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perceptions of value, brand and relationship equity and their subsequent impact to CE provides financial accountability for CRM initiatives. Third, CRM is captured here in terms that allow managers to use it in allocating scarce resources across a range of marketing and nonmarketing investments. Because the results of measuring CRM as an investment yield a return on investment estimate, widely disparate CRM initiatives (., improved products and services, enhanced sales force efficiency and effectiveness) can be pared to each other on equal footing. With this measurement framework, it will be possible for CRM initiatives to be evaluated based on their change in CE which provides a mon yardstick for a wide variety of customerimpacting initiatives. 5. Directions for future research It is our hope that as this outline for future research is pursued, the field will draw nearer to understanding the impact of investments in CRM capabilities. Several research considerations should be noted as scholars begin to pursue this stream of research. It is clear from the nature of this research that the cooperation of both the academic and business munities is required to test these propositions. First, additional qualitative research related to the core value drivers will be necessary as measurements are developed for empirical analysis. Given the nature of collecting data from specific panies and industries, the measurement of the theoretical constructs involved in the model will have to be modified to acmodate the particular language of the sample industry. Second, data required to test these propositions will e from pany records and surveys of both buyers and sellers. Even with improved CRM technology in place, it remains a challenge to collect these types of data because parties from multiple panies must cooperate in the research process. Third, to determine profitability, consideration must be given to the costs and benefits of these CRM initiatives which will require the cooperation of multiple functions within each pany. These issues can all be addressed, but each will provide unique challenges to scholars as they pursue the measurement of CRM. Beyond the coordination of academicians and practitioners, additional work will need to be done to turn these propositions into testable hypotheses. In particular this effort will require a search for moderating conditions that may impact the proposed relationships. For example, we note training and support have been found to moderate proposition three as it relates to CRM technology impacting salesperson performance (Ahearne et al., 202