"I''d Like to Add you to my Professional Network: An Exploratory Look into the Effect of LinkedIn Usage on Sales Performance"
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: The present research takes a mixed methods approach to examining the use of social media by professional salespeople.The use of social media was elicited through depth interviews conducted with 25 B2B salespeople across various industries.The results indicated that salespeople use LinkedIn as their preferred social medium, with it seen primarily as a tool to conduct pre-sales call research and to develop relationships with customers post-sale.A structural equation model was developed based upon the results of the qualitative study and existing theory in information systems and sociology, including the technology adoption model (TAM), task-technology fit theory (TTF), and social capital theory.The results revealed that salespeople believe that using LinkedIn as a research tool helps them generate new customers.Additional analyses also reveal that for salespeople in the office products industry, the use of LinkedIn for conducting pre-sales call research leads to increases in perceived efficiency (input) and effectiveness (output), and its use for developing relationships with customers leads to an increase in perceived relationship performance.Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Author: Riley Dugan
Institution: University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2802005533