costs and produce products that meet quality standards, while also performing at a higher level. Among the most critical factors in these industries is the use of automation technologies that rely heavily on intelligent information processing techniques, dubbed industry 4.0. It is imperative to adopt industry 4.0 technologies to achieve overall manufacturing growth in today’s world. The Indian manufacturing sector’s readiness to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies is a challenge in the current environment. In this context, a literature review, covering Industry 4.0, critical success factors, industry 4.0 readiness and the intention to adopt Industry 4.0 was carried out to build a theoretical framework. The research aimed to identify the critical success factors required to implement industry 4.0 technologies successfully. This study also sheds light on contextual factors, such as Desorptive Capacity, which can be used to investigate the link between Critical Success Factors and industry 4.0 readiness, leading to the intention to adopt industry 4.0 in Indian manufacturing industries.