RFID - Buzz or Bust? Will Radio Frequency Identification Technology Follow in the Footsteps of its Ill-Fated Predecessor CRM?

This working paper suggests that customer relationship management technology (CRM) has failed to live up to the hype and expectations placed upon it and that history could be repeating itself with the latest data capture technology - Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). It will be argued that the many pitfalls of CRM could serve as a valid warning sign for future investment in RFID. Some critics claim that CRM technology not only failed to deliver profitable growth, but actually damaged customer relationships (Starkey and Woodcock, 2001). By examining how CRM failed in its implementation, it is hoped that marketing practitioners can learn from these mistakes, to ensure that RFID does not encounter the same issues. A research agenda is developed to explore RFID and CRM