Sales force automation systems: an analysis of factors underpinning the sophistication of deployed systems in the UK financial services industry

Wright, G.; Fletcher, K.; Donaldson, B.; Lee, J.H.

doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2007.08.005

Sales force automation systems: an analysis of factors underpinning the sophistication of deployed systems in the UK financial services industry

Wright, G.; Fletcher, K.; Donaldson, B.; Lee, J.H.

Authors

G. Wright

K. Fletcher

B. Donaldson

J.H. Lee

Abstract

This study investigates organizational and strategic context variables that are linked to the sophistication of sales force automation systems in UK financial services firms. We find that increasing sophistication in SFA deployment, evaluated as a count of the number of types of results of sales campaigns that are measured, is driven directly by the information orientation of the host firm. We also find that the “sophistication” of deployed systems is, in fact, limited — the information held on the systems cannot underpin the strategic goals of the sales/marketing managers. We theorise that adoption of SFA systems is driven by managerial imperatives and that these have resulted in sales force resistance — shown by the paucity of information held on adopted SFA systems.

Citation

Wright, G., Fletcher, K., Donaldson, B., & Lee, J. (2008). Sales force automation systems: an analysis of factors underpinning the sophistication of deployed systems in the UK financial services industry. Industrial Marketing Management, 37(8), 992-1004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2007.08.005

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Nov 1, 2008
Deposit Date	May 22, 2009
Publicly Available Date	May 10, 2010
Journal	Industrial Marketing Management
Print ISSN	0019-8501
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	37
Issue	8
Pages	992-1004
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2007.08.005
Keywords	Sales force automation systems, Financial services industry, System sophistication, Strategic information systems.