Global Journal of Management and Business Research, E: Marketing, Volume 22 Issue 2

An Assessment of Customer-Centricity Success Factors: Context of the Lebanese Market Abstract- Academically, in the context of the Lebanese market, customer-centricity has not been addressed earlier; the factors that drive the success of a customer-centric strategy for an organization are to be recognized. An organization needs to identify and define the benefit and critical success factors (CSFs) of having the customer as the driver for its operations. A customer-centric organization capitalizes on an operating model based on a deep understanding of its customers, what they value, and what contribution they make to the company's profitability. This paper aims to assess and analyze the critical success factors of organizational customer-centricity within the context of the Lebanese market. It follows a quantitative approach with data collected from survey questionnaires administered to different employees of different organizations in various Lebanese regions. A customer-centricity proposition in the Lebanese market was formulated based on data analysis. The Statistical Product and Process Solution (SPSS) used descriptive and inferential statistics for data processing. Results reported in different forms include pie charts, t-tests, chi-square tests, cross-tabulation, and regression analysis. The general proposition based on the findings reflects the research's objectives, revealing that Lebanese organizations should capitalize on the internal factors of importance such as leadership, culture, and structure within a customer-centric strategy. These factors will complement other external factors that will ensure the success of this strategy. Keywords: customer-centric, critical success factors, lebanese market. I. I ntroduction he concept of the “Customer-centric Organizations” was investigated thoroughly in the literature (Bailey, 2005; Sadorf, 2011; Ernst & Young, 2013; Khan, 2022), and the salient question remains, "What distinguishes customer-centric organizations from other organizations claiming customer-focus?" According to Egol, Hyde, Ribeiro, & Tipping (2004), "these organizations have moved beyond lip service and re-oriented their entire operating model around the customer while increasing customer satisfaction and their profitability in the process" (p. 4). Customer-centric companies "align their operating models with a carefully defined and quantified customer segmentation strategy, and tailor business streams- product development, demand generation, production and scheduling, supply chain, customer care, etc... to delivering the greatest value to the best customers for the least cost" (p. 4). In addition, Trochlil (2004) asserts that customer-centric organizations succeed because they ensure that the customers' needs and expectations are met and exceeded. A customer-centric organization practices the following steps: "Provides customer value as its primary motivation; perceives staff as customer service agents; makes the buying experience the best it can be; operates on a budget-driven by member needs, and personalizes all communication" (Para 3). Moreover, according to Rai (2013), “The two most important elements in establishing a customer- centric organization are an enterprise database and a workforce that can willingly share information and ensure a commitment to the customers, instead of the products or organizational fiefdoms. It is a long, hard slog to become - and maintain - being a customer- centric organization, but the result is a much more profitable brand" (p. 374). The aforementioned is ensured by achieving customer satisfaction and enriching an organization's wealth tangibly and intangibly. Concerning the context of the Lebanese market, as far as the researchers' knowledge, some references address the experience in Lebanese organizations (Hejase, 2001, 2007, 2008; Telecomreview.com, 2016; Soubra, 2021). Hence, this research aims to formulate a general proposition on the components of a successful customer-centric organization capitalizing on customer- centric strategy implementation by aligning different internal and external aspects of the organization. These include culture, structure, human resources, economic strategies, and marketing strategies. Moreover, this study intends to define the extant factors that determine the success of a customer-centric strategy adopted by an organization. The researchers adopted a quantitative approach covering a sample of companies from the Lebanese market. The findings will present a general proposition on the components of a successful customer-centric organization in this market. T 1 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue II Version I Year 2022 ( )E © 2022 Global Journals Fatima Al Sayed α , Hussin J. Hejase σ , Bassam Hamdar ρ , Ali Hatoum Ѡ & Ale J. Hejase ¥ Author α : Registrar, Al Maaref University (MU), Beirut, Lebanon. Author σ : Consultant to the President, Professor of Business Administration, Al Maaref University (MU), Beirut, Lebanon. e-mail: hussin.hejase@mu.edu.lb Author ρ : Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, Al Maaref University (MU), Beirut, Lebanon. Author Ѡ : Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon. Author ¥ : Adnan Kassar School of Business, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.