A theory of predictive sales analytics adoption

Abstract

Given the pervasive ubiquity of data, sales practice is moving rapidly into an era of predictive analytics, using quantitative methods, including machine learning algorithms, to reveal unknown information, such as customers’ personality, value, or churn probabilities. However, many sales organizations face difficulties when implementing predictive analytics applications. This article elucidates these difficulties by developing the PSAA model—a conceptual framework that explains how predictive sales analytics (PSA) applications support sales employees’ job performance. In particular, the PSAA model conceptualizes the key contingencies governing how the availability of PSA applications translates into adoption of these applications and, ultimately, job performance. These contingencies determine the extent to which sales employees adopt these applications to revise their decision-making and the extent to which these updates improve the decision outcome. To build the PSAA model, we integrate literature on predictive analytics and machine learning, technology adoption, and marketing capabilities. In doing so, this research provides a theoretical frame for future studies on salesperson adoption and effective utilization of PSA.

The Future of Research on International Selling and Sales Management

“…Going beyond traditional customer surveys often used to gauge international customer perceptions and attitudes, future research should identify novel and distinct approaches to expand international market research methods. This can be extended to figuring out ways to exploit and implement sales analytics (e.g., Habel, Alavi, and Heinitz 2023) to predict international customer behaviors and outcomes. Along these lines, with the unfolding of different types of artificial intelligence (AI), such as generative AI, research can examine how managers can use machine learning algorithms to reveal unknown information about their international customers’ personalities, values, or churn estimates (Habel, Alavi, and Heinitz 2022).…”

Guest editorial: Value-creating sales and digital technologies

“…Failure rates of up to 70% indicate that the majority of these digital initiatives fail (Hatami et al, 2018). Thus, implementing digital technologies reflects a substantial challenge for sales organizations and their salespeople (Denning, 2021;Guenzi and Nijssen, 2021;Habel et al, 2023a).…”

“…While there are initial conceptual and industry-specific studies on how digitization affects the transformation process from product-centered to value-creating business models (Bustinza et al, 2018;Kamalaldin et al, 2020;Tronvoll et al, 2020;Vendrell-Herrero et al, 2017), prior research is mostly silent on the role of digitalization for value-creating sales. Although the sales literature offers more advanced insights into how digitalization affects the sales function (Ahearne et al, 2005;Habel et al, 2023aHabel et al, , 2023bHohenberg and Homburg, 2019;Rapp et al, 2010), it remains limited as numerous important questions remain unanswered (Singh et al, 2019). Thus, sales organizations operating or aiming to transition to valuecreating business models should particularly benefit from greater clarity on how digital technologies can engender a sales organization's creation of customer value by the sales function.…”

Integrating technology within the sales-service ecosystem: the emergent sales techno-ecosystem

“…However, over one-third (33%) of technology specialists believe that the complexities associated with technology implementation can extend project timelines by four to seven months (Fadilpašić, 2022). Additionally, a critical concern arises from the willingness of sales personnel to adopt these innovations, directly impacting a firm’s return on investment (Habel et al , 2023; Hunter and Perreault, 2007).…”

“…Drawing upon Hunter and Perreault's (2007) definition, sales technology (ST) encompasses the spectrum of information technology tools that facilitate or enable sales processes. This approach helps align the proposed framework seamlessly with impactful (Agnihotri et al , 2012; Agnihotri et al , 2017; Hunter and Panagopoulos, 2015; Ogilvie et al , 2018; Onyemah et al , 2010; Rapp et al , 2012) and emergent ST research (Habel et al , 2023; Kalra et al , 2023; Kramer and Krafft, 2023). Semantically, the perspective on sales technology does not imply that using technology assures some outcome (e.g.…”