Sales Force Competence Management and Customer Satisfaction of Telecommunication Firms in Port Harcourt
Keywords:
Sales Force Competence Management, Customer Satisfaction, Sales Force Competence Planning, Sales Force Competence Development, Actual Patronage, Repeat PatronageAbstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between sales force competence management and customer satisfaction of telecommunication firms in Port Harcourt. This study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Information obtained from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC, 2022) reveals that there are four telecommunications’ service providers in Nigeria, and all four of them are operational in Port Harcourt. Since the population of the study consists of just four telecommunications firm, the study adopted the census sampling method in which all elements of the population constitute the sample size. We randomly administered a maximum of fifty copies of the questionnaire each to the telecoms’ outlets and service centres of the four registered and operational telecoms firms situated in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City Local Government Areas making a sample size of Two Hundred staff of the registered telecoms firms. Out of which one hundred and ninety-three were retrieved and used for the analysis. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was adopted as the test statistics for the hypotheses. The study found a significant relationship between the dimensions of sales force competence management and the measures of customer satisfaction. The study therefore concludes that a significant relationship exists between sales force competence management and customer satisfaction. The study recommends that efforts should be made by the management of the telecoms firms to ensure that issues such as service timelines, quality (both in content of service and quality of attendance to customers) and excellence are maintained and form a core of the business ideals and reputation. Also, in order to increase the likelihood of customers buying from them again, businesses can provide additional services that enhance the customer's experience and listen to and respond to consumer comments, recommendations, criticism, and complaints about the product or services being offered and provide timely response.
Downloads
References
Adler, P. S. (2018). Managing the flexible automation. California management review, 30 (3), 34-56.
Ahiauzu, A. I. (2016). The nature and fundamental principles of competency-based public service administration. Paper Presented at the Workshop on “Transformational Managerial Leadership in Competency - Based Public Service Administration: for Senior Civil.
Ambler, T. (2013). Marketing and the bottom line. London: Prentice Hall.
Armstrong, M. (2011). A handbook of human resources management. London: Kogan Page.
Asiegbu, I. F. (2019). Sales force competence management and marketing performance of industrial and domestic products firms in Nigeria. A Ph.D Dissertation Presented to the Postgraduate School, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt.
Ateke, B. W., & Iruka, C. H. (2015). Investigating the relationship between customer involvement management and marketing performance in the manufacturing industry. International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management, 2(9), 22-34.
Ateke, B. W., & Kalu, S. E. (2016). Collaborative marketing and business wellness of global system of mobile-communication (GSM) service providers in Nigeria. International Journal of Marketing and Communication Studies, 1(1), 14-26.
Barney, J. (2011). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99-120.
Bell, D. E., Keeney, R. L., & Little, J. D. (2018). A market share theorem. Journal of Marketing Research, 12(2), 10-17.
Blancero, D., Boroski, I., & Dyer, L. (2016). Key competencies for a transformed human resource organization: Results of a field study. Human Resource Management, 35, 383-403.
Brassington, F., & Pettitt, S. (2016). Principles of marketing. Chicago: Pearson Education.
Buzzell, R. D., Gale, B. T., & Sultan, R. G. (2015). Market share: A key to profitability. Harvard Business Review, 53, 97-106.
Cathrine, M. C. (2013). Effectiveness of training interventions and organizational characteristics on territory sales managers. Journal of Sales force Management, 1(2) , 44-87.
Chendall, R. H., & Langfield-Smith, K. (2017). Multiple perspectives of performance measures. European Management Journal, 25(4), 266-282.
Christopher, M., Payne, A., & Ballantyne, D. (2012). Relationship marketing: creating stakeholder value. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Conner, K. R., & Prahalad, C. K. (2016). A resource-based theory of the firm: knowledge versus opportunism. organization Science, 7(5), 477-501.
Dalrymple, D. J., Cron, W. L., & DeCarlo, T. E. (2014). Sales management. NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Defloor, A., Hecke, S. V., Verhaeghe, S., Gobert, M., Darras, E., & Grypdonck, M. (2016). The clinical nursing competences and their complexity in belgian general hospitals. Nursing and Healthcare Management and Policy, 669-678.
Development Zone Document (2018, February 9). HR. Retrieved from Done Document: www.zonedoc.org.
Donaldson, B. (2014). Sales management: Theory and practice. Basing Stoke: Macmillan.
Farris, P. W., Neil, T. B., Phillip, E. P., & David, J. R. (2010). Marketing metrics: The definitive guide to measuring marketing performance. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Fine, L., & Pullins, E. B. (2018). Peer mentoring dyads in the industrial salesforce: does gender matter? Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 18(4), 89-103.
Gremler, D. D., Gwinner, K. P., & Brown, S. W. (2011). Generating positive word-of-mouth communication through customer-employee relationships. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(1), 44-59.
Greve, H. R. (2013). Organizational learning from performance feedback. Cambridge,. UK: Cambridge University Press.
Grewal, D., & Levy, T. (2010). M - Marketing. Virginia: McGrawHiI.
Gunasekaran, A. H., Williams, J., & McCanghey, R. E. (2015). Performance measurement and costing system in new enterprise. Technovation, 25(5), 523-534.
Halim, A., & Ali, M. (2010). Training and professional development. Natural resource management and environmental department. Bangladesh: Mymensingh.
Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (2014). Competing for the future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. & Ogonu, G. C. (2022). Physical evidence and customer patronage for reengineering of fast food outlets in Port Harcourt. African Journal of Accounting, Finance and Marketing, 6(1), 156-170.
Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. & Ogonu, C. G. (2022). Customer perceived value and customer satisfaction of hotels in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. South Asian Journal of Marketing & Management Research (SAJMMR), 12(1-2), 75-93.
Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. & Ogonu, O. C. (2021). Customer Integration and Organizational Success of Multinational Firms in Rivers State. IIARD International Journal of Economics and Business Management, 7(3), 42-55.
Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. & Jaja, H. (2021). Product innovation and sales performance of consumers’ goods manufacturing firms in Rivers State. Kogi Journal of Management, 7(3), 72-85.
Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. (2019). Competitor focus and organisational effectiveness of money deposit banks in Port Harcourt. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Research, 5(2), 80-89.
Hanaysha, J. (2016). Examining the link between word of mouth and brand equity: A study on international fast food restaurants in Malaysia. Journal of Asian Business Strategy, 16(3), 41-49.
Heskett, I. L., Lones, T. O., Loveman, G. W., & Sasser, W. E. (2014). Putting the service-profit. Havard: Harvard business review.
Hogan, J. E., Lemon, K. N., & Libai, B. (2014). Quantifying the ripple: Word-of-mouth and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, 44(3), 271-280.
Hutt, M. D., & Speh, T. W. (2017). Business marketing management: B2B. Arizona: Thompson/South-Western.
Johansson, T. J., & Hurria, C. (2022, February 29). Competence management - The Swedish Way. Retrieved from Sihard: www.sighard.com.
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2013). Sales force management; Leadership, Innovation, Technology. New York: Routledge.
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2013). Salesforce management. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Klein, A. L. (2016). Validity and Reliability for Competency-Based Systems: Reducing Litigation Risks. Compensation and Benefits Review, 28, 31-37.
Landroguez, S. M., Castro, C. B., & Cepeda-Carrión, G. (2011). Creating dynamic capabilities to increase customer value. Management Decision, 49(7), 1141-1159.
Ley, T., Albert, D., & Lindstaedt, S. N. (2017). Connecting competence and performance in competency management: Modeling, assessment, validation and use. Journal of Silicia , 83-119.
Morgan, N. A., & Rego, L. L. (2016). The value of different customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics in predicting business performance. Marketing Science, 25(5), 426-439.
Ogonu, C. G. & Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. (2023). Driving customer loyalty through premiums: The experience of bottling companies in Rivers State. Nigerian Journal of Management Sciences, 24(1a), 67-74.
O’Sullivan, D., & Abela, A. V. (2017). Marketing performance measurement ability and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 71(2), 79-93.
Olusanyan, S. O., Awotungase, S. A., & Ohadebere, E. C. (2012). Training and development. A vital tool for organizational effectiveness. Journal of Business and Management, 6(2), 48-57.
Pfeffer, J. (2014). Competitive advantage through people. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Pont, M., & Shaw, R. (2013). Measuring marketing performance: A critique of empirical literature. Journal Business Research, 13(2), 153–172.
Prahalad, C. K. (2013). Development strategic capability: An agenda for top management. Human Resource Management, 22, 237-254.
Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (2010). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79-91.
Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (2010). The Core Competence of the Corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79-91.
Quartey, S. H. (2012). Effect of employee training on the perceived organizational oerformance: Acase study of the print –media industry in Ghana. European Journal of Business and Management, 4(15), 77-87.
Quy, V. T. (2014). The Impact of organizational responses to complaints on post purchase behavioural intentions via recovery satisfaction: The case of Saigon commercial bank. Strategic Management Quarterly, 2(2), 49-79.
Reich, R. B. (2011). The works of nations: Preparing ourselves for 21st century capitalism. New York: Knopf.
Rust, R., Ambler, T., Carpenter, G. S., Kumar, V., & Srivastava, R. K. (2014). Measuring marketing productivity: Current knowledge and future directions. Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 76-89.
Satendra, T., & Singh, A. P. (2011). Impact of service quality, customer satisfaction and trust on customer loyalty: A study with special reference to telecommunication company in Madhya Pradesh (India). Zenith International Journal of Business Economics and Management Research, 1(2), 66-78.
Scarbrough, H. (2018). Path (logical) dependency? Core competences from an organizations perspective. British Journal of Management, (9), 219-232.
Schoonover, S. C., Schoonover, H., Nemerov, D., & Ehly, C. (2010). Competency-Based HR applications: Results of a comprehensive survey, Arthur Andersen/ Schoonover/ SHRM.
Shaheen, A., Naqvi-Syed, M. H., & Atif-Khan, A. M. (2013). Employees training nd organizational performance: Mediation by employees performance. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business, 5(4), 490-503.
Shahid, J. T., Shams, U. R., & Khursheed, I. P. (2013). Effectiveness of sales force training in insurance companies. Abasyn Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), 32-41.
Simeon, B. & Hamilton-Ibama, E. L. (2022). Relationship marketing and customer satisfaction of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. RIK International Journal of Business and Management (RIK-IJBM), 6(1), 58-77.
Snell, S. A., & Dean, J. W. (2012). Integrated manufacturing and human resource management: a human capital perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 467-504.
Stanton, W. J., & Futrell, C. M. (2007). Fundamentals of marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill, Book Company.
Terblanche, N. S., Gerber, C., Erasmus, P., & Schmidt, D. (2013). A marketing perspective on the impact of financial and non-financial measures on shareholder value. SAJEMS, 16(2), 216-230.Vonkrogh, G., & Roos, J. (2015). A perspective on knowledge, competence and strategy. Personnel Review, 24(3), 56-76.
Wang, Y. L., & Hui, Y. V. (2017). The antecedents of service quality and product quality and their influences on bank reputation: evidence from banking industry in China. Managing service quality, 13(1), 72-83.
Woodruff, R. B. (2017). Customer value: The next source for competitive advantage. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25, 139-153.
Yim, F. H., Anderson, R. E., & Swaminathan, S. (2014). Customer relationship management: its dimensions and effect on customer outcomes. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 24(4), 263-278.
Youndt, M. A., Snell, S. A., & L., D. J. (2016). Human resource management, manufacturing strategy and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 836-866.
