Index of Paper Presentations for the Parallel Sessions - Academy of ...

These studies demonstrate that implementation of CRM in emerging markets has focused on people, process andtechnology, consistent with what has been done in industrialized markets. Most of the factors identified by theabove-mentioned authors are consistent with what can be found in other markets. The contingency factors that arespecific to each of the markets they have studied have not been highlighted. Our study aims to do just that and ourmajor contribution will be on those contingency factors that can impede on or enhance the success of CRM in SouthAfrica.2.3 The South African mobile telecommunications industryThe mobile telecommunications sector of South Africa is one of the most advanced in Africa. In 2010, it contributedabout 2.8% to the SA Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Esselaar, Gillwald, Moyo and Naidoo; 2010). According toEsselaar et al. (2010:4), ―mobile services continue to grow, with the operators reporting more than 100%SIMpenetration, though the 2007-2008 IRIA household survey suggests a penetration rate close to 65%, with at least10% of respondents indicating they have multiple SIM cards.‖ In South Africa, the Department of Communicationsreported more than 37 million users or about 95 percent of mobile phone users, had registered by June 2011(Jentzsch, 2012).The SA mobile telephony industry has five players namely Vodacom, MTN, Cell-C and 8ta (the latest entrant in themobile telephony industry) and the virtual mobile operators: Virgin Mobile and Red Bull. These virtual mobileoperators use the infrastructure provided by current mobile operators.These companies service both the post-paid and pre-paid markets. Statistics from the service providers show thatmore than 85% of these companies‘ customers are concentrated on the prepaid market. A research report publishedby RIA (2012) has found that the South African prepaid pricing structure is one of the highest in Africa. It assertsthat South African mobile operators do not compete on price. ―MTN has had the highest prices for the low-userbasket, at between ZAR 95,05 and ZAR 96,04, while Vodacom has stayed constant at ZAR 81,26. At the end of