The Road to Transformation. The Implementation of a Transformational Sales Programme in a Global Sales Organisation.

Abstract

As the external business environment changes, organisations need to change with them. Increasingly dynamic and complex markets, developments in technology, and paradigm shifts in best practices are examples of factors that constitute a pressure for change and underlines the importance of organisational adaptability as a competitive advantage. Change management within the complex environment of a world-wide MNC is difficult, and change management aiming to achieve a cultural transformation within such an environment, replacing a broad range of old practices with new ways, is nothing but a Herkules’ task. Nevertheless, broad-scale change management research in complex MNC environments is scarce, which is why this study sets out to investigate the implementation of a global transformational sales programme within the diverse sales organisation of SKF, a leading bearings and seals manufacturer. Through collecting and analysing 101 qualitative interviews, the paramount importance of the training institution's role and the organisational structure is highlighted and detailed, leaving the reader with well-founded theoretical and practical insights.