Customer relationship management research in tourism and hospitality: a state-of-the-art

Purpose: This study aimed to provide a critical review of the evolution of customer relationship management (CRM) research in the hospitality and tourism (H&T) field. Design/methodology/approach: The study conducted a thorough systematical literature review by collecting papers from 14 leading tourism and hospitality journals. The examination of the literature is first based on the evolution of CRM notion and its definitions. Next, CRM studies in the literature that are related to H&T were assessed based on their timelines and themes. Third, the studies were classified based on CRM components and its impacts on firms’ performances. Findings: The literature review provided an in-depth understanding on the progress of CRM based on the selected topics and suggests a redesigned research agenda for scholars, graduate students and practitioners. Implications: This study provides new and meaningful avenues for further research in CRM in H&T area. Originality value: CRM has a key role in business performance and increased customer satisfaction and retention, specifically in the context of the service industry. To date, scholars have produced an abundant number of CRM-related studies in tourism and hospitality journals. In this study, the progress of CRM research conducted in the tourism and hospitality sector is critically reviewed.