Community Embedded Customer Relationship Management in Rural MSMEs: A Systematic Literature Review
Keywords:
community-embedded CRM, rural MSMEs, Systematic Literature Review, customer loyalty, Indonesia, SDG 8Abstract
Increasing business competition in the digital era requires Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to build sustainable customer relationships despite limited technological resources. In rural contexts, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practices often develop through social networks and community interactions. This study aims to examine the application of Community-Embedded Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in rural MSMEs as a form of social adaptation to limited digital resources. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach was employed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Literature was collected from Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases covering publications from 2015 to 2025. The initial search identified 214 articles, which were screened using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 30 articles selected for final analysis. The findings reveal that CRM practices in rural contexts are rooted in three main pillars: customer identification, customer attraction, and customer retention, which are supported by social relationships, community participation, and the use of simple digital communication platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. The results indicate that successful CRM implementation in rural MSMEs is determined not only by technology adoption but also by the strength of social networks that facilitate interactions between business actors and customers. Theoretically, this study extends Relationship Marketing Theory by proposing a Community-Embedded CRM framework that is relevant to rural social contexts and contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 through inclusive local economic growth and business sustainability.
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