Emerging issues in sales forecasting and decision support systems

There are two distinct groups of emerging issues in the area of sales forecasting and decision support systems: methodological issues and implementational issues. This paper discusses each of them. The discussion of implementational issues includes some results of a survey of forecasting practice. The paper serves as a preface to the special section on sales forecasting and decision support systems and introduces the papers included in the special section.     

The Interplay of Emotion Regulation and Sales Experience in Salesperson Conflicts: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

ABSTRACT

It is human nature that personal interactions are often charged with emotions and laden with conflicts. Workplace encounters are not immune from this reality. Despite this, few studies have examined ways to reduce interpersonal conflict in the workplace. This study examines the interpersonal impact of emotion regulation on salesperson relationships with stakeholders. Using structural equation modeling, results of the analysis showed that salesperson's regulation of emotions was negatively related to interpersonal conflict with co-workers as well as with customers; and positively impacted customer-oriented sales behaviors. The results also support the moderating role of selling experience in the relationship between emotion regulation and interpersonal conflict with customers. That is, the negative relationship between regulation and conflict with customers is stronger for salespeople with lower sales experience. These findings put forward important managerial implications with regard to the recruitment and training of sales professionals.     

The Positive Effect of Motivation and International Orientation on SME Growth

This empirical study on small and medium‐sized enterprise growth investigates the relationship between motivation for growth, international orientation, and subsequent performance by following 247 firms over 11 years. Using a combination of regression analysis and structural equation modeling, the authors find the international orientation of the firm to be a consistent predictor of growth in revenue and exports. The authors also find the international orientation of the firm to be closely interrelated with motivation for growth: Firms with managers and owners having a strong motivation for growth tend also to have managers with high international orientation and display superior growth both domestically and abroad. Whereas motivation seems independent of past performance, it has a profound positive influence on the growth in revenue. Moreover, the findings reveal that some firms are able to sustain high growth rates over an extended period of time. The study supports the contention that some firms are able to systematically outperform the rest.     

The emergence of the 'accountant' in the institutions of Ancient Egypt

This paper examines the emergence of, and the roles played by accountants in some of the institutions of ancient Egypt. The paper documents evidence relating to the importance of the scribal occupation compared to other occupations available to the young Egyptians, and traces the emergence and functioning of scribal schools in which the pupils learned how to read and write and how to master numerical skills. Thereafter, the paper provides some illustrative examples of the diverse activities of the scribes in accounting for both the public (state) and private economic domains. The paper argues that right from the dawn of the dynastic era in Egypt (3000 B.C.) by dint of placing themselves at the centre of economic relations, the scribes (accountants) were among the most esteemed in society and the scribal occupation was one of the most prestigious occupations. The paper also argues that accounting then, just as it remains today, held a central position in the economic, social and political settings throughout the long and illustrious history of ancient Egypt.     

Organisational change, outsourcing and the impact on management accounting

New empirical evidence is presented on organisational change, outsourcing and the impact on management accounting in three types of organisations: private sector companies, the National Health Service and Local Authorities. Spearman rank correlations are used to examine three propositions: that (i) change in organisational form exists and may be related to an increased use of outsourcing or subcontracting; (ii) outsourcing is expected to improve organisational flexibility and/or the service of an activity, to lead to cost savings, or to allow the organisation to focus more clearly on its core business; and (iii) outsourcing promotes change in management accounting. Statistical support is found for each of our three propositions. This is further supported by reference to three illustrative case studies. Overall, we conclude that organisational change, as effected by the use of outsourcing, is related to specific changes in the organisations' management accounting systems.