A Reference Model for E-Collaboration within the Dispersed Sales Force Training Process in Multinational Companies

Abstract

Multinational pharmaceutical companies are facing the challenge of finding the right balance between local responsiveness and global integration. A cross-case study analysis of the sales force training process at the Swiss company Roche Pharmaceuticals identified four areas of collaboration, each of which comprises a certain number of collaborative tasks. The equivocality and complexity of these tasks should, however, be taken into account when considering information and communication technology (ICT) support. The authors developed a task-media fit matrix and used it to choose and justify the usage of certain information and communication technologies. The end result of this article is a reference model for the three layers of strategy, process, and ICT for e-collaboration within the dispersed sales force training process in multinational pharmaceutical companies. The authors also maintain that the task-media fit matrix can help both practitioners and researchers to either justify investments in e-collaboration tools or to evaluate ICT architectures in the field of e-collaboration.

Is More Technology Better for Communication in International Virtual Teams?

“…The Media Richness Theory (Daft et al, 1987) is an alternative to the Social Presence theory (Rice, 1992;King & Xia, 1997) and considers that the choice of the media depends on the adequacy of its richness to the characteristics of the task. Every collaborative task has to be analyzed regarding its complexity and the equivocality of the transferred information before it can be matched with a suitable medium that will support it (Heidecke & Back, 2008).…”

E-Collaboration Media Use and Diversity Perceptions

“…Media that support e-collaboration enable modern business-to-business commerce, electronic commerce, and supply chain management (Kock, 2005;Madlberger, 2009). E-collaboration media facilitate the formation of strategic partnerships (Choe, 2008) and global integration (Heidecke & Back, 2009) to competitively carry-out complex tasks (Reinig, Briggs, & de Vreede, 2009). Organizations that utilize e-collaboration can save time, money, and manpower (Ko, Olfman, & Choi, 2009).…”