The use of e-CRM database to promote a Value-Breeding Bond network : the case of Hawthorn Football Club of Australian Rules

Hawthorn Football Club is a Melbourne based Australian Rules club had a debt of AU $1.7 million in 1996. Hawthorn has established a central e-CRM database to progressively achieve their business goals by integrating all of their membership, management, finance, marketing and sales information. Therefore, the e-CRM facilitates Hawthorn to predict the market trend and formulate long-term market development strategies by synthesising the integrated data of Hawthorn’s value-network. Today, Hawthorn has established themselves as one of the most financially strong Australian Rules football clubs by transforming its value-network into a Value-Breeding Bond (VBB) network. The aim of this study was to recognise how Hawthorn has been using the e-CRM lucratively to reach at today’s financially strong position. The case study approach along with the content analysis of publicly available data, such as websites, annual reports and so forth has utilised in the study. The lesson of the study shows that Hawthorn has been employing information technology supported Relationship Marketing to strategise their dominating business development strategies, by analysing their value-network’s data, stored in the e-CRM. Therefore, Hawthorn’s value-network turns to a VBB network, where the existing value has been continually breeding further value for its stakeholders and promoting value-network to the next stage of successful value proliferation from the re-productiveness of their mutually beneficial existing relationships value, which is established as a perfect learning of prolific using of e-CRM for transforming a value-network into a VBB network from the context of value-proliferation.