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Show moreBuying decisions surrounding complex, transformational software are not made by individuals but instead by buying teams. Existing research on sales behavior and salesperson traits focuses on one-to-one selling and gives little insight into the training and selection required of a successful sales force. This paper describes the selling style and personal traits of twelve successful salespeople engaged in complex computer software sales to buying teams. What do successful salespeople do and what is it about him/her that distinguishes the most successful? Technology Frames of Reference and Actor Network Theory were used to interpret the methods used in successfully selling to a buying team. Emotional and cognitive intelligence traits of top performers were identified. The results indicate behavior different to that predicted by the literature. There was no evidence that salespeople attempt to create a shared Frame of Reference or that they focus on classic sales ideas such as negotiation or personal relationships. To flourish in complex software sales to buying teams, successful salespeople strive to manage the interactions between members of the buying team; assembling and disassembling the network of relationships to maximize support. The emotional and cognitive intelligences evident in the top performers were consistent with the literature on one-to-one selling however further research on which combinations are the true discriminators is needed. The practices used by successful salespeople can be used as a learning model for new and developing salespeople. Knowing which traits predict superior performance allows a priori selection in the hiring process.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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Show moreTheories of technological change are generally constructed based on assumptions that the technological artifact is a member of a historical line of technological advance (trajectory and evolutionary theories) or that novel technological developments simply "happen" (happenstance theories). Where a more constructivist view is taken technological change is assumed to be a social construct driven by the societal elements of human relationships and initiative. This paper takes a different approach to technological change positing that a combination of social structure and human agency act in a recursive manner to push a technological artifact forward. Using Anthony Giddens' structuration theory as the foundation for framing the analysis, two software technolgies are examined to determine how they became. Human agency and organizational structure are observed and support is developed for the idea that the process of technological becoming is a recursive process whereby human agents are continuously confronted by the constraints imposed by their social setting and it is through their knowledgeable actions to address these constraints that success or failure for the artifact arises. The study also provides initial support for the idea that technological closure, as posited by the Social Construction of Technology school of artifactural becoming, does not occur. It is observed that the becoming process never ends and that constant attention from informed agents is required throughout a technology's life for that technology to maintain a position of "existence." This is a preliminary study that provides the beginning of a foundation upon which future research may be constructed. Particularly, additional work in the area of key parameters in the recursive process of becoming could lead to an empirical model of the becoming process that reflects characteristics of dynamic system theory and that might provide a tool for practitioners to make directionally sound decisions about new technological developments.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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Show moreUnemployment is rapidly becoming an American epidemic of social, political and economic crisis, even more so for ?at risk? groups such as older workers. This study focuses on issues and factors surrounding chronic under-employment, unemployment and even un-employability of our older workforce in America. As the American ?social contract? i.e. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are under enormous strain; much will be at stake as America deals with how social, societal, political, educational, legal and economic institutions handle this very complicated and multi-facetted issue? answering the question? ?Will Americans over 50 be our next lost generation?? This study analyzed qualitative data through grounded theory techniques. Respondents reported the importance of family as well as the utilization of relational networks to help bridge the gap between the trauma of unemployment and the successful attainment of replacement occupations. Participant?s data also reported that time out of work had a significant impact on the likelihoods of job search success, with one year out of work being a particularly important temporal event. Additionally, respondents reported that a significant amount of trauma was associated with the sudden and many times irreparable separation from the ?work family?. Not surprisingly, the impact of ageism on the job search was reported as being a substantial concern among those over 50. Key implication from this study point to the need for individuals to refocus on maintenance and even reestablishment of family and relational networks; as the hectic pace of our lives and the distance from our families grows, many times these networks are strained and even severed. In particular, there is a need for individuals to establish a modern and evolved framework (Promethean Life Engagement Practices) to serve as the foundation for managing the ?new reality?; a reality involving near constant economic disruption, convulsion and upheaval that will surely face national and global economies in the decades to come.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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Show moreNearly 50% of the U.S. population is described as always on, always present, and always connected, with the label always-on connected consumers (AOCCs) emerging as one of the most popular in practice. This consumer group is a powerful and influential part of the U.S. economy that will continue to grow and influence retailing even more than it does today. To better understand the shopping behavior of this group, we interviewed 40 hyper-digital men and women age 18 and 65 and collected more than 200 stories about their positive and negative shopping experiences. The findings describe who these consumers are and why relevant marketing communication matters. Seven dynamic shopping/shopper identities are also identified, raising questions about traditional customer segmentation using profiles and personas. Last, three contradictions voiced around privacy, online reviews, and retailer hospitality are discussed. Together, the study’s six findings have implications for retail executives as they continue to shift marketing dollars away from traditional efforts and toward digital ones to more efficiently target and reach consumers and invest in new growth strategies and digital initiatives. They also provide insights for new academic research. Keywords: always-on connected consumer (AOCC), retail, retailing, online shopping, digital commerce, e-commerce, shopping, shopping behavior, digital marketing, customer engagement, omni-channel, marketing relevance, consumer behavior, dynamic shopping/shopper identities, marketing communication, customer segmentation
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Show moreThe paper illustrates the application of Pierre Bourdieu's oeuvre to a qualitative research project regarding organizational change. Considerable attention is given to the interaction of field delineation, capital stakes struggle, interests, and individual/class habitus at both a church and a medical college. It is posited that a focus on field analysis considers the sources of capital struggle in a given realm. This, in turn, grants a researcher a new way to analyze who participates in these struggles, what prized capital stimulates interest, and how action and prctices are subsequently engendered. This body of work suggests that agents and/or classes have the ability to disassemble and reassemble their social world by collectively strategizing to create or obtain legitimacy. Class habitus tended to attract similarities and repel differences, based on individual/class/field "fit". A "fit" was apt to generate a collective dynamism, while a disconnect tended to cast off outliers, voluntarily or involuntarily. Additionally, embedded dichotomies were used to enhance power relations, distinctiveness, domination, and differences. Prized capital was defined through a process of struggle and negotiation, resulting in its creation, conveyance, appropriation, and consumption. Practice and action arose from the capital form and volume available to agents, habitus, and the opportunities or constraints afforded by the field. I offer a reproduction and production model, which supports change processes, despite the anchoring potential of habitus. The model posits that there is continuity and reporoduction in social practices; but the potential exists for transformation as a result of a recapitalization process. Once capital stakes change, the identity of a field transforms. This ultimately affects what can be claimed as distinctive and legitimate by substantiating reigning dichotomies and creating a new foundation of continuity for each organization. The new plateau of stability paralleled each organization's old stability; accordingly returning to their roots of core identity and deep structure. Elements of the model are illustrated and implications discussed. Bourdieu's concept of field homologies sugges that a model such as this can potentially contribute to the study of organziations, businesses and management, since their existence is predicated upon ongoing schemes concerning relations and capital.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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