THE EFFECT OF 21ST CENTURY COMPETENCIES (CRITICAL THINKING-PROBLEM SOLVING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP-INNOVATION AND INFORMATION-TECHNOLOGY LITERACY SKILLS) ON SALES PERFORMANCE

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 2, 90 - 112, 30.12.2023

Onur Kafadar , Serdar Suna

https://doi.org/10.54439/gupayad.1322033

Öz

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of 21st-century competencies (critical thinking-problem solving, entrepreneurship-innovation, and information-technology literacy) on sales performance. The sub-goal of the study was to evaluate the research in terms of demographic variables. Material and Method: The study was conducted face-to-face with an online survey and snowball sampling method. The sample of the research consisted of 179 participants working in the field of sales. The data were analyzed with the SPSS program. Findings: A statistically significant and positive relationship was found between sales performance and entrepreneurship and innovation skills, information and technology literacy skills. No statistically significant relationship was found between critical thinking and problem-solving skills and sales performance. Within the scope of the research, the most impact on sales performance was seen in entrepreneurship and innovation skills. Result: It is important to provide necessary training to employees in the field of sales, especially in providing them with entrepreneurship and innovation skills, and information and technology literacy skills. It may be helpful for managers and human resources departments to consider the skills included in the scope of work when selecting sales person. In addition, it may be recommended that the working environment of the enterprise be designed in a way that allows employees to use 21st-century competencies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Sales Performance, 21st Century Skills, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills, Knowledge and Technology Literacy Skills, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Skills

Proje Numarası

-

21. YÜZYIL YETKİNLİKLERİNİN (ELEŞTİREL DÜŞÜNME-PROBLEM ÇÖZME, GİRİŞİMCİLİK-İNOVASYON VE BİLGİ-TEKNOLOJİ OKURYAZARLIĞI BECERİLERİ) SATIŞ PERFORMANSINA ETKİSİ

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışmada, 21. yüzyıl yetkinliklerinin (eleştirel düşünme-problem çözme, girişimcilik-inovasyon ve bilgi-teknoloji okuryazarlığı) satış performansına etkisi açısından incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmanın alt amacı olarak araştırmanın demografik değişkenleri açısından değerlendirilmesi belirlenmiştir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma, online (çevrimiçi) anket ile yüzyüze ve kartopu örnekleme yöntemiyle gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemi satış alanında çalışmakta olan 179 katılımcıdan oluşturulmuştur. Veriler SPSS programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular: Satış performansıyla girişimcilik ve inovasyon becerileri, bilgi ve teknoloji okuryazarlığı becerileri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve pozitif bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Eleştirel düşünme ve problem çözme becerileriyle satış performansı arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişki bulunmamıştır. Araştırma kapsamında satış performansına en fazla etki girişimcilik ve inovasyon becerilerinde görülmüştür. Sonuç: Satış alanında çalışanlara özellikle girişimcilik ve inovasyon becerileri, bilgi ve teknoloji okuryazarlığı becerileri kazandırılması konusunda gerekli eğitimlerin verilmesi önemlidir. Yöneticilerin ve insan kaynakları çalışanlarının satış elemanı seçimlerinde çalışma kapsamına alınan becerileri de göz önünde bulundurmaları uygun işgören seçimi yapılması hususunda yardımcı olabilir. Ayrıca işletmenin çalışma ortamının çalışanların 21. yüzyıl yetkinliklerini kullanabilmesine imkan verecek şekilde tasarlanması önerilebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Satış Gücü Performansı, 21. Yüzyıl Yetkinlikleri, Eleştirel Düşünme ve Problem Çözme Becerileri, Bilgi ve Teknoloji Okuryazarlığı Becerileri, Girişimcilik ve İnovasyon Becerileri.

Destekleyen Kurum

-

Proje Numarası

-

Teşekkür

-

Kaynakça

• Aghazadeh, S. (2019). Assessment of 21st century skills. (NIE Working Paper Series No. 14). Singapore: National Institute of Education.
• Alpay, Y. (2017). Yalanın siyaseti (1. Baskı). İstanbul: Destek Yayınları.
• Altunışık, R., Coşkun, R., Bayraktaroğlu, S. ve Yıldırım, E., (2010). Sosyal bilimlerde araştırma yöntemleri spss uygulamalı (6. Baskı). Sakarya: Sakarya Yayıncılık.
• Altunışık, R., Özdemir, Ş. ve Torlak Ö., (2012). Modern pazarlama (5. Baskı). Sakarya: Değişim Yayınları Ananiadou, K., & Claro, M. (2009). 21st century skills and competences for new millennium learners in OECD countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 41, OECD Publishing http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/218525261154
• Aziz, A., (2013). Sosyal bilimlerde araştırma yöntemleri ve teknikleri (7. Baskı). Ankara: Nobel.
• Babu, R. R., Krishna, M. M., & Swathi, A. (2013). Role of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship. Innovative Journal of Business and Management, 2(5), 112-115.
• Beder N., (2021). Yöneticiler için yoldan çıkmanın el kitabı. Yıldız Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 5, 2, 145–153.
• Behrman, D. N., & Perreault, W. D. (1982). Measuring the performance of industrial salespersons. Journal of Business Research, 10(3), 355–370. doi:10.1016/0148-2963(82)90039-x
• Binkley, M., Erstad, O., Herman, J., Raizen, S., & Ripley, M. (2012). Defining 21st century skills. In P. Griffin, B. McGaw, & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (17–66). Dordrecht, Germany: Springer.
• Boyacı, Ş D., & Atalay, N. (2016). A scale development for 21st century skills of primary school students: a validity and reliability study. International Journal of Instruction, 9(1), 133-148. doi:10.12973/iji.2016.9111a
• Böttcher, K. S. (2019). 21st-century skills of marketing employees in the Netherlands: Examining marketing employees’ level of 21st-century skills and how work-related factors influence them (Bachelor's thesis). University of Twente.
• Bruce, C. S. (1999). Workplace experience of information literacy. The Seven Faces of Information Literacy, 19, 33-47, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0268-4012(98)00045-0
• Burrus, J., Jackson, T., Xi, N., & Steinberg, J. (2013). Identifying the most important 21st century workforce competencies: An analysis of the occupational ınformation network (O* NET). ETS Research Report Series, 2013(2), i-55. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2013.tb02328.x
• Casner-Lotto, J., & Barrington, L. (2006). Are they really ready to work? Employers' perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants to the 21st century US workforce. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 1 Massachusetts Avenue NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001.
• Cecilia M. O. Alvarez, Kimberly A. Taylor & Nancy A. Rauseo (2015) Creating thoughtful salespeople: Experiential learning to improve critical thinking skills in traditional and online sales education, Marketing Education Review, 25(3), 233-243, DOI: 10.1080/10528008.2015.1044859
• Chonko, L. B. (1993). Business school education: Some thoughts and recommendations. Marketing Education Review, 3(Summer), 1–9.
• Chonko, L. B., & Roberts, J. A. (1997). An innovative introduction to business course: Marketing the skills that marketing majors (and others) as business majors will need for success. Marketing Education Review, 7(Spring), 53–71.
• Cohen, J,W, (1988), Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, (2nd edn). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Coursera, (2020). Global skills index. Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/skills-reports/global
• Cummins, S., Nielson, B., Peltier, J. W., & Deeter-Schmelz, D. (2020). A critical review of the literature for sales educators 2.0. Journal of Marketing Education, 42(3), 198-216.
• Cummins, S., Peltier, J. W., Erffmeyer, R., & Whalen, J. (2013). A critical review of the literature for sales educators. Journal of Marketing Education, 35(1), 68-78.
• Çevik, M. & Şentürk C. (2019). Multidimensional 21th century skills scale: Validity and reliability study. Cypriot Journal of Educational Science. 14(1), 11-28.
• Dede, C. (2010). Comparing frameworks for 21st century skills. In J. Bellanca & R. Brandt (Eds.), 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn, 20, (51–76). Bloomington, USA: Solution Tree Press.
• Demirtürk, B., (2014). Duygu-mantık kullanımı ve satışçı performansı arasındaki ilişki. (Yüksek lisans tezi). İstanbul Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İstanbul. http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/TEZ/52537.pdf
• Edwards, J., Miles, M. P., D'Alessandro, S., & Frost, M. (2022). Linking B2B sales performance to entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial selling actions. Journal of Business Research, 142, 585-593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.12.074
• Erkut, E., (2017). Üniversite seçerken. İstanbul: Optimist Yayım Dağıtım.
• Finch, D., Nadeau, J., & O’Reilly, N. (2012). The future of marketing education: A practitioner’s perspective. Journal of Marketing Education, 35(1), 54–67.
• Gilbert, S., (2017). Information literacy skills in the workplace: Examining early career advertising professionals. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship, 22(2), 111-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/08963568.2016.1258938
• Gilbert, J. R., Krush, M. T., Trainor, K. J., & Wayment, H. A. (2022). The (quiet) ego and sales: Transcending self-interest and its relationship with adaptive selling. Journal of Business Research, 150, 326-338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.003
• Griffin, P., McGaw, B. & Care, E. (2012). Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills. Dordrecht, Germany: Springer.
• Good, V., Hughes, D.E. & Wang, H., (2022). More than money: establishing the importance of a sense of purpose for salespeople. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci., 50, 272–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-021-00795-x
• Hopkins, C. D., Raymond, M. R., & Carlson, L. (2011). Educating students to give them a sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Marketing Education, 33(3), 337–347.
• Ingram, T. N., LaForge, R. W., Avila, R. A., Schwepker Jr, C. H., & Williams, M. R. (2020). Sales management: Analysis and decision making. Routledge.
• İlhan, E., (2021). Satış elemanlarının kişilik özellikleri ve kişisel değerlerinin satış performansları üzerindeki etkisinin incelenmesi. (Yayınlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi). Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Bursa. https://acikerisim.uludag.edu.tr/handle/11452/21938.
• Joynes, C., Rossignoli, S., & Fenyiwa Amonoo-Kuofi, E. (2019). 21st Century Skills: Evidence of issues in definition, demand and delivery for development contexts (K4D Helpdesk Report). Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
• Karasar, N., (2017). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi kavramlar ilkeler teknikler (32. Baskı). Ankara: Nobel.
• Kashefpakdel, E., Newton, O., Clark, J., Rehill, J., Haskins, M., Laczik, A., ... & Taylor, J. (2018). Joint dialogue: How are schools developing real employability skills. Education and Employers, Edge Foundation and the National Education Union.
• Kirton, J., ve Barham, L. (2005). Information literacy in the workplace. The Australian Library Journal, 54, 4, 365-376. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2005.10721784
• Kramer, V. and Krafft, M. (2022). When and how information and communication technology orientation affects salespeople’s role stress: the interplay of salesperson characteristics and environmental complexity. European Journal of Marketing, 57(3), 659-682. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-11-2021-0917
• Levin, M. A. & Peterson, L., T., (2016). A Sales Representative Is Made: An Innovative Sales Course. Marketing Education Review, 26(1), 39-44, DOI: 10.1080/10528008.2015.1091671
• Locander, D. A., Darrat, M. A., & Babin, B. J. (2023). Examining the impact of salesperson orientation on creative selling, passive deviance, and organizational outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113391
• Lor, C. (2021). 21st Century Skills in the Workplace: An analysis of a small-range Graphic Communications business (Doctoral dissertation). University of Wisconsin—Stout.
• Mehta, R. (2019). February 14). Sales in the 21st century. Medium. Erişim adresi: https://rushabh-mehta.medium.com/sales-in-the-21st-century-362500ce605d Erişim tarihi: 20.09.2023
• Middleton, L., Hall, H., Muir, L., & Raeside, R. (2018). The interaction between people, information and innovation: Information literacy to underpin innovative work behaviour in a Finnish organisation. Proceedings of the association for information science and technology, 55(1), 367-376. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2018.14505501040
• Nalbantoğlu, C. B. (2021). 2020 küresel beceriler endeksinde 21. yüzyıl becerileri değerlendirmesi. Ulakbilge Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 9(56), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.7816/ulakbilge-09-56-02
• Neubert, J., Mainert, J., Kretzschmar, A., & Greiff, S. (2015). The assessment of 21st century skills in industrial and organizational psychology: complex and collaborative problem solving. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(2), 238-268. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2015.14
• OECD. (2005). The definition and selection of key competencies executive summary. Paris: OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/35070367.pdf
• Oluç, M. (2006). Temel pazarlama kavramları. İstanbul: Beta Yayıncılık.
• O’Neil, H. F., & Chuang, S. H. (2008). Measuring collaborative problem solving in low-stakes tests. In E. L. Baker, J. Dickieson, W. Wulfeck & H. F. O’Neil (Eds.), Assessment of Problem Solving Using Simulations (177–199). New York, USA: Routledge.
• Orero-Blat, M., Jordán, H. D. J., & Palacios-Marqués, D. (2022). A literature review of causal relationships in 21st century skills and digital leadership. International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics, 12(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSOI.2022.123567
• Öner, A. L. (2009). Satışın yeni kuralları (2nd ed.). İstanbul: Matsis Matbaa Hizmetleri A.Ş.
• Özaydın, E. (2020). Örgütsel yenilikçilik ve pazarlama yenilik stratejilerinde pazarlama yöneticilerinin bireysel becerilerinin rolü (Yayınlanmamış doktora tezi). Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
• Özdamar, K., (2017). Ölçek ve test geliştirme yapısal eşitlik modellemesi (2. Baskı). Eskişehir: Nisan Kitabevi.
• Özkan, Ö. ve Kaya, Ş. Ş. (2015). Bilimsel makalede “sınırlılıklar” neden ve nasıl yazılır. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin, 14(6), 496-505.
• Pallant, J. (2017). SPSS kullanma kılavuzu: SPSS ile adım adım veri analizi. (Çev: S. Balcı ve B. Ahi). Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık.
• Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). Framework definitions. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/documents/P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf
• Peesker, K. M., Kerr, P. D., Bolander, W., Ryals, L. J., Lister, J. A., & Dover, H. F. (2022). Hiring for sales success: The emerging importance of salesperson analytical skills. Journal of Business Research, 144, 17-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.070
• Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy E. J. (2013). Pazarlamanın temelleri bir pazarlama stratejisi planlama yaklaşımı (13. Baskı) (Çev ed.: A. G. Önce). Ankara: Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
• Pink, D. H. (2013). Satışın yeni kuralları (İ. Büyükdevrim Özçelik, Çev.). Mediacat. (Original work published 2012).
• Raish, V. & Rimland, E. (2016). Employer perceptions of critical information literacy skills and digital badges. College & Research Libraries, 77(1), 87-113. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.77.1.87
• Rank, J., Pace, V. L., & Frese, M. (2004). Three avenues for future research on creativity, innovation, and initiative. Applied psychology, 53(4), 518-528.
• Rao, V. G. (2010). Training sales professionals: Challenges in the 21st Century. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 4(1), 68-74.
• Rios, J. A., Ling, G., Pugh, R., Becker, D., & Bacall, A. (2020). Identifying critical 21st-century skills for workplace success: A content analysis of job advertisements. Educational Researcher, 49(2), 80–89. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19890600
• Saniuk S., Grabowska S., & Gajdzik B. (2020). Personalization of products in the industry 4.0 concept and its impact on achieving a higher level of sustainable consumption. Energies, 13(22):5895. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13225895
• Santos, B. P., Charrua-Santos, F., & Lima, T. M. (2018, July). Industry 4.0: an overview. In Proceedings of the World Congress on engineering (Vol. 2, pp. 4-6). London, UK: IAEN.
• Schendzielarz, D., Alavi, S., & Guba, J. H. (2022). The impact of salespeople’s social media adoption on customer acquisition performance–a contextual perspective. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2022.2033624
• Somerville, M. M., & Howard, Z. (2008). Systems thinking: An approach for advancing workplace information literacy. The Australian Library Journal, 57, 3, 257-273.
• Stevens, J. (1996). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (3rd edn.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Sujan, H., Weitz, B. A., & Kumar, N. (1994). Learning orientation, working smart, and effective selling. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299405800303
• Şentürk, G. C. (2014). Eleştirel düşünme eğitiminin müzik eğitiminde performansa etkisi. Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 1(4), 43-56, https://doi.org/10.30803/adusobed.188824
• Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Usinig multivariate statistics (6th edn.). Boston: Pearson Education.
• Tan, J. P. L., Choo, S. S. L., Kang, T., & Liem, G. A. D. (2017). Educating for twentyfirst century competencies and future-ready learners: Research perspectives from Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(4), 425–436.
• Tek, Ö., B. ve Özgül, E. (2005). Modern Pazarlama İlkeleri (1. Baskı). İzmir: Birleşik Matbaacılık.
• Tokol, T. (2010). Pazarlama Araştırması (13 Baskı). Bursa: Dora.
• Trier, U. (2003). Twelve countries contributing to DeSeCo: A summary report. In D. Rychen, L. Salganik, & M. McLaughlin (Eds.), Definition and selection of key competences. Contributions to the second DeSeCo symposium, (7–59). Neuchatel: Swiss Federal Statistical Office.
• Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st Century Skills: Learning for life in our times. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
• Ültay, N., Dönmez Usta, N. & Ültay, E. (2021). Descriptive content analysis of studies on 21st century skills. SDU International Journal of Educational Studies, 8(2), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.33710/sduijes.895160
• Van Laar, E., van Deursen, A. J. A. M., van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & de Haan, J. (2018). 21st century digitalskills instrument aimed at working professionals: Conceptual development and empirical validation. Telematics and Informatics, 35(8), 2184-2200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.08.006
• Vista, A. (2020). Data-driven identification of skills for the future: 21st-century skills for the 21st-century workforce. Sage Open, 10(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020915904
• Voogt, J., & Roblin, N. P. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(3), 299–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2012.668938
• Vukmirović, V., Domazet, I., & Pavlović, D. (2021). Development of 21st century skills as a response to youth unemployment. In: International Scientific Conference Strategic Management and Decision Support Systems in Strategic Management. Faculty of Economics, Subotica, pp. 80-87. ISBN 978-86-7233-396-1
• Wagner, T. (2014). Global achievement gap: Why even our best schools don't teach the new survival skills our children need--and what we can do about it (3. Ed.). New York: Basic Books
• WEF, World Economic Forum (2019). The global competitiveness index 4.0 2019 dataset. Cologny/Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2019/
• WEF, World Economic Forum (2020a). The future of jobs report 2020. Cologny/Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf
• WEF, World Economic Forum (2020b). Jobs of tomorrow: Mapping opportunity in the new economy report 2020. Cologny/Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved from https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2020.pdf
• Yelamanchili, R. K. (2019). Impact of supportive leadership on perceived sales team cohesion: mediation of critical thinking and moderation of empowerment. International Journal of Business Excellence, 18(4), 508-526.
• Yerdekalmazer, M. (2021). Akıllı Ol Beyaz Yakanın 50 Tonu. Flu Tv, Erişim adresi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwETeC6Vuw&ab_channel=FluTV
• Yükselen, C., (2010). Satış yönetimi. Ankara: Detay Yayıcılık.
• Zhang, X., Majid, S., & Foo, S. (2014). Exploring workplace experiences of information literacy through environmental scanning process. In Library and information science research in Asia-Oceania: theory and practice, 124-140. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-5158-6.ch008
• Zhou, J. (2022). Contribution of social media use and cultural intelligence of salesperson to customer qualification skills, adaptive selling behaviors and sales performance: The case of export salespersons in China (Doctoral dissertation). National Institute of Development Administration.