| The purpose of this study is to understand factors affecting sales force automation technology (SFA) usage by salespeople. Our study differs from previous research by (1) understanding the consequences of task complexity on role perceptions and technology usage, (2) understanding the negative repercussions of SFA technology on the user, and (3) assessing the moderating effect of goal orientation on salesperson response to SFA technology. We tested our hypotheses using responses from 150 salespeople from an organization. The results suggest that integration of SFA technology induces adverse role perceptions in salespeople. However, learning goal orientation alleviates role stress due to SFA technology. Controlling for extraneous variables, effort was significantly related to salespeople's usage of technology. Key implications for theory and practice are discussed. |
