Factors impacting salespeople performance : an empirical study of the pharmaceutical industry of Malaysia

Abstract

Among the major components of the health sector in Malaysia, pharmaceutical industry is a key constituent. Owing to its strong ability in the production of generic drugs, the pharmaceutical industry carries high growth potential domestically as well as in the export sector. The effectiveness of the sales force is a high priority area for the Pharmaceutical industry due to the pressure to achieve maximum return on investment. The desire to enhance share in the market and to become the favoured pharmaceuticals supplier is a constant stimulus for the management of pharmaceutical companies. This thesis examines the factors that affect the performance of salespersons in the pharmaceutical industry. The impact of five variables on salesperson performance are examined, namely, the effect of sales skills, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The research methodology is primarily quantitative, based on the analysis of survey results from sales employees of selected companies in the Malaysian Pharmaceutical industry. SPSS and AMOS statistics software package was used to conduct the data analysis. To extract and select the factors behind the measured variables of interest, factor analysis was done. To investigate the variables and the fitness of the proposed model, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed. A significant positive impact was found of job satisfaction, extrinsic motivation, organizational commitment and sales skills on salesperson’s performance. It was also found that the influence of intrinsic motivation was not significant on salesperson’s performance. The results of this thesis will provide an analysis of the impact of each factor on the performance of sales personnel in the Pharmaceutical industry in Malaysia.