Title: Salesforce control systems: a review of studies

Authors: Zoha Fatima

Addresses: School of Business, Galgotias University, Gautam Budh Nagar, UP – 203201, India

Abstract: Salesforce is one of the main assets of any organisation. As salesforce is controlled by a control system, it is important to know what kind of impact a salesforce control system has on the salesforce. This paper contributes to the salesforce control literature by providing a comprehensive review based on research published in the area of salesforce control system in the last 43 years (1975-2018). The objectives of this review are to examine the chronological trends in the area of salesforce control system research in terms of research focus, research methods, research type, geographical region, etc. Most of the studies included in our review have concluded that the salesforce control systems (behaviour-based and outcome-based) have different impact on salesforce characteristics, sales territory design, salesforce performance and sales organisation effectiveness. The study has important implications for sales organisations.

Keywords: salesforce control system; behaviour-based control; outcome-based control; salesforce performance; sales organisation effectiveness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.113466

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2021 Vol.23 No.2, pp.188 - 225

Received: 02 Apr 2019
Accepted: 26 Jul 2019
Published online: 05 Mar 2021 *

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