Sales Training Practices in Malaysia
研究了马来西亚本土与跨国公司在初始销售培训实践上的差异，包括需求确定、目标设定、培训方法、内容、培训师类型和时长，对国际企业管理者有参考价值。
This study examines the Initial sales training practices of global and local firms in Malaysia. Data were collected via self-administered questionnaires to 100 global and 100 local managers in the state of Selangor and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Response rates obtained were 52% and 53%, respectively. The groups differed statistically In the areas of: needs determination, objective setting, program methods, program content, trainer types, and training duration. Findings, managerial implications and suggestions for future research are presented. In today's world, global business firm operations span national borders, which create challenges when cross-culturally transferring managerial and sales skills. It is essential for global firms to train overseas sales teams to effectively sell their products while meeting the diverse cultural needs of global consumers (Honeycutt, Ford, and Kurtzman 1996). However, global firms must not impose parent-country training programs on distant operations. Rather, most cross-cultural training must be flexible and appropriate for each distinct culture (Selmer 2000). The development of appropriate global training strategies is a major determinant of success in international business (Forster 2000). LITERATURE REVIEW/PURPOSE In a world made smaller by electronic communication, businesses often consider the global marketplace to be a single domain and make policies accordingly (Selmer 2000). Sometimes this occurs when programs-such as sales training--are transferred to developing nations. In the global market, as seen in Figure 1, cross-- cultural training issues that focus on marketing and sales areas, have both high cultural implications (soft issues) and high business implications. Global business activities, like sales training, necessitate combining both hard and soft areas (Funakawa 1997). This study focuses on the practical sales training differences between local and global firms in the Malaysian marketplace. Malaysia, an emerging nation composed of a Moslem Malay majority and minority Confucian Chinese citizens, is located at the hub of Southeast Asia. Prevailing economic disparities led the Malaysian Government to formulate hiring policies that require 30% Malay employees in the active work force (Seventh Malaysian Plan 1996). While Malaysians generally exist in harmony, each ethnic group lives with their own subcultural values, customs, and traditions (Putti 1989). In support, Hofstede (1991) describes Malaysia as being high in collectivism and very high in power distance. Because Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and collectivist society, no clear style of management has been discovered (Abroad 2001). Such cultural issues as power distance can complicate workplace interactions, especially when training is conducted (Hofstede 1984). Studies about international sales management-to include sales training-- have received scant attention from marketing scholars (Honeycutt and Ford 1995). Most empirical global sales research has focused on standardization and localization of sales training programs (Honeycutt et al. 1999), perceptions about key sales training practices (Erffmeyer et al. 1993), and sales training program evaluation (Honeycutt et al. 2001). As a result, little is known about the sales training practices of global and local firms in emerging nations. To date, only two empirical research studies have been conducted in China, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia, (Honeycutt et al. 1999; Erffmeyer et al. 1993). Based upon the results of these studies, the expectation is that sales training practices will differ between local and global firms. Thus, the purpose of this study is to compare the sales training practices of global and local firms in the emerging nation of Malaysia. RESEARCH QUESTIONS To achieve the above purpose, two research questions are addressed: RQ1: What are the similarities and differences of current sales training practices practiced by local and global companies in Malaysia? …