@phdthesis{Lins2020,
  type      = {Master Thesis},
  author    = {Simon Lins},
  title     = {Effects of the digitalisation of sales processes on the sales force in the B2B environment},
  journal    = {Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung von Verkaufsprozessen auf den Au{\"s}endienst im B2B-Umfeld. Eine Fallstudie am Beispiel der Heizungsbranche in Mitteleuropa},
  doi       = {10.25924/opus-3702},
  pages     = {X, 116},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Throughout history, a variety of influences have changed the way we sell our products. Starting with the Industrial Revolution up to the first saturation phase in the 1970s. The question now arises as to whether the heating industry is currently back on an evolutionary development path with the increasing digitalisation of distribution. How the sales process in the B2B sector will change with increasing digitalisation and what effects this will have on sales personnel is only documented by a few sources which do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the craft or even the heating industry. This results in a research gap which is to be closed in the context of this thesis. The aim of this research project is to find out the effects of a further digitalisation of the sales process on the sales force in the defined environment of the heating industry in Central Europe. For this purpose the following research questions are asked: Which steps in the sales process in the heating industry in Central Europe should be digitalised? How will the digitalisation of the sales process affect the sales force in the heating industry in Central Europe? A case study, according to Yin was chosen as the research method. The data were collected by means of in-depth interviews and analysed qualitatively, according to Mayring. The increasing digitalisation will have a large effect on the sales force, tasks will disappear, new tasks will be added and new ones will replace conventional working methods. In summary, automation will simply make tasks superfluous, software tools will improve quality and increase efficiency, and personal selling will become a premium skill. Companies will try to automate as many backoffice activities as possible and reduce the number of office staff if necessary.},
  language  = {en}
}