Abstract

     This study examines the effects of salespeople’s social media and customer relationship management (CRM) technology use on value co-creation through knowledge and the downstream impact on sales performance. Based on task-technology fit and self-determination theories, the findings reveal that social media, CRM technology, and their interaction support salespeople in their value co-creation efforts through the mediating role of knowledge enriched by these tools. The results indicate a significant moderating effect of salesperson job autonomy and sales quota ease in enhancing the relationship between knowledge and value co-creation. The study concludes by discussing important implications that stem from our analyses.

Introduction

     In recent years, the sales profession has embraced knowledge generation and sharing as well as value co-creation functions as crucial elements of organizational effectiveness [1–۴]. This shift has encouraged salespeople to function as knowledge brokers and to co-create value by sharing information with their customers to achieve sales performance outcomes [5,6]. To co-create value, salespeople must display a mastery-level understanding of the product, service, or idea they sell and of the market, competitors, and customers. Analogously, the business-to-business (B2B) market has experienced disruption with new tools that dramatically alter the sales profession. For example, social media tools (e.g., LinkedIn) have forced salespeople to focus on new methods (e.g., social selling) to gain customer information and understand customer needs. Social media is defined as “the technological component of the communication, transaction and relationship building functions of a business which leverages the network of customers and prospects to promote value co-creation” (p. 308) [7], and it is critical for an organization’s value co-creation functions. In accord, recent research has explored the role of social media in driving employees’ work behaviors. For instance, a recent article shows that social media use is related to employee stress appraisals [8]. Similarly, other studies have shown that social media use in the workplace is related to employee satisfaction, turnover intention, and performance [9,10]. These studies have focused on the role of social media in aiding salespeople to co-create value with the customers [10–۱۲]. This line of research also parallels research that focuses on assessing the role of information technology systems in enhancing organizational performance [12–۱۷].

Discussion, implications, and directions for future research

Discussion

      The market’s progression toward knowledge-based sales exchanges [6] has resulted in a knowledge-centric sales approach, but it has also created a need for efficient ways for salespeople to collect information and practice their knowledge with their customers. Simultaneously, the advancement in social media and CRM technologies supports the need to integrate both systems to provide additional sources for salespeople to enhance their knowledge about products and customers’ needs and to increase sales performance. An exploration of the role of knowledge in the framework is important in the sales context because, as argued before, salespeople are expected to work as knowledge brokers [6] and hence are required to display their knowledge when interacting with the customers. Past research has also highlighted the importance of salesperson’s technical know-how of not only the products they sell but also the competitors [55,148]. Moreover, scholars have also posited that knowledgeable salespeople have strong customer-serving abilities [71] that have direct implications for the firm’s financial performance. Because of the importance of salesperson’s knowledge, we extend the notion that social media can lead to knowledge generation and dissemination [33] by applying the framework at the individual salesperson level. While knowledge can be gained with prior experience, it is also essential to underscore that the salesperson’s knowledge can also be enriched most by a high use of CRM and social media. In other words, sales knowledge also depends on using different information and communication systems available for salespeople, including social media and CRM technology. It is also vital to highlight the importance of using social media as an add-on with CRM technology. The two channels can complement each other to provide the salesperson with better opportunities to learn more about customers’ needs and market conditions, leading them to co-create value with customers and increase their own sales performance. Recent scholars have analyzed the importance of social media in driving work outcomes [12,15].