Assessing the Impact of Back Office Process Maturity on Frontline Sales Performance: Evidence from the Mutual Fund Industry of Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63516/Keywords:
Back Office Process Maturity, Sales Performance, Mutual Funds, Pakistan, CMMI, SERVQUAL, Operational Efficiency, Digital Transformation, Financial Services, Qualitative ResearchAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of back office process maturity on frontline sales performance within the mutual fund industry of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach: This study uses data from 28 participant interviews to conduct a thematic analysis on back office operations managers, sales operations managers, and senior company officials from 12 mutual funds authorized to operate by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). This study uses the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and the Service Quality Gap Model (SERVQUAL) as theoretical bases for the analysis.
Findings: This study identifies bottlenecks in back office operations such as delays in account processing, manual errors in documentation, and inefficient compliance with regulations. The study shows that having back office processes at a higher maturity level results in better alignment of service delivery and timeliness to customer expectation, resulting in better sales closure ratios and customer trust.
Implications: To overcome the back office-sales disconnect in Pakistan's rapidly changing asset management environment, mutual funds need to focus on digital back office transformation and automation, backed by cross-dependent operations.
Originality/value: This study adds value to the field of operational management by extending to the developing country context the theory and practice of the internal service quality link. This study adds value by bringing new insights particularly to the underexplored mutual fund operations segment.
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