International Journal of Arts and Commerce Vol. 5 No. 2 March, 2016 69 The Relationship between Customer Relationship Management and Customer Satisfaction: A Study on Private Higher Education Institutions in Sri Lanka Chandrani Nanda Kumari Adikaram * PhD Candidate of Management & Science University, Malaysia Postal address: American Education Centre Limited, 308-310, R A De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka Email: chanadikaram@gmail.com Professor Dr Ali Khatibi Director, Business and Social Science, Management & Science University, University Drive, Section 13, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Email: alik@msu.edu.my Professor Tan Sri DatoWira Dr MohdShukri Ab. Yajid The President, Management & Science University, University Drive, Section 13, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia *Corresponding Author: Abstract The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between customer relationship management (CRM) practices and customer satisfaction in the private higher education institutions (HEIs) offering undergraduate degree programmes in Sri Lanka. The results revealed that CRM practices have a positive effect on customer satisfaction. The sample is restricted to only for the private HEIs offering undergraduate degree programmes in Sri Lanka. However, there is limited research that reveals the relationship between CRM and Customer Satisfaction in private HEIs. Given the evergrowing importance of the education industry in Sri Lanka as a developing country, the results of this study could help policy makers of the surveyed private HEIs to realise the importance of CRM practices to increase customer satisfaction. This study serves not only to clarify the relationship between CRM and customer satisfaction, but also to explain the moderating effect of Gender and Age group of students in this relationship. Keywords – Customer relationship management, Customer satisfaction, Higher Education Institutions