Technology Acceptance Model in U.S. Extension: CRM Adoption

QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF TAM

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After the war, the CES worked to extend new technologies to farmers and ranchers to

dramatically increase farm production. Today, there is a CES office in nearly every county in the

United States where CES professionals help communities of all sizes meet the challenges they

face in areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, youth

development through the 4-H program, community, workforce, and economic development

through a variety of research-based educational programming.

Introduction to the Problem

The TAM provides a way for looking at how individuals and organizations can

successfully adopt and implement technologies, and an understanding of TAM principles can

potentially reduce adoption failure rates. CRM technologies have gained significant attention

over the past several decades for their ability to integrate multiple business functions into a

centralized system with high returns on investment. Additionally, in recent years, CRM

technologies have integrated into other software applications, bringing a more holistic view of

customers, how an organization engages with customers, and the customer lifecycle. This

provides great insights into the marketing, communications, and sales functions within an

organization. While CRM technologies have advanced and evolved to meet the needs and budget

of any sized organization, there is still an extremely high failure rate for implementation, and

several challenges remain for the adoption of this technology. CRM adoption in the CES is no

exception to the challenges that most organizations face. These challenges include technology

costs, top management support, perceived value, perceived ease of use, and an overall

understanding of how CRM can help CES organizations accomplish goals in outreach and

engagement with the public they serve.

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