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1 – 10 of 912Carlos Bauer, John M. Galvan, Tyler Hancock, Gary K. Hunter, Christopher A. Nelson, Jen Riley and Emily C. Tanner
Sales organizations embrace technological innovation. However, salespeople’s willingness to use new technology influences a firm’s return on investment, representing a significant…
Abstract
Purpose
Sales organizations embrace technological innovation. However, salespeople’s willingness to use new technology influences a firm’s return on investment, representing a significant concern for the organization. These concerns highlight tensions regarding the tradeoffs associated with technology implementations. The purpose of this study is to offer insights that help reduce the complexities of sales technology (ST) by exploring the changing dynamics of contemporary business relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper synthesizes the ST literature using the service ecosystem perspective to propose the sales techno-ecosystem (STE) framework, providing new insights into organizational decision-making related to the ongoing digital transformation of sales tasks.
Findings
This synthesis of the ST literature with the service ecosystem seeks to clarify the impact of technology within the evolving nature of buyer–seller relationships by providing four unique perspectives.
Research limitations/implications
Perspective 1 reviews the sales-service ecosystem framework and develops the theoretical underpinnings and relevant terminologies. Perspective 2 summarizes critical aspects of the ST literature and provides foundations for future research in the STE. Perspective 3 offers a more granular view, explicating roles and contexts prevalent in buyer–seller–technology interactions. Perspective 4 provides a set of tenets and advances research questions related to each tenet.
Practical implications
The culmination of these four perspectives is the introduction of five key tenants designed to help guide strategy and research.
Originality/value
The paper advances Hartmann et al. (2018) service ecosystem paradigm by explicating critical aspects of its ST domain to generate insights for theory and practice.
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Christopher A. Nelson, Michael F. Walsh and Annie Peng Cui
The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of analytical customer relationship management (CRM) on salesperson information use behavior.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of analytical customer relationship management (CRM) on salesperson information use behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the aim of this paper, a vignette experiment was undertaken. The data used for the final analysis included 125 professional salespeople across multiple industries.
Findings
This paper focuses on the personal use of competitive intelligence. The authors find that to maximize the effectiveness of using competitive intelligence, the salesperson must become adept at both choosing the correct pa`rtners to trust and properly valuing information. Properly valuing information can be accomplished through the use of analytical CRM.
Practical implications
The managerial implications of this paper are straightforward yet important. CRM providers have improved the tools available to salespeople (e.g., heat maps) and have partnered with other large scale providers of customer and market information (e.g., global marketing research firms) to provide a analytical tool that is user friendly to salespeople. Yet, many firms still use simplified CRM platforms, which do little more for the salesperson than offer an opportunity to document notes. Sales firms should move toward this analytical CRM system because it improves the salesperson’s ability to value information and increases the salesperson’s ability to use intelligence to link products to buyer needs.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to theory through confirming the importance of analytical CRM on salesperson’s information use behavior by using a motivation, opportunity and ability framework. Additionally, a methodological contribution was made through the development of an information value scale.
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Christopher A. Nelson, Annie Peng Cui and Michael F. Walsh
Building on prior trust repair research, this study aims to develop a more robust theoretical framework that describes trust repair strategies used by salespeople following a…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on prior trust repair research, this study aims to develop a more robust theoretical framework that describes trust repair strategies used by salespeople following a breach of trust.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the aim of this paper, individual depth interviews with 18 professional salespeople, 4 sales executives and 7 purchasing agents were undertaken.
Findings
This paper examines the value of using trust repair strategies (e.g. restoration, regulation and verbal repair strategies) both in isolation and in conjunction. The results suggest that individual trust repair strategies operate through impacting different dimensions of justice, as justice provides a reliable indicator as to whether the salesperson can be trusted in the future. This paper also finds that combining multiple trust repair strategies can have an additive effect on trust.
Originality/value
This paper uses thematic analysis to inductively identify the effective trust repair strategies that are used by salespeople in actual exchange relationships while integrating these insights with the existing theoretical frameworks in the literature. It contributes to theory through creating a conceptual model explaining the breach of trust and trust repair process, introducing justice as a direct mediating mechanism between trust repair strategies and increased trust. The research also develops a new perspective on combining salesperson words and actions to repair trust. It also provides a managerial contribution through introducing an optimized approach to trust repair in buyer-seller relationships.
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Edward C. Tomlinson, Christopher A. Nelson and Luke A. Langlinais
This paper aims to investigate how the reparative efforts of extensive apologies, compensation and structural change affect trust after a violation has occurred. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how the reparative efforts of extensive apologies, compensation and structural change affect trust after a violation has occurred. Specifically, this paper presents a cognitive process model positing that voluntary reparative efforts will shape the victim’s stability attributions for the cause of the violation such that it will be deemed less stable (i.e. unlikely to recur); as a result, the victim is more likely to perceive the transgressor as being fair, and hence extend subsequent trust.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experiments were conducted to test the cognitive process model.
Findings
The results of both experiments supported this predicted sequence for extensive apologies. Support for the predicted sequence was also found when compensation and structural change are invoked as reparative efforts.
Originality/value
This research has theoretical and practical implications for a more nuanced understanding of how causal attribution theory and organizational justice theory can be integrated within the context of trust repair.
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R. Arteaga Sánchez, A. Duarte Hueros and M. García Ordaz
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine the acceptance of the WebCT learning system among students of the faculties of Business and Education…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine the acceptance of the WebCT learning system among students of the faculties of Business and Education Sciences at the University of Huelva, and to verify the direct and indirect effects of these factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 226 students at the University of Huelva completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to six constructs which explain the system usage in the context of e‐learning: technical support (TS); computer self‐efficacy (CSE); perceived ease of use (PEOU); perceived usefulness (PU); attitude (A); and system usage (SU). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed for modelling and data analysis.
Findings
The most significant results point to the need to rethink the original structural model in terms of the relations of certain variables, although the authors also establish the importance of the direct effect of technical support on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness among the students. The authors also confirm that WebCT usage and acceptance is directly influenced by perceived usefulness and indirectly by perceived ease of use.
Originality/value
The findings in this study have implications for the virtual learning systems managers at the University of Huelva, and for other universities that use online tuition systems. This paper reflects a lack of technical support which students need to use WebCT more efficiently and shows that training courses and technical assistance for students must be extended.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine how elementary school teachers integrated technology into their mathematics teaching in classroom settings that were one-to-one computer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how elementary school teachers integrated technology into their mathematics teaching in classroom settings that were one-to-one computer environments for most of the day. Following a series of classroom observations and interviews, inductive qualitative analyses of data indicated that teachers felt that technology supported students’ mathematics learning and prepared them for their future where technology was important. However, observations indicated that despite teaching in one-to-one environments, students only used technology on rare occasions or if they finished activities early. Further, these technology-based activities were low-level review of mathematics computations. Implications include the need to provide effective support to teachers about integrating technology in meaningful ways.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involved classroom observations of two-third grade teachers.
Findings
Findings indicate that teachers used Chromebooks in one-to-one classrooms to provide students with extra practice on computational skills.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for future studies to look at teachers’ use of technology and its influence on student learning.
Practical implications
Teacher education programs and school leaders should provide opportunities for current and future teachers to learn about technology with content specific examples.
Originality/value
This study provided an examination of all of the third grade teachers in a school who all were teaching mathematics in one-to-one classroom environments.
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This research paper aims to explore the technological, individual and community factors influencing the use of popular Web 2.0 tools in library and information science (LIS…
Abstract
Purpose
This research paper aims to explore the technological, individual and community factors influencing the use of popular Web 2.0 tools in library and information science (LIS) education to prepare LIS students for Library 2.0. The study was guided by the activity theory (AT) and technology acceptance model (TAM) of Davis as a lens. The study reveals a set of factors concerning the technical tools, subjective perceptions, goals of online discussion, social presence within a community, rules for participation and roles of the participants that affect their online engagement patterns.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was performed during the 2015 academic year; it used a descriptive analytical research approach for exploring and analysing technological, individual and community factors influencing the use of the popular Web 2.0 tools in LIS education.
Findings
The results show that at the technological level of the AT, educators in the sample found the WhatsApp instant messaging and Twitter to be the easiest tools to use, selecting those tools at, respectively, 73.2 per cent (standard deviation = 0.450) and 61.1 per cent (standard deviation = 0.490). WhatsApp and Twitter also lead at the individual level of the AT, as the most valuable platforms for sharing information and knowledge. Video, text and photo objects are the most commonly shared items, used by 90.7, 93.5 and 98.9 per cent, respectively.
Originality/value
This study may be useful to help information science educators to prepare graduates for the emerging Web 2.0 environments and to prepare students for Library 2.0.
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President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton…
Abstract
President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton presidency, systematically have sought to undermine this president with the goal of bringing down his presidency and running him out of office; and that they have sought non‐electoral means to remove him from office, including Travelgate, the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster, the Filegate controversy, and the Monica Lewinsky matter. This bibliography identifies these and other means by presenting citations about these individuals and organizations that have opposed Clinton. The bibliography is divided into five sections: General; “The conspiracy stream of conspiracy commerce”, a White House‐produced “report” presenting its view of a right‐wing conspiracy against the Clinton presidency; Funding; Conservative organizations; and Publishing/media. Many of the annotations note the links among these key players.
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Nelson A. Barber, D. Christopher Taylor and Daniel Remar
Consumer marketing suggests that greater concern for the environment is impacting purchase behavior. Recent surveys into US pro-environmental (PE) purchase patterns show a…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer marketing suggests that greater concern for the environment is impacting purchase behavior. Recent surveys into US pro-environmental (PE) purchase patterns show a considerable gap between consumers’ attitude and actual behavior regarding PE products. What these products have in common is a normative component. This research aims to understand whether perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and social desirability bias (SDB) influence consumers’ purchase decisions regarding PE wine products and willingness to pay (WTP).
Design/methodology/approach
To assess whether PCE and SDB influence consumer’s actual WTP for PE and conventional wine despite normative beliefs (NBs), two studies with sample sizes of 117 and 124 were conducted in the USA. The first part of each study involved surveying participants as to their NB, SDB, PCE and demographics. The second part of the study measured their actual WTP through participation in an experimental auction.
Findings
Consumers with high levels of NBs were significantly more likely to pay higher premiums for PE wines compared to non-PE wines and had higher levels of PCE, suggesting that they believe their purchase behavior makes a difference to the environment. However, this same group is strongly influenced by SDB, indicating that they may “over-report” desirable behaviors. Controlling for PCE and SDB, the significant difference in price for PE wine and non-PE wine was mitigated. Those with lower NBs were just the opposite, less concerned whether their purchase behavior directly impacts the environment, feeling that non-PE wine may be a better value proposition.
Research limitations/implications
The use of an auction method to assess actual behavior may be skewed by the attempt to get a winning bid, and this research was conducted in one particular part of the USA, which limits the generalizability of the results to other parts of the country or world.
Originality/value
The findings from the current research provide important information for wine producers, distributors and retailers, specifically the development of marketing and branding strategies, and as a method for normative product/brand differentiation in a competitive marketplace.
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Eon-Seong Lee and Dong-Wook Song
A port plays a crucial role in total logistics chain by conducting its function as a gateway for inbound (import) and outbound (export) cargo operations. The port has…
Abstract
A port plays a crucial role in total logistics chain by conducting its function as a gateway for inbound (import) and outbound (export) cargo operations. The port has traditionally been regarded as a connecting place where handles ships on one side and cargoes on the other side. These interactive functions to be carried out by the port imply that a port organization should be established, maintained and altered in a way that generates a value-adding activity to the whole logistics chain. This paper aims to suggest an alternative direction for a port organization in context of changing global logistics environment so as to be better prepared for the ever-changing business horizon. Such an attempt will provide global logistics and port management with a strategic insight into innovative and responsive port organizational strategies.
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