Sales force automation: review, critique, research

We review and critique the research literature on sales force automation (SFA). SFA involves the application of information technology to support the sales function. SFA software provides functionality that helps companies manage sales pipelines, track contacts and configure products, inter alia. The paper is organized into four main sections. First, we review the SFA environment, identifying definitions, vendor classifications and software attributes. We then move to a review and classification of the academic research that has been published on SFA. We find that the entire body of SFA knowledge attempts to answer just four questions: Why do organizations adopt SFA? What are the organizational impacts of SFA? What accounts for the success or failure of SFA projects? What accounts for variance in salesperson adoption of SFA? We then critique this body of knowledge on a number of theoretical and methodological grounds, and finally propose a research agenda for the future.

[1]  C. Speier,et al.  The Hidden Minefields in the Adoption of Sales Force Automation Technologies , 2002 .

[2]  Robert L. Engle,et al.  Sales force automation usage, effectiveness, and cost‐benefit in Germany, England and the United States , 2000 .

[3]  K. R. Conner,et al.  Software piracy: an analysis of protection strategies , 1991 .

[4]  Carol A. Scott,et al.  Alternative Approaches to Assessing the Quality of Self Report Data , 1978 .

[5]  Sylvain Sénécal,et al.  Sales force technology usage—reasons, barriers, and support: An exploratory investigation , 2005 .

[6]  Scott A. Inks,et al.  Technology and the Sales Force , 2001 .

[7]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[8]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[9]  E. Davenport,et al.  Laptops and the marketing information chain: The benefits of salesforce automation , 1990 .

[10]  Raymond W. LaForge,et al.  Selling in the new millennium: A joint agenda , 2002 .

[11]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Development of an Instrument to Measure the Perceptions of Adopting an Information Technology Innovation , 1991, Inf. Syst. Res..

[12]  Darrell K. Rigby,et al.  Avoid the four perils of CRM. , 2002, Harvard business review.

[13]  Robert M. Barker,et al.  Perceptions of sales force automation: Differences between sales force and management , 2005 .

[14]  Gordon B. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View , 2003, MIS Q..

[15]  Niels Schillewaert,et al.  The Acceptance of Information Technology in the Sales Force , 2000 .

[16]  George Wright,et al.  Sales information systems in the UK financial services industry: an analysis of sophistication of use and perceived barriers to adoption , 2002, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[17]  Paul Jen-Hwa Hu,et al.  Examining technology acceptance by school teachers: a longitudinal study , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[18]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior , 1980 .

[19]  Kim Harris,et al.  Issues concerning adoption and use of sales force automation in the agricultural input supply sector , 1996 .

[20]  Richard A. Rocco,et al.  Understanding sales force automation outcomes: A managerial perspective , 2005 .

[21]  C. Grönroos.  Service Management and Marketing: A Customer Relationship Management Approach , 2000 .

[22]  Michael S. Malone,et al.  Virtual Selling: Going Beyond the Automated Sales Force to Achieve Total Sales Quality , 1996 .

[23]  Kenneth L. Kraemer,et al.  The Impacts of Computer Technology on the Worklife of Information Workers , 1990 .

[24]  Chris Pullig,et al.  Salesforce automation systems: an exploratory examination of organizational factors associated with effective implementation and salesforce productivity , 2002 .

[25]  George J. Avlonitis,et al.  Antecedents and consequences of CRM technology acceptance in the sales force , 2005 .

[26]  Michael Ahearne,et al.  Effect of Technology on Sales Performance: Progressing from Technology Acceptance to Technology Usage and Consequence , 2004 .

[27]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Measuring e-Commerce Success: Applying the DeLone & McLean Information Systems Success Model , 2004, Int. J. Electron. Commer..

[28]  Greg W. Marshall,et al.  An empirical investigation of technology acceptance in a field sales force setting , 2005 .

[29]  Madhavan Parthasarathy,et al.  Salesforce automation and the adoption of technological innovations by salespeople: Theory and implications , 1997 .

[30]  B. Donaldson,et al.  Salesforce Automation in the UK Pharmaceutical Industry: Why is the Strategic Potential of these Systems Not Being Realised in Practice?: , 2004 .

[31]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies , 2000, Management Science.

[32]  Peter A. Todd,et al.  Understanding Information Technology Usage: A Test of Competing Models , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[33]  Charles E. Pettijohn,et al.  Salesforce automation issues prior to implementation: the relationship between attitudes toward technology, experience and productivity , 1997 .

[34]  Wynne W. Chin,et al.  Impact of sales force automation on technology-related stress, effort, and technology usage among salespeople , 2005 .

[35]  F. Buttle,et al.  Customer retention: a potentially potent marketing management strategy , 2001 .

[36]  Fred D. Davis.  Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology , 1989, MIS Q..

[37]  R. Moenaert,et al.  The Adoption of Information Technology in the Sales Force , 2005 .

[38]  M. Speece,et al.  Technology Integration: Perceptions of Sales Force Automation in Thailand's Life Assurance Industry , 2004 .