Impact of big data analytics on sales performance in pharmaceutical organizations: The role of customer relationship management capabilities.

Muhammad Shahbaz,Fakhar Shahzad,Changyuan Gao,Lili Zhai,Rimsha Zahid,Adeel Luqman,Rashid Mehmood

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0250229

Abstract

In this era of technology development, every business wants to equip its salesforce with a sustainable salesforce automation system to improve sales performance and customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities. This study investigates the impact of big data analytics (BDA) on CRM capabilities and the sales performance of pharmaceutical organizations. A research model was tested based on 416 valid responses collected from pharmaceutical companies through a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed using Smart-PLS3 to confirm the contribution of BDA to improving CRM capabilities and sales performance. The study finds that individual characteristics such as self-efficacy, playfulness, and social norms, along with organizational characteristics such as voluntariness, user involvement, user participation, and management support, are positive predictors of salesforce perception of BDA. This positive perception of BDA increased the person-technology fit in the salesforce, which ultimately increased the CRM capabilities and sales performance.

Highlights

Current advances in information technology (IT) and the rising trend of social media have changed the way salespersons perform daily routine activities
The overall results of this study proved that individual characteristics of employees of pharmaceutical organizations along with the organizational characteristics are strong influencers of Individual perception of big data analytics (BDA) and measuring factors about individual perception of BDA is strong predictor of person technology fit
This study empirically offers a strong basis for further extending the research of BDA in sales and customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities

Summary

Introduction

Current advances in information technology (IT) and the rising trend of social media have changed the way salespersons perform daily routine activities. The salesforce is equipped with a salesforce automation (SFA) system to enhance customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities and sales performance [1]. SFA systems are a set of tools that facilitate organization by providing analyzed information from available data to manage customer relationships and sales-related activities [2]. An SFA system provides information regarding customer interactions, inventory control, sales forecasting, sales, communication history, and pipeline opportunities to efficiently achieve day-to-day goals [3]. Organizations annually invest millions of dollars in the implementation of SFA systems to achieve excellent customer.

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