eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

Objectives:

The growing service centered product ranges and ever increasing competition has led many researchers to study the topic of customer orientation and its different variations and underlying causalities in different industries. When customer orientation is pursued, several factors influencing ones behavior has to be taken into account. While the research has been often concentrating on evaluating the outcomes generated from customer oriented behavior, the motivation and possible influencers have been neglected. What has not been studied is how salespeople, especially in client acquisition department perceive customer orientation and how the external factors seem to affect. The purpose of this study is to examine how customer orientation is perceived by both the subordinates as well the managers in a Finnish new business acquisition compartment. Furthermore the study aims to find out perceptions are shared in selected sales teams.

Methodology:

Qualitative case study research was selected as the research method. In the empirical study, nine individuals from three different sales teams from a Finnish sales organization are interviewed. The interviewees are both subordinates (sales consultants and sales managers) and team leaders (managing directors).

Results:

The findings of the study indicates that the perceptions on customer orientation vary between individuals in new client acquisition department in a Finnish sales organization. The managerial and organizational influences were highly dependent on the individuals own intrinsic values and perceptions. The external factors were distinctly strengthened when supported by the preliminary perceptions of the individual.