The associate professor of management information systems co-presented a paper exploring the use of technology and its impact on women empowerment in the direct selling channel.
Haya Ajjan, associate professor of management information systems in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and director of the Center for Organizational Analytics, presented a co-authored paper on the use of technology and its impact on empowerment at the 2018 INFORMS Society for Marketing Science (ISMS) conference.
The paper’s abstract:
“‘Empowerment’, is the process that enables “oppressed persons to gain more control over their lives by becoming part of activities and structures that allow them increased involvement in matters which impacts them directly” (Bystydzienski, 1992, p3). According to The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Oxfam South Africa, one in five South African women older than 18 has experienced domestic violence, and three women die at the hands of their partner every day (2017). There has been some insight into the role Information and communication technologies (ICT) plays in mitigating the problems that oppressed groups face, but there is limited work specific to the ways ICT use may alleviate women entrepreneurs oppression. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature by exploring how ICTs impact different aspects of women empowerment in the direct selling channel. Direct Sellers use online social and mobile Apps to connect, learn, and share information with their customers and with other direct sellers, and in doing so, they define themselves as active agents in their communities. Using a survey of 244 direct sellers in South Africa, findings suggest that, in general, ICT use does enhance the women’s ability to increase their goal internalization, perceived control, competence, and their perceived impact on their direct selling business. Interestingly, this relationship intensifies for women who have been subjected to abusive behavior. Results provide insights into the value of understanding ICT role in leading positive changes in the empowerment of women entrepreneurs.”
Additionally, a second paper co-authored by Ajjan was presented at the conference. Dana Harrison, East Tennessee State University, presented her joined work with Ajjan and Anne Coughlan, Northwestern University, on understanding social media sentiment, positioning and engagement, and their impact on sales performance.
The paper’s abstract:
“Digital platforms have disrupted traditional distribution channels; increasing exposure to social networks and altering salesperson interactions. Independent sales consultants in direct selling (DS) channels in particular are increasingly operating in a digitally connected marketplace where social media based fan pages have become an important online information source for consultants and consumers. Although the number of DS consultants has steadily grown, DS firms experience considerable annual turnover. Despite this, DS companies make significant investments in their consultants and depend upon their relationship and performance for long term success. Interest in understanding the role of social media in DS value creation is therefore of strong interest. This study uses a novel respondent matched dataset consisting of 176 sales people from a single DS firm, which integrates a variety of data types (structured, unstructured, subjective, and objective) from three different sources: sales consultants’ and consumers’ interactions on a Facebook fan page over 5 year period; a consultant survey; and objective sales performance data provided by the DS company. Using PLS SEM, this research investigates how affective dimensions (positive or negative sentiment) of exchanged Facebook online messages, social network characteristics (relational and positional centrality), and online engagement through “likes” and “shares” are related to organizational survey perceptions and objective sales performance. Results provide insights into the value of understanding social media network positioning, message sentiment and engagement, as well as the relationship to sales performance and consultants’ satisfaction.”
The ISMS Marketing Science annual conference brings together leading marketing scholars, practitioners and policy makers with a shared interest in rigorous scientific research on marketing problems.