eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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The aim of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the day-to-day activities of CRM and media sales as social practices in the context of media convergence. This study has two main objectives. First, it aims to characterize the key customer relationships of media sales. Second, it aims to identify the social practices of media sales and examine how these practices enable or constrain customer orientation. The empirical study is conducted in a Finnish media organization which is transforming its sales operation model towards more customer-oriented as a response to the challenges introduced by media convergence. The changes in the media environment and within the organization have profound implications on how media sales work is carried out and how customer relationships are managed, providing a current and interesting case context.

Research objectives are approached through a qualitative case study. The empirical data consists of nine thematic interviews in total, four of which were conducted in one of the media sales units of the case organization. Five interviews were conducted among customers of the media sales unit. The theoretical framework builds primarily on practice theory in social sciences and literature on media management, drawing also on customer relationship management literature. The practice perspective provides an interpretive lens through which attention is directed to the collectively shared norms, traditions, understandings, procedures and routines that seem to guide the everyday activities of marketing practitioners.

Overall, the case study provided a detailed view of the practical complexities of media sales in the context of media convergence. Based on the empirical analysis four social practices of media sales are identified. The practices of relationship management, steering, collaborating, and developing describe the underlying background understandings and the bodily activities that make up media sales. The study suggests that these interrelated practices consist of both enabling and constraining features towards customer orientation. Although the case organization has taken measures to enhance customer orientation, it was found that the old product-oriented logic is mediated through established, culturally and historically transmitted social practices.