Customer relationship management practices and organisational performance of commercial banks in Ghana: a mediation analysis

Customer relationship management (CRM) practices are essential for gaining a competitive edge in the business environment. CRM has been used worldwide in the banking industry to acquire, create, and maintain strong customer relationships. With intense competition among commercial banks in Ghana, this paper purposely established the effects of CRM practices on organisational performance, focusing on the hierarchically mediating roles of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The positivists’ philosophy, quantitative approach, and descriptive survey design guided the study. The sample used was 420 customers who were selected using multi-stage sampling techniques. A questionnaire was the instrument used. The data were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling to test the research model. The results revealed that CRM practices positively affect organisational performance. However, the effects become stronger when customer satisfaction and loyalty mediate hierarchically the link between CRM and organisational performance. The study concludes that whenever these variables mediate CRM practices and organisational performance hierarchically, there will be a significant boost in commercial banks’ performance in Ghana. This study provides insight into what could strongly boost the performance of organisations, especially commercial banks. Its findings could also be a source of motivation for other organisations in the service sector. The study suggests that, based on its findings, the various branch managers in charge of CRM should develop, nurture, and maintain attractive CRM practices as an administrative system to help boost customer satisfaction and loyalty, respectively.