Abstract
The current onslaught of the Corona virus as it is called the Covid-19 pandemic on business and the economy has become a source of concern in how institutions and companies are run. Companies sought to deal more effectively with customers through customer relationship management to build a sustainable relationship with them, because customers are the ones who produce the final service. This paper investigating in customer relationship management impact on customers' trust in the Palestinian telecommunications Company Paltel during the Covid-19 Era. An analytical descriptive approach has been followed; the population of the study was a survey has been constructed to test in a sample of 474 customers in Palestinian Telecommunications Company. The results showed that Reputation management during Corona pandemic had significant impact on increasing customer confidence at α ≤ 0.05, and observed also that there is a significant impact of communication, performance and Social Responsibility on customers trust at α ≤ 0.05 within the measurements customer relationship management. The study recommends that the company must pay more attention to Social Customer Relationship Management to enable its role more and give it sufficient space for innovation in the time of Spread Corona pandemic in residential communities.
Keywords: Customer, Paltel, Corona pandemic, Trust, Communication, Social responsibility
Introduction
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a vehicle that allows corporations to interact effectively with various customers, who increasingly view themselves as "active co-creators" of corporate programs. CRM used Social media (SM) platforms facilitate the formulation of opinions, perceptions, and gaining or repression of knowledge [1]. SM considered important way to communicate with customers in the event of the spread of the Corona pandemic. Through social media, the business may interact as well as communicate personally with both prospective and current clients. Due to the fact that 74% of consumers use social media to inform their shopping decisions, this channel is a primary job of company.
Considering that social SM can become an effective tool for building strong relationships with customers to the extent that they become partners in their success, which in turn, will contribute to achieving the companies' strategies and goals along with the issues related to Customers' Engagement and Customers' Relationship Management [2]. Customer engagement is the exchange of information via different electronic or outdoor methods among a firm (or business) as well as an outside client or user (B2C or B2B). It's not like all businesses have the resources to implement a fully developed consumer interaction strategy manually. Poor customization, scalable creativity, fragmented user experience, a lack of preparation are all examples. According to the researcher, social media has improved prospects for cross-country trade and could raise national GDP values. Social media has made it possible to live as well as do presence in multiple ways, and it will only get better as time goes on. This study makes an effort to combine the data gathering as well as CRM concepts in order to develop an additional data mining for CRM paradigm. The latest design details what more information is readily available for study as well as what kinds of data mining procedures are appropriate for certain CRM phases and techniques [3].
However. In services companies this task is considered a challenge due to the difficulty of customers' attractiveness to intangible products, which makes the effectiveness of customer relationship management based on SM uncertain. Unfortunately, the relationship of such companies with consumers has been considered as a one-way relationship, as companies use social media only to promote and transmit information that they consider useful to achieve their goals, which will benefit only the organizations' strategies and goals. To sum it up, this type of communication is considered inappropriate to build a tight relationship with customers, as strong relationships are based on two-way dialogue communication, where it is necessary to receive views and opinions, respond to them, and communicate the advantages and benefits of provided services to the public instead of beautifying them in a way that is contrary to reality. From a customer's point of view, SM make it easier to access information, interact, get best offers and share their knowledge with others, while companies believe these tools can improve the quality of provided services, thus improving performance and achieving profit. Hootsuite is a versatile social networking platform for enhancing a brand and driving campaigns. Nearly all of the popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest, are covered. It provides a variety of functions, like selecting information for people, organizing the material, as well as watching whatever users share.
As proof, the output of the economic impact in cooperation with social media on business has exceeded a trillion dollars, as many giant companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and IBM have adopted this approach for more customers' attraction to improve cooperation and communication among their customers because they believe this will necessarily lead to improving performance, which explains large investments in this area [4]. In intended to notify prospective consumers about the constantly changing market segments and to increase company recognition, IBM's marketing plan includes significant expenditures in both conventional as well as internet promotion. For example, Facebook is still the largest social media platform, with over 2.6 billion active users [5]. Statista has conducted a survey that revealed that 66% of the users on Facebook either liked or followed a brand on the platform [6]. The social media platforms enable exchanging current affairs as well as publishing relevant images or links to articles/studies in their sector. Additionally, it enhances customer satisfaction and presents to a fresh set of prospective clients. Furthermore, one can subtly employ techniques to increase the worth of the instances of viral campaign. Note that such statistics are major catalysts for the hype towards social network adoption by enterprises since the key objective of any profit-making enterprises when running a business is to make a profit, which could be achieved in the first place through reach the largest segment of customers while maintaining the continuity of relations between them [7]. It is noteworthy that Public relations are considered a fundamental element in the organizational structure at present, as it plays a vital role in building internal and external relations, whether between different departments or between the institution and its customers. In addition to its role as a supporter of organizational management functions, where it always reflects the positive image of institutions [8]. Therefore, this sudden shift in the lifestyle of individuals prompted to research the role that social media will play in increasing the effectiveness of communication with customers and gaining their trust and the factors affecting them. However, the group under study is one of the largest Palestinian telecommunications companies, which was launched in 1997 to provide many services to citizens, as its services varied, beginning with fixed-line services to providing Internet services [9]. In addition, the group had a tangible contribution to the Palestinian economy by 31% of the total market value in the Palestinian stock market, where the number of its subscribers reached more than two and a half million subscribers [10]. Moreover, the company achieved a net profit of 91.8 million Jordanian dinars, at a rate of 11.8%, and these numbers have been increasing since 2013, which is a good indication of its financial stability [11]. The number of companies that make up this group has reached 6 companies, each of which specializes in a different service aspect from the other, which is the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, which is the mother company in this group and is specialized in providing fixed communication services, the Palestinian Cellular Communications Company (JAWAL), which covers cellular communication services, and Hadara Technology Investment Company Which covers all internet services, Ritch Communication Services Company, which deals with customer care services, Palmedia Advertising Services Company, and finally, Information Technology Solutions Company, which provides communications services to large and medium companies [10].
Literature review
Customer relationship management (CRM) and customers' trust
Trust is considered one of the main factors affecting e-commerce, as trust is associated with reputation and credibility, where trust based on these concepts always refers to a reliable and reputable party. Potential customers value a company's good reputation because it conveys reliability and sincerity. Whenever doing commerce with organizations that have established high credibility, consumers are willing to spend extra, and that in turn can improve recruit qualified personnel. However, it is a double-edged sword, where it sometimes has been associated with concepts of risk and uncertainty. The enhanced process of reputation is continued to be active on social media, officially react to customer reviews besides keep an eye on the brand’s reputation, coordination betwixt advertising as well as management service key, and develop a strategy for quality comments. Trust in a brand can be defined as consumers' satisfaction with that brand and their desire to maintain the relationship with the providing company [12]. Also, According to Nandya & Permana, the trust has been divided into two main dimensions, brand confidence and brand intent. Brand confidence is intended to be consumer confidence in obtaining the value promised by that brand and customer satisfaction, while the brand intent means that the brand will guarantee the consumer's interest when the promised value to the consumer conflicts with the actual value. The power of social media platforms in e-commerce stems from being the appropriate tool for developing marketing strategies in companies by building trust-gaining mechanisms and influencing consumers' buying intent [1]. It is worth noting that. the factors positively or negatively impact building trust between customers and enterprises through social media platforms are many and different from several perspectives, but most researchers have agreed that reputation, communication, and performance factors are among the most important factors that affect such as this relationship [13].
CRM, corona pandemic and customers' trust
Palestine was exposed to the dangers of the Corona pandemic, which affected all aspects of economic, social and health life, which puts large companies, especially telecommunications companies, to activate social responsibility. The statute specified the PMA's full powers as well as independence to maintain the soundness and efficiency of the Palestinian banking system (PMA). There are 200 locations as well as delegation agencies throughout 15 financial institutions in the nation, as per PMA. Eight institutions are overseas, with seven domestic (two of whom are Islamic) institutions. The Ministry of Health worked with the Ministry of Interior, as part of measures to limit the spread of the pandemic, by isolating people in homes and preventing the movement of vehicles and people at night [14]. Figure 1 shows. Cumulative graph of total cases of COVID-19 infections in the Palestinian territories [15]
Fig. 1.
Cumulative graph of total cases in the Palestinian territories
Corona pandemic affected on the economy in the world, and affected the effect varies depending on the type of economic field, Stocks in the utilities, energy, and real estate sectors suffered the worst shocks [16], while sectors such as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and health have shown good performance in marketing [17].
Figure 2 shows a comparison of revenues for the period between 2017 and 2020 for the Palestinian Telecommunications Company (Paltel) [18].
Fig. 2.
Comparison of revenues for the period 2017—2020
It is noted that the revenues of the telecommunications company are have not been affected much by the spread of the Corona pandemic, and the reason for the simple decrease in revenues started before the spread of the Corona pandemic in 2017, due to consumers’ dependence on wireless communication companies more.
CRM, communication during the corona pandemic and customers' trust
What should we understand here is that the communication between the company and the customers through social media platforms provides a form of dialogue communication between them especially during the sanitary isolation of customers and crises communication [19], which in turn will contribute to obtaining the awareness of the two parties and facilitate mutual understanding and thus lead to the convergence of views and agreement [20]. Let us take the Amazon Company as an example of those mentioned above, where the members of this platform are closely connected and cooperative, as this platform provides users with the necessary tools to create electronic content, provide advice to others, and ranking the level of services provided [1]. It is worth noting that what facilitates this type of communication and information sharing is customer relationship management, as this department is characterized by rapid response and positive interaction with customers during from face to face to Computer Mediated Communication the Work from Home [21].
CRM, performance during the corona pandemic and customers' trust
Customer relationship management in Paltel played a prominent role in the interaction between company and customers, as it helped to share information between them through the creation of interactive content, whether from companies or individuals, which in turn played a fundamental role in improving the performance of institutions [22]. However, since the business environment is often unstable, not to mention the intense competition faced by other companies, they face challenges in forecasting external variables due to their lack of appropriate and updated information like a problem Corona pandemic.
Argued that firms' via system Customer relationship management sought to develop their performance and thus achieving sustainability through marketing products and services, reducing operational and marketing costs, contributing to the optimal choice of administrative decisions, improving the flow of innovative business processes, reducing marketing activities, in addition to improving the company's image and building relationships Stronger with clients and as a result gain a competitive advantage. Furthermore, by opening the door to dialogue with consumers and sharing their achievements on the economic and social level, firms reflect the extent of their transparency [23]. Therefore, for companies to reflect a positive image of themselves, they use social media to periodically share their annual advances data, where the annual reports and printed publications that are sent by mail once a year have been replaced by detailed, up-to-date information about the company's performance on the economic, social and environmental levels, with the availability whether on the company's website or social media at any time, not to mention that information visible through pictures and videos instead of static and blocky texts. Compared to static graphics, video commercials are more informative, attention-grabbing, and interesting. As a result, these activities will enhance firms' Reputation and, thus, have a positive impact in increasing the reliability of customers [24]. Note that sustainable reports may not reflect the extent of the sustainability of performance, but they positively picture its commitment to continuous improvement. Consumers often demand new and repeatable content, which underlines the firm's resilience in the market [25].
CRM, reputation management during the corona and customers' trust
Reputation management is one of the methods of customer management and the most important in the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, which touches the credibility and reliability of the company's work and has a direct impact on customers. Monitoring customer perception of the company and, whenever appropriate, adopting deliberate steps to improve that perception is recognized as strategic brand managing. Corporate reputation today is focused on keeping an eye on and safeguarding the product's identity online across Google, media platforms, and reviewing sites [26]. Earning, purchased, as well as controlled information are the three basic building blocks in the area of online social marketing. The five elements of reputation management are reference to brands, evaluate monitoring, maintaining an edge over the opposition, contented clients and so on. The reasons for the success of electronic marketing campaigns, as this characteristic can be gained mainly through information provided by the company or that provided by consumers through posting and sharing comments, recommendations, and electronic reviews, which is called electronic word of mouth [27]. Andresen [28] also argued the positive impact of the company's reputation plays a major role in enhancing customer relationships and strengthening their connection with the brand. On the contrary, goodwill can be negative through bad recommendations and responses about a specific company or product. It argues that reputation management can be seen as a Laws that control Prices that are suitable for the consumer and consider the bad economic situation caused by the state of emergency imposed from the country Christensen & Lægreid, [19]. Establish a sense, greater ability, lower incidence, and increased profit are all advantages of having a positive internet image. But there are other benefits to having a positive business image. Nowadays, people prefer to treat businesses differently and sometimes even allow them another opportunity if they have a great reputation. Our image might change as time passes.
CRM, social responsibility during the corona and customers' trust
The Palestinian Telecommunications Group is a public joint stock company established in 1995 in the Palestinian Autonomous Regions of the Palestinian National Authority. The company provides fixed, cellular, and Internet services. The group consists of the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, the Jawwal Company, the Hadara Company, the Reach Company and the Balmedia Company.
The Palestinian Communications Group supported the Palestinian community in many humanitarian fields, especially after the spread of the Corona pandemic in the Palestinian territories within the preservation of its social responsibilities. Companies must behave in a manner that contributes to society in addition to maximizing shareholder wealth, according to the concept of social accountability. Politically progressive businesses must implement regulations that limit harmful effects on community as well as the ecosystem whilst promoting their welfare. The Palestinian Communications Group has worked to support the Palestinian health sector after the spread of the Corona pandemic with 8 projects, including equipping laboratories and equipment for hospitals, and the Telecommunications Group also supported 31 development projects in various fields, including: energy, orphanages, kindergartens, universities and colleges and others [29].
Social responsibility is the role in which large companies can participate in helping people and communities during crises and disasters, and the participation is effective and within plans that include goals for sustainable development [30].
Materials and methods
Methodology
The methodology of the study was developed based on a wide-ranging and in-depth review of literature. In line with an analytical descriptive methodology, primary data were collected through a survey and analysed to derive indicators that could be evaluated and interpreted according to this type of study. Utilizing both recent and old information, descriptive analytics seeks out patterns and connections. Since it only identifies tendencies and associations without going any further, it is frequently referred to as the most basic type of data analysis. To accurately depict what has occurred in a firm as well as whether that varies from one of times, descriptive analytics leverages a diverse set of information. A structured survey has been conducted online to collect the necessary data by collecting the perceptions of 474 from the West Bank Patel's customers in Palestine. To ensure homogeneity in the selection and the accuracy of results, international studies with a close relationship to this study were referred to as a secondary data source.
Research problem
The Palestinian Telecommunications Group is exposed to small losses in profits, and these losses increase steadily with time from 2017 to 2020, as shown in Fig. 2. Therefore, researchers must know the reason, is the Corona pandemic a cause or a change in the CRM factors affecting consumers trust, which include Reputation management, communication with the public, company performance and social responsibility.
A tool described as client relationship administration (CRM) is used to handle all relations and interactions between the business and its clients. The objective is straightforward: to strengthen trade links. CRM systems assist businesses in maintaining contact with clients, streamlining procedures, and boosting productivity. Customer relationship administration, or CRM, enables companies to more effectively handle meaningful contact, through selling goods or services as well as promotion, which eventually enhances the customer spectator experience. CRM improves financial performance, which influences income, customer satisfaction, as well as eventual effectiveness. In this study, we examined CRM factors and their impact on the consumers trust during the Corona pandemic, and do these factors have an impact on the company’s losses or are there other reasons as shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
The study variables
Research hypothesis
The main hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference in the Impact of CRM on Customers Trust of Paltel during Corona pandemic.
The following main hypotheses are derived from the main one:
H1
Reputation management during Corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel.
There is no statistically significant effect of the Reputation management during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
H2
Communication during Corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel.
There is no statistically significant effect of the Communication during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
H3
Performance during Corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel.
There is no statistically significant effect of the Performance during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
H4
Social Responsibility during Corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel.
There is no statistically significant effect of the Social Responsibility during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.). When the p-value is a little less than 0.05, the scientific theory that there is no variation in the values is rejected, and we come to the conclusion that there is a notable change. The existence of a massive effect cannot be inferred if the p-value is higher than 0.05.
Second hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference in The Impact CRM on Customers' Trust of Paltel behaviour concerning the variables: single customers, married customers, and divorced customers.
Sampling
The structured survey was distributed to 474 customers in Palestine (N = 474). The response rates were approximately 81% with 386 completed questionnaires, while 50 questionnaires were ignored for randomness in the answers and 38 of them were rejected because their containment of blank answers.
Instrument
The survey was developed based on the works of [31], Richard et al. [32], Daham [33]. The survey consisted of 25 items measuring the sides reputation (items 1–5), communication (items 6–10), performance (items 11–15), CRM (16–20), and CSR (21–25 on a five-point Likert scale ranging from (1 = strongly disagree) to (5 = strongly agree). A sequence of four or many Likert-type elements that reflect relevant queries are merged into a unified performance rating to form a Likert scale. As continuous variables, Likert scale information can be studied, and the average seems to be the best indicator of normal distribution. Calculate the scale's average and standard deviations to characterize it. Likert scales provide subjective information a quantitative score. It could, for instance, be made to determine how much a majority believes with a claim made about the worth of an item as well as to give that claim a data point. Because the 5-point Likert measure is an arbitrary quantity and the normality test is a continuously distributed, it is not uniformly distributed. Both surveys managers as well as responses will have no trouble using the 5-point Likert scale. Compared to higher-point levels, it requires fewer effort and time to finish. compared to higher-point grades, matches cell phone displays easier. There are options without overwhelming response. Before completing the survey, the study's objectives were clarified, and informed consent was obtained from the respondents.
Reliability
Reliability indexes are primarily used as a planning process for power systems. Network managers can be required to utilize an indicator if it can be demonstrated to help in the preparation of the decision-making procedure so if computing the indicator is financially viable. Reliability coefficient, or how intimately associated a collection of things are to one another, is measured by Cronbach's alpha. It is regarded as a gauge of scale dependability. Even if alpha has a strong number, the measurement may not be one-dimensional. The internal consistency of the survey was calculated using Cronbach's alpha. Internal reliability, or how intimately associated a collection of things are to one another, is measured by Cronbach's alpha. It is regarded as a gauge of scaling dependability. As shown in Table 1, the coefficient of internal consistency is high and acceptable, according to Sekaran and Bougie [34].
Table 1.
Instrument reliability
| Variables | Cronbach's Alpha |
|---|---|
| Reputation management | 0.81 |
| Communication | 0.70 |
| Performance | 0.86 |
| Social responsibility | 0.87 |
| Trust | 0.90 |
Table 2 shows the summary of response rates according to respondent’s profile, where it was observed that the response rates between male and female respondents was so close with 49.1% and 50.9% respectively. Also, the response rates for married and single people were more than those who were divorced with 47.3%, 45.5% and 7.3% respectively. Finally, response rates for education factor, including Bachelor, Diploma and High School was so close with 33.6%, 34.5% and 29.1% except the higher education came with the lowest ratio with 2.7%.
Table 2.
Summary of response rates according to respondent profile (N = 386)
| N | Percent (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| Male | 189 | 49.1 | |
| Female | 197 | 50.9 | |
| Marital status | |||
| Single | 182 | 47.3 | |
| Married | 175 | 45.5 | |
| Divorced | 28 | 7.3 | |
| Qualification | |||
| Higher education | 11 | 2.7 | |
| Bachelor | 130 | 33.6 | |
| Diploma | 133 | 34.5 | |
| High school | 112 | 29.1 | |
Results
The main hypothesis
H1: reputation management during corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel
There is no statistically significant effect of the Reputation management during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
Multiple regressions as well as trend analysis for dependence relationships factors through one or many essential or confounders are provided by the Multivariate assessment of variation (MANOVA) approach. The community is divided into categories by the component factors. The results of the analysis that was done on the questionnaire questions and testing the hypotheses, a multi-variance analysis has been conducted as follows, it is observed in Table 3 that examines the relationship between Reputation management during Corona pandemic and customers’ trust at α ≤ 0.05.
Table 3.
A multi-variance analysis of the relation Reputation management during Corona pandemic and customers’ trust
| Sum of squares | df | Mean square | F | Sig. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I1 | Between groups | 3.370 | 3 | 1.123 | 1.631 | .187 |
| Within groups | 72.994 | 106 | .689 | |||
| Total | 76.364 | 109 | ||||
| I2 | Between groups | .556 | 3 | .185 | .268 | .848 |
| Within groups | 73.298 | 106 | .691 | |||
| Total | 73.855 | 109 | ||||
| I3 | Between groups | 4.330 | 3 | 1.443 | 1.996 | .119 |
| Within groups | 76.661 | 106 | .723 | |||
| Total | 80.991 | 109 | ||||
| I4 | Between groups | 2.513 | 3 | .838 | 1.147 | .334 |
| Within groups | 77.450 | 106 | .731 | |||
| Total | 79.964 | 109 |
It results that the hypothesis is rejected for all groups, and accordingly we prove that there is a relationship between reputation management and trust during the spread of the Corona pandemic.
H2: communication during corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel
There is no statistically significant effect of the Communication during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
In Table 4 is observed that examines the relationship between firms’ communication during Corona pandemic and customers’ trust, It results that the hypothesis is rejected for all groups, and accordingly we prove that there is a relationship between communication on customers’ trust at α ≤ 0.05.
Table 4.
A multi-variance analysis of the relation between firms’ communication and customers’ trust
| Sum of squares | df | Mean square | F | Sig. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I5 | Between groups | .846 | 3 | .282 | .433 | .730 |
| Within groups | 69.009 | 106 | .651 | |||
| Total | 69.855 | 109 | ||||
| I6 | Between groups | 2.459 | 3 | .820 | 1.129 | .341 |
| Within groups | 76.959 | 106 | .726 | |||
| Total | 79.418 | 109 | ||||
| I7 | Between groups | .162 | 3 | .054 | .076 | .973 |
| Within groups | 75.692 | 106 | .714 | |||
| Total | 75.855 | 109 | ||||
| I8 | Between groups | 3.323 | 3 | 1.108 | 1.532 | .210 |
| Within groups | 76.641 | 106 | .723 | |||
| Total | 79.964 | 109 |
H3: performance during corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel
There is no statistically significant effect of the Performance during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
It is observed in Table 5 that examines the relationship between firms’ performance and customers’ trust during Corona pandemic, observed that the hypothesis is rejected for all groups at α ≤ 0.05, and accordingly we prove that there is a relationship between is a significant impact of performance on customers’ trust.
Table 5.
A multi-variance analysis of the relation between performance and customers’ trust
| Sum of squares | df | Mean square | F | Sig. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I9 | Between groups | 1.767 | 3 | .589 | .830 | .480 |
| Within groups | 75.188 | 106 | .709 | |||
| Total | 76.955 | 109 | ||||
| I10 | Between groups | 1.998 | 3 | .666 | .950 | .419 |
| Within groups | 74.266 | 106 | .701 | |||
| Total | 76.264 | 109 | ||||
| I11 | Between groups | 1.370 | 3 | .457 | .650 | .585 |
| Within groups | 74.484 | 106 | .703 | |||
| Total | 75.855 | 109 | ||||
| I12 | Between Groups | 4.080 | 3 | 1.360 | 1.997 | .119 |
| Within Groups | 72.183 | 106 | .681 | |||
| Total | 76.264 | 109 |
H4: social responsibility during corona pandemic has a significant impact on consumers' trust in Paltel
There is no statistically significant effect of the Social Responsibility during Corona pandemic on consumers' trust in Paltel at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05.)
It is observed in Table 6 when examining the hypothesis on the groups that the parameter for each group is greater than 0.05, which means that the hypothesis is rejected, and therefore it has a significant impact of the Social Responsibility practices of companies on customer confidence when the pandemic spreads. Additionally, a significant advantage of CSR from the viewpoint of the organization is that it frequently offers insurance-like coverage through building up reputational resources to support resiliency through disasters.
Table 6.
A multi-variance analysis of the relation between firms’ Social Responsibility and customers’ trust
| Sum of squares | df | Mean square | F | Sig. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I13 | Between groups | .334 | 3 | .111 | .157 | .925 |
| Within groups | 75.084 | 106 | .708 | |||
| Total | 75.418 | 109 | ||||
| I14 | Between groups | .162 | 3 | .054 | .077 | .972 |
| Within groups | 74.611 | 106 | .704 | |||
| Total | 74.773 | 109 | ||||
| I15 | Between groups | 1.058 | 3 | .353 | .540 | .656 |
| Within groups | 69.206 | 106 | .653 | |||
| Total | 70.264 | 109 | ||||
| I16 | Between groups | .377 | 3 | .126 | .179 | .911 |
| Within groups | 74.541 | 106 | .703 | |||
| Total | 74.918 | 109 | ||||
| I17 | Between groups | 1.613 | 3 | .538 | .748 | .526 |
| Within groups | 76.241 | 106 | .719 | |||
| Total | 77.855 | 109 |
Second hypothesis
There is no statistically significant difference in The Impact CRM on Customers' Trust of Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel) behaviour concerning the variables: single customers, married customers, and divorced customers conducted multi-comparison analysis to examine the relation between customers’ trust and marital status variable (dependent) against reputation, communication, performance and Social Responsibility variables (independent) shown from Tables 7, 8, 9, 10. The socio-economic form of organizational responsibilities shows that a firm must occasionally consider its impact on society as well as its current or potential sources of revenue. It is observed that there is a significant impact of firms’ reputation on single customers’ trust, while there is no significant impact on both married and divorced customers’ trust. There is a large market for potential partners or a large pool of candidates. As per Becker, an individual wants to engage whenever the usefulness anticipated from marrying surpasses that anticipated from staying unmarried or from further searching to find a better replacement. Also, it is observed that there is a significant impact of firms’ communication on single, married and divorced customers’ trust. As well as, it is observed that there is a significant impact of firms’ performance on single, married and divorced customers’ trust. Finally, the results showed no significant impact of firms’ CRM on single, married and divorced customers’ trust.
Table 7.
A multi-comparison to examine the relation between reputation, trust and marital status
| Dependent variable | Mean difference (I− J) | Std. error | Sig. | 95% Confidence interval | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper bound | ||||||
| I1 | Single | Married | .229 | .165 | .167 | − .10 | .56 |
| Divorced | − .231 | .316 | .467 | − .86 | .40 | ||
| Married | Single | − .229 | .165 | .167 | − .56 | .10 | |
| Divorced | − .460 | .317 | .150 | − 1.09 | .17 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .231 | .316 | .467 | − .40 | .86 | |
| Married | .460 | .317 | .150 | − .17 | 1.09 | ||
| I2 | Single | Married | .238 | .160 | .139 | − .08 | .56 |
| Divorced | − .462 | .307 | .136 | − 1.07 | .15 | ||
| Married | Single | − .238 | .160 | .139 | − .56 | .08 | |
| Divorced | − .700−* | .308 | .025 | − 1.31 | − .09 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .462 | .307 | .136 | − .15 | 1.07 | |
| Married | .700* | .308 | .025 | .09 | 1.31 | ||
| I3 | Single | Married | .038 | .171 | .826 | − .30 | .38 |
| Divorced | .433 | .328 | .190 | − .22 | 1.08 | ||
| Married | Single | − .038 | .171 | .826 | − .38 | .30 | |
| Divorced | .395 | .329 | .232 | − .26 | 1.05 | ||
| Divorced | Single | − .433 | .328 | .190 | − 1.08 | .22 | |
| Married | − .395 | .329 | .232 | − 1.05 | .26 | ||
| I4 | Single | Married | .511* | .164 | .002 | .19 | .84 |
| Divorced | .231 | .314 | .464 | − .39 | .85 | ||
| Married | Single | − .511−* | .164 | .002 | − .84 | − .19 | |
| Divorced | − .280 | .315 | .376 | − .90 | .34 | ||
| Divorced | Single | − .231 | .314 | .464 | − .85 | .39 | |
| Married | .280 | .315 | .376 | − .34 | .90 | ||
Table 8.
A multi-comparison to examine the relation between communication, trust and marital status
| Dependent variable | Mean difference (I− J) | Std. error | Sig. | 95% Confidence interval | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper bound | ||||||
| I5 | Single | Married | − .039 | .158 | .804 | − .35 | .27 |
| Divorced | − .519 | .303 | .089 | − 1.12 | .08 | ||
| Married | Single | .039 | .158 | .804 | − .27 | .35 | |
| Divorced | − .480 | .303 | .117 | − 1.08 | .12 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .519 | .303 | .089 | − .08 | 1.12 | |
| Married | .480 | .303 | .117 | − .12 | 1.08 | ||
| I6 | Single | Married | .332* | .167 | .049 | .00 | .66 |
| Divorced | − .163 | .320 | .610 | − .80 | .47 | ||
| Married | Single | − .332−* | .167 | .049 | − .66 | .00 | |
| Divorced | − .495 | .321 | .125 | − 1.13 | .14 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .163 | .320 | .610 | − .47 | .80 | |
| Married | .495 | .321 | .125 | − .14 | 1.13 | ||
| I7 | Single | Married | − .078 | .166 | .641 | − .41 | .25 |
| Divorced | .192 | .319 | .547 | − .44 | .82 | ||
| Married | Single | .078 | .166 | .641 | − .25 | .41 | |
| Divorced | .270 | .319 | .400 | − .36 | .90 | ||
| Divorced | Single | − .192 | .319 | .547 | − .82 | .44 | |
| Married | − .270 | .319 | .400 | − .90 | .36 | ||
| I8 | Single | Married | .038 | .171 | .823 | − .30 | .38 |
| Divorced | .038 | .328 | .907 | − .61 | .69 | ||
| Married | Single | − .038 | .171 | .823 | − .38 | .30 | |
| Divorced | 0.000 | .329 | 1.000 | − .65 | .65 | ||
| Divorced | Single | − .038 | .328 | .907 | − .69 | .61 | |
| Married | 0.000 | .329 | 1.000 | − .65 | .65 | ||
Table 9.
A multi-comparison to examine the relation between performance, trust and marital status
| Dependent variable | Mean difference (I− J) | Std. error | Sig. | 95% Confidence interval | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper bound | ||||||
| I9 | Single | Married | − .045 | .168 | .791 | − .38 | .29 |
| Divorced | − .010 | .322 | .976 | − .65 | .63 | ||
| Married | Single | .045 | .168 | .791 | − .29 | .38 | |
| Divorced | .035 | .323 | .914 | − .60 | .67 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .010 | .322 | .976 | − .63 | .65 | |
| Married | − .035 | .323 | .914 | − .67 | .60 | ||
| I10 | Single | Married | − .121 | .167 | .471 | − .45 | .21 |
| Divorced | − .106 | .320 | .741 | − .74 | .53 | ||
| Married | Single | .121 | .167 | .471 | − .21 | .45 | |
| Divorced | .015 | .321 | .963 | − .62 | .65 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .106 | .320 | .741 | − .53 | .74 | |
| Married | − .015 | .321 | .963 | − .65 | .62 | ||
| I11 | Single | Married | .156 | .166 | .348 | − .17 | .48 |
| Divorced | − .154 | .318 | .629 | − .78 | .48 | ||
| Married | Single | − .156 | .166 | .348 | − .48 | .17 | |
| Divorced | − .310 | .318 | .333 | − .94 | .32 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .154 | .318 | .629 | − .48 | .78 | |
| Married | .310 | .318 | .333 | − .32 | .94 | ||
| I12 | Single | Married | − .062 | .167 | .713 | − .39 | .27 |
| Divorced | − .212 | .320 | .510 | − .85 | .42 | ||
| Married | Single | .062 | .167 | .713 | − .27 | .39 | |
| Divorced | − .150 | .321 | .641 | − .79 | .49 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .212 | .320 | .510 | − .42 | .85 | |
| Married | .150 | .321 | .641 | − .49 | .79 | ||
Table 10.
A multi-comparison to examine the relation between Social Responsibility, trust and marital status
| Dependent variable | Mean difference (I− J) | Std. error | Sig. | 95% Confidence interval | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper bound | ||||||
| I13 | Single | Married | − .160 | .166 | .336 | − .49 | .17 |
| Divorced | 0.000 | .317 | 1.000 | − .63 | .63 | ||
| Married | Single | .160 | .166 | .336 | − .17 | .49 | |
| Divorced | .160 | .318 | .616 | − .47 | .79 | ||
| Divorced | Single | 0.000 | .317 | 1.000 | − .63 | .63 | |
| Married | − .160 | .318 | .616 | − .79 | .47 | ||
| I14 | Single | Married | .082 | .164 | .619 | − .24 | .41 |
| Divorced | − .413 | .314 | .191 | − 1.04 | .21 | ||
| Married | Single | − .082 | .164 | .619 | − .41 | .24 | |
| Divorced | − .495 | .315 | .119 | − 1.12 | .13 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .413 | .314 | .191 | − .21 | 1.04 | |
| Married | .495 | .315 | .119 | − .13 | 1.12 | ||
| I15 | Single | Married | − .252 | .158 | .114 | − .57 | .06 |
| Divorced | .058 | .304 | .850 | − .54 | .66 | ||
| Married | Single | .252 | .158 | .114 | − .06 | .57 | |
| Divorced | .310 | .304 | .311 | − .29 | .91 | ||
| Divorced | Single | − .058 | .304 | .850 | − .66 | .54 | |
| Married | − .310 | .304 | .311 | − .91 | .29 | ||
| I16 | Single | Married | .021 | .166 | .900 | − .31 | .35 |
| Divorced | − .019 | .318 | .952 | − .65 | .61 | ||
| Married | Single | − .021 | .166 | .900 | − .35 | .31 | |
| Divorced | − .040 | .319 | .900 | − .67 | .59 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .019 | .318 | .952 | − .61 | .65 | |
| Married | .040 | .319 | .900 | − .59 | .67 | ||
| I17 | Single | Married | .097 | .169 | .567 | − .24 | .43 |
| Divorced | − .048 | .323 | .882 | − .69 | .59 | ||
| Married | Single | − .097 | .169 | .567 | − .43 | .24 | |
| Divorced | − .145 | .324 | .656 | − .79 | .50 | ||
| Divorced | Single | .048 | .323 | .882 | − .59 | .69 | |
| Married | .145 | .324 | .656 | − .50 | .79 | ||
Discussion
This study aims to measure the impact the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel) on customer trust during Corona pandemic. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the opinions of Palestinian customers about the level of services provided by Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel) Within the standards of corporate reputation management and the standard of communication and performance and Social Responsibility.
A multi-variance analysis has been done on the findings of the analysis that was done on the questionnaire questions and testing the hypotheses, it is observed that examines the relationship between Reputation management during Corona and customers’ trust, is observed that there is significant impact of Reputation management on customers’ trust, because Corporate Social Responsibility require-related activities which involves Developing a positive reputation for reliable cost effective services in a wider market, be that a company level or individual developer [35]. Customers who learn around an industry's CSR initiatives become more conscious of it, that fosters positive evaluations regarding purchasing goods from CSR businesses. Each of these factors ultimately results in a better entity's economic efficiency as well as business image. Participating in initiatives such Earth Day as well as other initiatives helps companies with CSR win the confidence of their clients. Since they share the identical concerns as their clients, it strengthens their relationship with them. If large firms pay back, the effect of CSR on consumers is more obvious.
Also, according to our findings, is observed that examines the relationship between firms’ communication and customers’ trust, observed that there is a significant impact of firms' communication on customers’ trust, With the need for clarification the role of communication with customers the social media helping target companies to better understand consumer, and helping spreading brand related contents.
On the other hand, it is observed in results that examines the relationship between firms’ performance of Telecommunications and customers’ trust, observed that there is a significant impact of firms' performance on customers’ trust, knowing that Level of availability of institutional performance standards in Paltel good at 75.70% in a study [36]. Some studies concluded the negative impact of COVID-19 on firm performance is more pronounced when a firm’s investment scale or sales revenue is smaller [37, 38].
In another hypothesis has been observed showed a significant impact of Social Responsibility practices for the Palestinian Telecommunications Company on customers’ trust during Corona pandemic, some studies explain that companies are called upon to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to support society and the weakest individuals in the event of crises, especially crises of the spread of infectious diseases [39], also confirm that the main target behind implementing Social Responsibility is for the better revenue growth of the company, through several strategies used different for protecting the interests of shareholders and investors and society [40].
From the results we obtained, we can conclude that CRM factors have no role in losing revenues during the spread of the Corona pandemic, and it may be related to other economic factors or competitions with Palestinian or Israeli companies.
Conclusions
The study recommends that the company must pay more attention to Social Customer Relationship Management to enable its role more and give it sufficient space for innovation; in addition to that, the company should pay more attention to publishing its periodic reports in detail that highlights the effective performance of this company on economic, social and even environmental levels. As a result, the aforementioned recommendations, if considered, will certainly contribute to improving the image of the institution in the community, and thus maximizing reputation in the time of the Corona pandemic. In the future, the efficiency of the proposed methodology will be much improved with the help of novel technologies.
Author contributions
FAk and HS, contributed to the design and methodology of this study, the assessment of the outcomes and the writing of the manuscript.
Funding
No funds, grants were received by any of the authors.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript.
Code availability
Not applicable.
Declarations
Conflict of interest
There is no conflict of interest among the authors.
Footnotes
Publisher’s Note
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Contributor Information
Feras Al kharraz, Email: firasalkharaz@hotmail.com.
Hikmet Seçim, Email: hsecim@ciu.edu.tr.
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Associated Data
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Data Availability Statement
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript.
Not applicable.