Reconciliation of deterministic and knowledge management approaches for a better understanding of SFA’s impact on salespersons’ performance
| Pages | 353-371 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-11-2018-0103 |
| Date | 12 August 2019 |
| Published date | 12 August 2019 |
| Author | Kaouther Jridi,Amel Chaabouni,Abdelfattah Triki |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Reconciliation of deterministic
and knowledge management
approaches for a better
understanding of SFA’s impact
on salespersons’performance
Kaouther Jridi
University of Tunis, Higher Institute of Management,
Applied Research in Business Relationships and Economics (ARBRE),
Bardo, Tunisia
Amel Chaabouni
University of Tunis, Higher School of Economic and Commercial Sciences of
Tunis, Applied Research in Business Relationships and Economics (ARBRE),
Bardo, Tunisia, and
Abdelfattah Triki
University of Jeddah, College of Business in Alkamil, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to reconcile the deterministic and the knowledge management
approaches to investigate a framework that provides an explanation of the sales force automation (SFA)
practices’impacton salespersons’performance through the organizationalabsorptive capacity in the African
pharmaceuticalindustry.
Design/methodology/approach –An exploratory study was conductedto understand SFA uses in the
pharmaceutical industry;then a total of 186 medical representatives were sampled and partial least squares
analysiswas performed.
Findings –The results identified the positiveimpact of organizational absorptive capacity on SFA use. In
addition, the use of the SFA positivelyinfluenced the salespersons’performance.Finally, age plays a positive
moderatingrole in the relationships between use of SFA as a toolfor internal coordination between actors and
salespersons’performance.
Practical implications –This research could be useful for managers ofpharmaceutical laboratories to
SFA use as a tool of coordination between the actors,as a tool of management of the customer relationship
and as a tool of management knowledge.
Originality/value –In contrast with the existing studies dealing with deterministic approach when
studying the use of SFA, this study exploited the reconciliation between deterministic and knowledge
management approaches to propose a conceptual framework dealing with the relationship between the
SFA use, the organizational absorptive capacity and the salespersons’performance in the
pharmaceutical industry. This research proposed and tested a framework adapted to the African
context.
Keywords African context, Deterministic approach, Knowledge management approach,
Organizational absorptive capacity, Salespersons’performance, SFA use
Paper type Research paper
SFA’s impact
on salesperson
353
Received15 November 2018
Revised6 March 2019
Accepted23 March 2019
VINEJournal of Information and
KnowledgeManagement Systems
Vol.49 No. 3, 2019
pp. 353-371
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5891
DOI 10.1108/VJIKMS-11-2018-0103
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2059-5891.htm
1. Introduction
The organizations should respond to conflicting demands, which generate dilemmas in the
form of “paradoxes.”The appropriate reaction to these situations is a condition for the survival
of the firms (Smith and Lewis, 2011), but there is a supposition of reconciling and bringing
together contradictory managerial approaches. Smith and Lewis (2011) set a critical importance
on the paradoxes of building capacity for the future while ensuring success for the present.
Within the framework of this research, this paradox is manifested through the rivalry between
the deterministic approach based on diffusion theory, the acceptance model and the model of
success (Davis, 1989;DeLone and McLean, 2003) and the approach to knowledge management
based on the theory of organizational learning (Hunter and Perreault, 2007).
Davis (1989) and DeLone and McLean (2003) mobilize the deterministic approach to
distinguish between technological determinism and organizational determinism; in an
attempt to explain the relationship between organization and information technology (IT),
more precisely the positive effect of IT on individual and organizational performance.
Technological determinism considers technology as an exogenous variable affecting the
skills and performance of individuals. Organizational determinismis based on the primacy
of the organizational aspects over the technological aspects and conveys a sequence based
on a linear causalityranging from the organization and users to the informationsystem.
Huang et al. (2015) and Zou et al. (2016) negatively criticized the deterministic approach by
stating that the technological determinist seems to consider technological tools as unequivocal
and unable to take into account theunexpected consequences of the use or even the appropriation
of technology (Yayla and Hu, 2007). As for the organizational deterministic approach, Huang
et al. (2015) state that information systems are losing their specificity and cannot predict, with
certainty, the behavior of the players involved in the process. Therefore, there is a need for the
emergence of the knowledge management approachto remedy its criticism.
The growing importance of knowledge management is reflected in the fact that this area
of research has been an important topic in recent scientific and practical management
studies (Huang et al., 2015;Zouet al., 2016). Thus, the successful management of knowledge
has become a crucial differentiator for Westernbusinesses and it can be used to understand
the individual and organizationalperformance (Chen and Huang, 2009).
Very few research studies have providedtheoretical and empirical evidence to tackle the
paradox between the deterministic approach and the knowledge management approach to
manage this paradox within an organization (Zhang et al., 2015). Therefore, the authors
propose a new approach that they call it “an integrative approach of determinism and
knowledge management.”In the framework of this research, there is a focus on the
individual performance, specifically the performance of salespersons by mobilizing the two
approaches at the same time. The authors explain why they prefer to adopt this new
approach by several very recent contributions that clearly show that adjustments are
constantly being built between two paradoxical poles to enrich the understanding of the
relationship between SFA use and salespersons’performance while highlighting the
importance of the concept of organizational absorptive capacity as a new perspective that
aims to improve the use of the SFA and, subsequently, the salespersons’performance.
The performance of the salesperson refers to the evaluation of the salesperson’s contribution
toward the achievement of the organization’s objectives. Jaakko et al. (2015) examined the
relationship between salespersons’performance and sales force automation (SFA).
SFA is defined as the set of dedicated computer systems designed specifically for
salespeople to help them manage customers, the market in which they operate and any
product information (Cardinali et al.,2014). It represents a true strategic pillar for the
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