Behavioural microfoundations and stakeholder influences in knowledge-driven customer relationship management in hotels

Purpose This study explores how employee behaviours and their perceptions of external stakeholder influence the generation, sharing, interpretation and application of customer knowledge in knowledge-driven CRM. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, interpretivist design was used, drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 managers and frontline employees from three- to five-star hotels in Ghana. Findings Knowledge-driven CRM is shaped by internal and external stakeholder drivers and barriers. Internal drivers, including personalised adaptive communication, knowledge translation innovation capability training, empowerment, passion and commitment, support KM–CRM integration by enabling employees to mobilise customer knowledge in service encounters. Internal barriers, including bureaucracy, knowledge hoarding, cost and limited resources, and implementation uncertainty, constrain the sharing and application of customer knowledge. External stakeholders, including competitors, government agencies, industry associations, customers and cultural norms, also influence the availability, legitimacy and use of customer knowledge. Practical implications Hotel managers should strengthen personalised adaptive communication, empower frontline employees, reward knowledge sharing, and develop training in service judgement, cultural intelligence, and customer-knowledge interpretation. CRM technology should be managed as both a technical and behavioural process, with external stakeholders treated as relevant knowledge sources. Originality/value This study advances understanding of the behavioural microfoundations of knowledge-driven CRM by showing how employee behaviours and stakeholder dynamics influence customer-knowledge mobilisation in hotels. It extends KM–CRM research by positioning knowledge-driven CRM as a behavioural, relational and stakeholder-influenced process rather than a predominantly technological or system-level capability.