Personal selling and sales management abstracts

Abstracts Editorial Staff

Table

Rhett Epler Old Dominion University	Pia Hautamaki Tampere University of Applied Sciences	Leroy Robinson University of Houston – Clear Lake
David Gilliam University of Arkansas – Little Rock	Ashish Kalra University of Dayton	Amin Rostami University of Minnesota – Duluth
Megan C. Good California State Polytechnic University - Pomona	Carissa Kim James Madison University	Stacey Schetzsle University of Tampa
Ashley Goreczny Iowa State University	Felicia G. Lassk Northeastern University	Wyatt Schrock Michigan State University
Aditya Gupta Texas State University	Matthew M. Lastner University of North Carolina - Wilmington	Eric Swan Baylor University
Brandon Gustafson Oakland University	Colleen McClure University of Alabama – Birmingham	Jessica Zeiss Ball State University
Alexander Haas University of Giessen	Elizabeth McDougal Louisiana State University	Yanhui Zhao University of Nebraska Omaha

Abstracts section topic areas

The purpose of this section is to keep readers abreast of current personal selling and sales management literature. In addition, we review more than sixty academic publications containing contemporary sales-related articles.

Abstracts are classified according to their appropriate topic areas. After each abstract, the surname (in brackets) identifies the staff member who prepared the summary. The topic areas used to categorize abstracts are:

• Buyer/Customer Behavior – Perceptions – Negotiations – Decision Making

• Buyer-Seller Relationships – Purchasing – Supplier Issues – Alliances – Partnerships

• Compensation – Incentives – Sales Contests

• Customer Relationship Management

• Diversity Issues – Image

• Ethics – Legal – Environmental – Social – Deviance

• General Selling and Sales Management Topics

• Global Selling and Sales Management – Cross-Cultural Issues – National Character

• Hiring Practices – Recruiting – Assessment – Selection

• Job Performance – Productivity – Effectiveness – Effort – Failure – Firm Performance

• Leaders in Selling and Sales Management

• Marketing-Sales Interface – Cross-Functional Interface

• Methodology – Measurement

• Motivation – Job Involvement – Satisfaction

• National/Major/Key Account Management

• Organizational Climate – Culture

• Organizational Commitment – Work Commitment

• Performance Evaluation

• Personal Traits/Characteristics

• Role Stress – Physical Stress – Coping – Anxiety

• Sales Careers – Stages – Paths

• Sales Education Issues – Student and Academic Perspectives

• Sales Force Control

• Sales Management Functions – Analysis – Planning – Strategy – Implementation – Decision-Making Quotas

• Sales Organization – Structure – Channels

• Sales Technology Applications – Information Systems – Automation – Database – Sales Enablement

• Selling and Sales Management in Action

• Selling Process – Stages – Activities – Adaptive Selling – Team Selling – Social Selling

• Specialized Channels – Trade Shows – Telemarketing – E-Commerce

• Supervision – Leadership – Leader Behaviors – Leader/Subordinate Relationships

• Time and Territory Management – Allocation – Optimization Models – Customer/Account Analysis Forecasting

• Training – Development – Promotion

• Turnover – Propensity to Leave – Retention

Articles summarized in the Abstracts Section are not available from members of the editorial staff or JPSSM. Correspondence regarding the Abstracts Section should be sent to the Abstracts Section Editor.

Abstracts

Buyer/customer behavior—perceptions—decision making—negotiation

[1] Ahmad, Bilal, Jingbo Yuan, Naeem Akhtar, and Muhammad Ashfaq. 2024. “Identifying the determinants and consequences of post-recovery satisfaction in B2B customers: a multidimensional justice theory perspective.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 39 (2): 423–437. [Mangus]

This work delves into the determinants and consequences of post-recovery satisfaction in B2B sales environments. Using justice theory, the research examines distributive justice (DJ), procedural justice (PJ), and interactional justice (IJ) as factors influencing post-recovery satisfaction. Data collected from 337 salesperson-customer dyads were analyzed to test five hypotheses, revealing positive associations between DJ, PJ, IJ, and post-recovery satisfaction. Furthermore, the study highlights the negative impact of post-recovery satisfaction on customer distrust, which in turn affects value co-creation behavior and trusting intention. Notably, the research identifies customer demandingness as a significant moderator in the linkages between justice dimensions and post-recovery satisfaction. This research contributes to the literature by developing and validating a research model that investigates customers’ distrust attitudes towards service failure and subsequent B2B recovery satisfaction. As B2B markets are characterized by complex service processes and relational dynamics, understanding and addressing post-recovery satisfaction becomes increasingly vital in maintaining long-term relationships and value co-creation. This study underscores the importance of B2B sales organizations promptly addressing service failures and enhancing post-recovery satisfaction to meet the evolving demands of their customers.

[2] Cardy, Claire, Nawar N. Chaker, Johannes Habel, Martin Klarmann, and Olaf Plötner. 2023. “Customer–salesperson price negotiations during exceptional demand contractions.” Journal of Service Research 26 (3): 351–370. [Goreczny]

During times when customer demand plummets beyond the expected range, for example, during the COVID-19 pandemic or during major recessions, a salesperson’s price negotiation strategies change. There exists a power shift that favors customers, which is enhanced as the salesperson’s perceptions of the sale increase while a customer’s importance of the purchase decreases. Yet, when a salesperson has a strong bond with the customer, the customer does not take advantage of this power shift. This brings to light that customers with strong relationships do not always feel entitled to favors or handouts. Utilizing three empirical studies, including in-depth interviews with sales professionals in the industrial technology sector, an examination of secondary data from an industrial manufacturer’s CRM system, and a scenario-based experiment to test the role of perceptual constructs (E.g. negotiation behaviors or the dependency of the relationship between a salesperson and customer).

[3] Li, You, Lixiao Geng, Yaping Chang, and Peng Ning. 2023. “Research online and purchase offline: The disruptive impact of consumers’ online information on offline sales interaction.” Psychology & Marketing 40 (12): 2642–2652. [Robinson]

Three studies were undertaken to make several theoretical contributions to consumer informedness, regulatory focus theory, and promotional information types. The first study was conducted to test the association between consumer informedness and offline sales interaction in daily life. The second study examined the sequential mediators of prevention focus and the need for control in the relationship between consumer informedness and sales interaction. Finally, the third study tests the moderating effect of information type on the relationship between consumer informedness and sales interaction. The results support the idea that consumers may now make knowledgeable selections about complex products without the help of salespeople in physical places, thanks to increased consumer understanding. While providing multimodal experiences in physical stores has benefits, salespeople and retailers must understand that improper sales interactions can harm client retention. This research also presents practical consequences for salespersons. Before offering product introductions and recommendations, the salesperson should thoroughly understand the consumers’ knowledge levels. Second, salespeople can ease consumers’ decision-making process in real time by delivering necessary information.

Buyer-seller relationships – purchasing – supplier issues – alliances - partnerships

[4] Albérico, Rosário and Joaquim Casaca. 2023. “Relationship Marketing and Customer Retention-A Systematic Literature Review.” Studies in Business and Economics 18 (3): 44–66. [Epler]

The authors examine relationship marketing and its impact on customer retention with a systematic bibliometric literature review (LRSB) of 61 relevant sales and marketing articles. The authors utilize citation counts with various established relationship marketing frameworks to highlight key aspects of relationship marketing, customer retention, and publication trends. As it relates to customer retention, the most important factors are trust, customer satisfaction, communication, relationship commitment, and relationship marketing.

[5] Hada, Mahima, Arnaud De Bruyn, and Gary L. Lilien. 2024. “Horizontal Referrals in B2B Markets.” Journal of Marketing Research 61 (1): 143–164. [Kim]

Horizontal referrals occur when a supplier recommends another supplier to their customer. However, salespeople may choose to give their best possible referral acting in the customer’s interest, or an obligatory referral, in which the salesperson acts in their own interest while referring another supplier. The authors explore the phenomena of horizontal referrals using an exploratory survey with 126 managers in supplier-facing roles. Based on these findings, they develop and test their theoretical model based on role theory and social exchange theory. Study 1 was a between-person experimental design using 387 salespeople as respondents from Prolific, finding that trust and dependence affect the role of the salesperson (friend vs. businessperson), which affected their referral behavior. Study 2 tested antecedents to mutual trust and horizontal referral in a choice-based conjoint experiment with 363 salespeople as respondents from Dynata Inc. and Prolific. Finally, Study 3 tested the downstream consequences of horizontal referrals from the customer’s perspective in an experimental design using 818 respondents via Prolific. Study 3 found that the best possible referral (vs. an obligatory referral) increased the customer’s intent to continue the relationship. This research highlights that an obligatory referral can hurt the supplier-customer relationship and that dependence can influence the salesperson such that they act as a businessperson, giving an obligatory referral.

[6] Liu, Yanzhe, Xiaoyu Zhao, and Tao Wang. 2023. “Value-Based Selling Capability: Antecedents and Implications for B2B Sales Performance.” Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing 30 (4): 395–418. [Robinson]

Salespeople can transcend the conventional “product-centric mindset” and acquiesce to client demands using value-based selling (VBS). Alternatively, by comprehending customers’ business models, creating value propositions, conveying customer value, and enhancing sales performance, salespeople may focus on meeting customers’ requirements and solving their business challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between sales performance and VBS capability, as well as the origins and nature of organizational VBS capability in the B2B market. The study gathered responses from 227 sales directors or sales account managers of Chinese B2B companies from different industries (e.g., construction engineering, electrical equipment, IT, machinery, and transportation). The findings indicate that to gain a competitive edge in the market, providers should create and utilize their service-oriented resources to support the development of VBS capability. Specifically, VBS capability works best when intense competition among businesses or client wants are more complex.

[7] Madruga, Roberto, Bryson Hilton, Hyeyoon Jung, Bryan Hochstein, and Edison Renato Silva. 2024. “The Customer Success Community: An Exploration of Nonfirm Epistemic Communities and Their Influence on a New Sales Practice.” Journal of International Marketing DOI: 10.1177/1069031X231222417. [Mangus]

This research examines the influence of the customer success (CS) community on the operational factors of CS management across different cultural settings, addressing a gap in international sales literature on the role of nonfirm epistemic communities. CS management, defined as the proactive engagement of customers to ensure they realize the value potential of products, has evolved as a global B2B practice, underscored by the growth of a CS community comprising CS managers and top-level management who focus on maximizing customer value. This community, characterized by its participation in conferences, meetups, and online forums, has seen significant growth, signaling its importance in fostering learning and interfirm sharing, unlike other customer management practices. This study explores how CS managers across various global settings perceive the CS community and its impact on CS management’s operational aspects, leveraging Hofstede’s theory of uncertainty avoidance to hypothesize that countries with lower levels of uncertainty avoidance exhibit a more dynamic CS community engagement. The research employs a phenomenological approach, conducting a qualitative exploration in two phases to develop an understanding of the CS community’s role and its effects on operational factors related to people, process, and performance in firms from the United States, Brazil, and Portugal.

[8] Vieira, Valter Afonso, Robert Mayberry, James Boles, Julie Johnson-Busbin, and Rita Cassia Pereira. 2023. “The Mediating Role of Cooperative Norms in the Formation of Buyer Commitment in the Buyer–Seller Relationship.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 38 (7), 1409–1423. [Zeiss]

Given how important stable business-to-business relationships are, the positive signals of salesperson cooperative behaviors are of great importance. Might such cooperative norms – buyer obligation to reciprocate good faith efforts – be the tool that makes such buyer and seller firms committed? After comparing and contrasting the goals between two relevant approaches to governing relationships, cooperative norms appear more useful than social capital approaches, given the former’s focus on attitudinal (relative to economic) benefits. The authors find that the obligatory senses bore from salesperson commitment efforts increase buyer commitment efforts towards the firm. One hundred and fifty-five telecommunications buyers of a sponsoring firm respond to a commitment and other survey scales, relationships of which are analyzed via Structural Equation Modeling. Cooperative behaviors mediate supplier and buyer commitment as a form of reciprocation obligation. It appears that intrinsic mutualism is so powerful that mere person-based efforts spill over to the buyer’s obligatory commitment to the selling firm. Equally powerful, the results allow industrial salesforces to manage their favors to produce an obligatory rather than economic relationship.

[9] Widiastono, Hubert, Fathony Rahman, and Christiana Yosevina. 2023. “Examining savvy salespeople practicing entrepreneurship and client-oriented selling to enhance cross-border sales.” International Research Journal of Business Studies 16 (2), 189–209. [Zeiss]

Entrepreneurial selling, wherein the client is the focus, appears more common and better understood than its counterpart, company-level selling. It seems particularly important for selling across borders in B2B settings, given the close relationship necessary to get past communication difficulty. In other words, in cross-border B2B selling, the salesperson may need to be closer in relations to their clients than their colleagues. That is what is found across the authors’ work with n = 236 B2B salespeople across ASEAN countries utilizing survey design and analyzed via Structural Equation Modeling. Not only does entrepreneurial selling positively impact salesperson performance, but it also appears to occur through absorptive capacity. It is implied that salespeople should boost the two-way information flow to offer customization in an innovative spirit. This will help facilitate a salesperson’s “independent” mindset.

Diversity issues – image

[10] Lanzrath, Aline Isabelle, Christian Homburg, and Robin-Christopher M. Ruhnau. 2023. “Women’s underrepresentation in business‑to‑business sales: Reasons, contingencies, and solutions.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2023): 1–30. [McDougal]

Despite women achieving higher levels of education and increased labor market participation in recent decades, a stark disparity remains for women in B2B sales roles. Women hold fewer than 20% of B2B sales leadership positions, but why? The authors explore this critical gap in sales workforce diversity through in-depth interviews with 60 sales professionals comprising different perspectives across industries, genders, experience levels, and firm types, as well as archival analysis of job postings and company diversity metric data. The findings are used to introduce a conceptual framework that illustrates how male-centric labor market communication and job structures contribute to perceived and actual misfit, resulting in entry and advancement barriers for women in B2B sales. Gender-inclusive signaling and job resources are presented as potential mitigators for these barriers.

Ethics – legal – environmental – social – deviance

[11] Anand, Amitabh, Melanie Bowen, April J. Spivack, Saeedeh Rezaee Vessal, and Deva Rangarajan. 2023. “The Role of Ethics in Business-to-Business Marketing: An Exploratory Review and Research Agenda.” Industrial Marketing Management 115: 421–438. [Gilliam]

The authors conducted a literature review in the Scopus database using keywords related to business-to-business marketing and ethics. The search yielded 137 publications across several disciplines, of which 85 were deemed to be directly on-topic. The analysis consisted of 3 rounds of coding by multiple authors producing first-order codes, second-order themes, and 5 aggregate dimensions. The dimensions were ethical climate, ethical leadership, ethical behavior, relational management ethics, and responsible firm ethics. The authors offered a framework of possible antecedents, outcomes, and moderators for the dimensions and future research questions.

[12] Gabler, Colin.B., Omar S. Itani, and Raj Agnihotri. 2023. “Activating Corporate Environmental Ethics on the Frontline: A Natural Resource-Based View.” Journal of Business Ethics 186 (1): 63–86. [McClure]

Drawing from the resource-based view of the firm, the behaviors of employees and organizational processes are important environmental resources. The authors dig deeper into this idea and explore the relationship of an employee’s environmental stewardship on work meaningfulness, brand advocacy, and customer satisfaction. The authors utilized time-lagged survey data collected from employees, managers, and customers. When frontline employees act as environmental stewards, their customers are more satisfied, and the employees’ brand advocacy is increased. This effect is further enhanced when managers perceive high levels of eco-capabilities within the organization.

General selling and sales management topics

[13] Al-Amad, Amjad H., Sa’ad Ali, and Hadeel B. Al-Haddad. 2024. “Listening to unheard voices: exploring salespeople’s perspectives on the value of corporate heritage.” Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal 27, (1): 83–107. [Mangus]

This article delves into the significance of corporate heritage in the realm of sales and personal selling, particularly focusing on its role in building trust and fostering relationships between salespeople and customers. Corporate heritage, as a marketing concept, encapsulates the meaningful connection between an organization’s past, present, and future, resonating with both internal and external stakeholders. The research adopts a qualitative approach, conducting in-depth interviews with senior salespeople from institutions in Jordan. These interviews aim to uncover the subjective meanings salespeople attribute to corporate heritage and its relevance to their operations. The study sheds light on how corporate heritage, with its connotations of authenticity, credibility, and reliability, can enhance trust in personal selling situations, ultimately contributing to relationship building and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the study expands the discussion on corporate heritage beyond developed countries to include emerging markets like Jordan. It highlights the potential significance of corporate heritage in environments characterized by economic instability and hardships. Overall, this research contributes to understanding the role of corporate heritage as a valuable organizational resource that can confer trust and competitive advantage in the realm of sales and personal selling, aligning with the resource-based view theory.

[14] Edmondson, Diane, Lucy Matthews, and Cheryl Ward. 2024. “The role of grit, engagement and exhaustion in salesperson productive procrastination.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 39 (1): 29–36. [Hautamäki]

This paper examines the impact of family-work conflict, grit, engagement, and emotional exhaustion on productive procrastination among business-to-business salespeople, using data from 305 surveyed individuals. Productive procrastination, defined as the intentional delay of urgent actions to complete tasks of lesser importance, is explored within the sales context—a setting largely overlooked in procrastination research. The study leverages the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as its theoretical foundation, revealing new insights into how these specific antecedents influence productive procrastination. By focusing on a sales sample, an under-researched group in procrastination studies, this research fills a significant gap in the literature and offers managerial implications to better understand and address productive procrastination in organizational settings.

Global selling and sales management – cross-cultural issues – national character

[15] Chaker, Nawar N., Johannes Habel, Kelly Hewett, and Alex Ricardo Zablah. 2024. “The Future of Research on International Selling and Sales Management.” Journal of International Marketing 32 (1): 1–14. [Goreczny]

As companies expand from selling only domestically to also selling internationally, sales strategies must adapt. The authors bring to light the gap in the literature, create an overview of key areas to be studied, focusing on articles from a 2024 special issue of the Journal of International Marketing, and prioritize areas that need to be studied. The authors break down the articles into those exploring when salespeople are based internationally versus those exploring when customers are international. For example, areas to be studied included the following interactions: Manager is Domestic, Salesperson is International (E.g. How job-related perceptions impact well-being); Customer is Domestic, Salesperson is International (E.g. Intercultural knowledge usage); Manager and Salesperson are International (E.g. Cross-cultural differences in salesforce management practices); Manager and Customers are International (E.g. Cross-cultural differences in how managers perceive legal requirements). To prioritize the topics, 127 managers were surveyed. All topics were considered important, with a few standouts (E.g. the ethical considerations for selling in different cultures).

[16] Rutherford, Brian N., and Ryan L. Matthews. 2023. “Stages of the International Industrial Sales Process.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 39 (1): 1–13. [Schetzsle]

This study aims to understand the application of the “seven steps of selling” in the modern international business landscape and the adaptive strategies of international sales executives in diverse global markets. Conducted through in-depth interviews with international sales executives, the research provides a holistic assessment of the business-to-business sales process, highlighting four key aspects that differentiate it from domestic industrial selling. Emphasizing a stage-based approach over a linear seven-step process, the study reveals insights into regional disparities and underscores the limited research on international sales force management. It offers practical implications for firms seeking to expand internationally, guiding the development of training programs and strategic sales processes tailored to diverse cultural contexts.

Job performance – productivity – effectiveness – effort – failure – firm performance

[17] Friess, Maximilian, and Roland Kassemeier. 2024. “Price Increases and Their Financial Consequences in International Business-to-Business Selling.” Journal of International Marketing 32 (1): 92–111. [Hautamäki]

This study investigates the impact of price increase magnitude on B2B customers’ sales revenue and its variation across cultural contexts. It highlights the challenge of shrinking profit margins for industrial companies due to rising raw material costs and uniform price increase strategies. Utilizing data from 966 international B2B customers of a chemical goods company, the study reveals that price increases negatively affect sales revenue, with the extent of this impact depending on the cultural characteristics of the customer’s country. Specifically, cultures with communal norms exhibit a less negative reaction to price increases. The research fills a gap by focusing on international B2B markets, where previous studies have largely concentrated on B2C markets. It adopts a relational perspective to understand the long-term impact of price increases on B2B relationships. It also offers insights for B2B companies, emphasizing the financial differences between B2C and B2B markets and providing implications for customer account management and sales strategies.

[18] Inyang, Eddie, Omar S. Itani, Hayam Alnakhli, and Juliana White. 2023. “Sales Team Value Co-creation in Turbulent Markets: The Role of Team Learning and Agility.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 1–15. [Lastner]

The authors examine sales team learning and sales team agility as potential antecedents of value co-creation with customers in the exchange process, which in turn is predicted to affect sales team performance. Market turbulence is assessed as a potential moderator of the effect of value co-creation on sales team performance. Using a sample of 201 salespeople spread across 24 sales teams in the industrial goods sector, the direct effects of sales team learning and sales team agility on value co-creation are supported, as is the direct effect of value co-creation on sales team performance. Market turbulence is found to moderate the effect of sales team value co-creation on performance such that greater levels of market turbulence strengthen the effect of co-creation on performance. Finally, the authors also determine an indirect effect of sales team learning on value co-creation through sales team agility.

[19] Powers, Thomas L., Dawn B. Valentine, and Karen N. Kennedy. 2024. “Firm performance and perceptions of market orientation.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 1–17. [Rostami]

This study leverages stakeholder theory to examine how internal (managers, salespeople) and external (customers) stakeholders perceive market orientation across varying company performance levels. Data from 111 business units of a Fortune 500 B2B MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) products distributor was collected and analyzed using ANOVA. Both actual and perceived performance of each business unit were measured. The findings reveal that salespeople and customers indicated differences in cultural and operational market orientation across perceived performance levels, while managers’ evaluations only differed in the operational dimension. Regarding actual performance differences, customers were the only ones who perceived any differences, particularly in the cultural aspect of market orientation.

[20] Turner, M.J., Costello, N., Miller, A. and Wood, A.G., 2024. “When not hitting your sales target is ‘the end of the world’: Examining the effects of rational emotive behaviour therapy on the irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity of UK-based sales professionals.” Stress and Health p.e3391. [Zeiss]

The problem with sales targets is that they are merely targets. They are worth aiming for but not expected to meet. With such stress and scrutiny, are salespeople psychologically supported? In working towards answering this question, the authors lean heavily on psychological literature situated between burnout and irrational emotions. All in all, exercising some volition for relatively more rational beliefs leads to fewer negative feelings or emotional episodes. Specifically, those professionals in the experimental group receiving such cognitive training experience fewer irrational beliefs and more fleeting negative emotions. Fifty-six United Kingdom-based sales professionals are randomly assigned to either Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy using the GABCDE framework of an adversity theme or a control group through a between-subjects repeated measures design over two time periods. In other words, the group nature of salesforces makes them ripe for group-based manualized therapeutic training for better emotion regulation.

Methodology – measurement

[21] Pourmasoudi, Mohsen, Phillip Wiseman, Michael Ahearne, and Zachary Hall. 2024. “Enabling Comparability of Responses in International Sales Force Surveys: Evidence from a Cross-National Survey of Salespeople and Sales Managers.” Journal of International Marketing 32 (1): 15–32. [Rostami]

The authors investigate the issue of cross-national disparities in the interpretation of survey questions, particularly when comparing construct means across different countries. The study focused on survey instruments designed to measure specific constructs among salespeople and sales managers. The authors propose using “anchoring vignettes” as a potential remedy for interpersonal comparability issues in cross-national sales research. The study utilized survey data from 1051 salespeople and 163 sales managers working in Brazil, Japan, and the United Kingdom to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique. The study found that without anchoring vignettes to address cross-national differences, conclusions about how sales managers in each country ranked on the drive measure would have been inaccurate.

Motivation – job involvement – satisfaction

[22] Alqhaiwi, Zaid Oqla, Tamer Koburtay, and Osman M. Karatepe. 2023. “Linking Person–Job Fit and Intrinsic Motivation to Salespeople’s Service Innovative Behavior.” Journal of Services Marketing 37 (9) 1186–1200. [Epler]

The authors utilize the Conservation of Resources Theory and Regulatory Focus Theory to examine the relationship between person-job fit, intrinsic motivation, and service innovative behavior. Using a sample of 279 Middle Eastern retail salespeople, a time-lagged research design, and a structural equation model (PLS-SEM), the authors find support for their proposed model. Specifically, person-job fit drives intrinsic motivation, which in turn drives service innovative behavior. Ultimately, person-job fit is a resource that can help a retail salesperson navigate various workplace challenges.

[23] Edmondson, Diane R., and Lucy M. Matthews. 2024. “How Engaged Are Your Employees?: Enhancing Engagement Through Autonomy and Skill Discretion in Today’s Changing Environment.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 32 (1): 81–93. [Haas]

This research uses the Job Demands-Resources theory to investigate two organizational (i.e., autonomy and skill discretion) and two individual (i.e., sales creativity and grit) antecedents to salespeople’s physical and emotional engagement. Based on cross-sectional survey data from 361 B2B salespeople and analyzing the data with PLS-SEM, the authors find positive relationships of autonomy and skill discretion to sales creativity and positive relationships of sales creativity and grit to physical and emotional engagement.

Organizational climate – culture

[24] Hamzah, Muhammad Iskandar, Abdul Kadir Othman, Amily Fikry, and Mohd Zulkifli Abdullah. 2023. “The interaction effects of adhocracy culture, work experience on information acquisition and job performance of bank salespeople.” Journal of Financial Services Marketing 28 (3): 544–557. [Kim]

The authors investigate the salesperson’s competence in managing customer knowledge in business-to-business banking. Using Hierarchical regression analysis and a sample of 508 salespeople from 18 banks in Malaysia, the results indicate that information acquisition increases salesperson performance. This relationship is enhanced when the salesperson has more work experience or when the organization has an adhocracy (i.e., innovative) culture. However, a three-way interaction between work experience, adhocracy culture, and information acquisition decreased performance. This research highlights the importance of salespeople gathering customer knowledge with the caveat that more experienced salespeople may experience information overload in innovative organizations, resulting in worse performance.

[25] Sahadev, Sunil, Kirk Chang, Neeru Malhotra, Ji-Hee Kim, Tanveer Ahmed, and Philip Kitchen. 2024. “Psychological Empowerment and Creative Performance: Mediating Role of Thriving and Moderating Role of Competitive Psychological Climate.” Journal of Business Research 170 (1): 114310. [Schetzsle]

This study addresses the relationship between perceived psychological empowerment and creative performance among salespersons, drawing on the Job Demands-Resources framework and the Conservation of Resources theory. Through empirical investigation among salespeople in both developing (Pakistan) and developed (South Korea) country contexts, with thriving as a partial mediator of this relationship. Findings suggest that competitive climate moderates the effects of psychological empowerment and thriving on creative performance, shedding light on contextual influences and offering insights for organizational practices and future research in understanding employee creativity.

[26] Zahn, William J., Yi Peng, David Mathis, Bryan Hochstein, and Christopher R. Plouffe. 2023. “Addressing Concerns with Salesperson Competitive Psychological Climate, Sales Performance, and Turnover Intention: The Role of Threat and Learning Orientation.” Industrial Marketing Management 115: 143–155. [Zhao]

This article examines how salespeople’s perceptions of a competitive psychological climate (CPC) influence their sales performance and turnover intention. It seeks to understand how CPC can simultaneously enhance performance while increasing the likelihood of turnover. Building upon cognitive appraisal theory, this research introduces the concept of threat appraisals as a mediating mechanism explaining the negative consequences of CPC. This research analyzes survey responses from 219 salespeople within a B2B setting, paired with objective sales performance data.

Personal traits/characteristics

[27] Dogerlioglu-Demir, Andy H. Ng, and Cenk Koças. 2023. “Gracefully yours: Would snap judgments of one’s subtle, graceful movements lead to inferences about their emotional intelligence? Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 75. [Gustafson]

The authors study the relationship between movement and emotional intelligence. Specifically, the authors study graceful movement, which is legible by others and understood as a smooth, controlled, and elegant movement. The authors conducted four studies at the individual and brand levels and provided unique insights, especially in the sales and brand context. In a sales context, the authors find that a person who moves more gracefully is seen to be a more suitable salesperson/spokesperson for a company through the mediator of emotional intelligence. In a brand context, the authors find that a logo that moves gracefully is seen as more adaptable and has higher service quality. This work helps build our understanding of cues and can have broad implications for practitioners.

[28] Wongkitrungrueng, Apiradee, Krittinee Nuttavuthisit, and Sankar Sen. 2023. “Beyond skin-deep: Triple roles of salesperson attractiveness and consumer bargaining styles.” Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science 1–22. [McClure]

Using 60 semi-structured interviews, the authors explore the impact of salesperson attractiveness in a retail bargaining context. Salesperson attractiveness can play various roles in negotiations, such as an aesthetic taste, a marketing cue, and a source of power, which in turn determines the cooperative or competitive bargaining style of the customer. Instances of cooperative behavior were identified when interviewees felt favor, fear, or perceived value in the attractive salesperson, but other respondents indicated a competitive behavior due to the enhanced perception of skills and resources available to attractive salespeople. Other respondents penalized the attractive salesperson in negotiations and pushed for additional discounts or compensation. For firms, it is important to understand the varying functions of attractiveness in salespeople and the potential impact on customer perceptions and evaluations.

[29] Zheng, Yi, Zhimei Zang, Douglas B. Grisaffe, Fred Miao, and Xiaoyan Wang. 2023. “Going Beyond Fit (Misfit): Enhancing Sales Performance Based on Salespeople’s Self-Construal.” Industrial Marketing Management 115: 339–354. [Zhao]

This research integrates self-construal theory and person-environment (P-E) fit theory to explore the mediating role of customer-oriented behaviors in the relationship between salespeople’s self-construal (independent and interdependent) and their sales performance. It also investigates how job standardization and sales control systems serve as contextual moderators in this relationship. This study was conducted with 391 salespeople and 50 sales managers from B2B manufacturing companies in China. Data were collected through surveys and archival sales performance records. This research contributes to the understanding of salespeople’s self-construal in B2B sales contexts.

Role stress – physical stress – coping – anxiety

[30] Lei, Shaohui, Leiqing Peng, and Suyuan Wang. 2023. “Shedding light on the dark side of humor: The short-lived spillover effect of daily salesperson workplace humor usage on work–family conflict” Applied Psychology: An International Review 190: 1–15. [McDougal]

Can humor at work negatively affect life at home? The authors investigate how daily humor usage by salespeople can be a double-edged sword. Despite often being linked to positive outcomes for salespeople, like increased influence, improved creativity, and strengthened customer relationships, the authors uncover a potential dark side to humor use at work: a spillover effect of work-family conflict. The study uses an experience sampling method with data from 109 salespeople over ten workdays. The data were analyzed using a multilevel path analysis with Bayesian estimation. The results show that salesperson humor usage is associated with increased ego depletion, which in turn leads to higher levels of work-family conflict. However, daily supervisor developmental feedback can buffer the relationship between salesperson humor usage and ego depletion, thus reducing work-family conflict.

Sales force control

[31] Conde, Richard, Victor Prybutok, Kenneth Thompson, and Cameron Sumlin. 2024. “Inside sales managers’ utilization of cultural controls as part of a sales control portfolio to enhance overall sales performance.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 39 (2): 273 – 287. [Gustafson]

The authors study sales control from a portfolio perspective by examining how sales managers use a portfolio of controls to influence sales agents’ performance. Data were collected from a Fortune 100 financial services company that sells property, casualty, and life insurance products. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six inside sales managers. The interviews were conducted in two phases. In the first phase, managers were provided a definition of each sales control category, and this phase was iterative until a consensus sales control definition was reached. In the second phase, sales managers discussed how sales agent’s operational and sales performance metrics aligned with sales controls. Secondary data were analyzed in SmartPLS. The results suggest that sales managers can improve sales performance by focusing on an employee-centric culture as opposed to using formal sales controls. This work highlights the importance of studying sales controls in a broader portfolio.

[32] Echchakoui, Saïd, and Riadh Ladhari. 2023. “Sales Force Control in the Area of Value-Based Selling and Industry 4.0: Smart Self-Control Based on Salesperson Business Model.” Journal of Marketing Analytics 1–22. [Haas]

In this conceptual research, the authors investigate how sales managers can (1) effectively manage their sales force in value-based selling (VBS) and (2) profit from Industry 4.0-related opportunities to enhance sales force control systems (SFCS) efficiency. Drawing on the business model and Industry 4.0 literature, they introduce the Smart SFCS framework. This framework proposes that each salesperson has to work as an entrepreneur and innovator, so he/she has to build a business model that incorporates real-time data connection between multiple SFCSs and can help sales managers to effectively monitor and manage salespeople in VBS logic.

[33] Fujii, Makoto. 2024. “Do Sales Control Systems Affect Service–Sales Ambidexterity and Salesperson Performance? A Job Demands–Resources Perspective.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 77: 103640. [McClure]

Building upon JD-R, the authors examine the impact of sales control systems on service-sales ambidexterity (SSA) and salesperson performance using two waves of surveys. Output control can be thought of as a hindrance to demand as they feel pressure to meet certain performance outcomes, while process control is considered a challenge to demand as salespeople can work with their managers to further develop their sales knowledge. The authors find that output control has a negative but not significant effect on SSA, but process control has a significant, positive effect on SSA. The positive relationship is further enhanced under conditions of high leadership humility. Further exploration also indicates the mediating role of SSA on the relationship between process control systems and performance.

[34] Hu, Minqiao, Faheem Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Umer Quddoos, Xiongfu Wu and Amir Rafique. 2024. “The Interplay Between Behavior-Based Salesforce Control Systems and Salesperson’s Creative Performance: A Closer Look at Salesperson’s Work Engagement.” Current Psychology January: 1–11. [Lassk]

The authors explore social and psychological antecedents of creative performance. In their model, both activity controls and capability controls are positively associated with work engagement. Additionally, salespeople’s work engagement is positively associated with creative performance. The model includes work engagement as the mediator of the relationship between activity control and creative performance and the relationship between capability control and creative performance. The study’s respondents were 350 pharmaceutical field salespeople using existing survey scales. All the study’s hypotheses were supported using CFA to assess the model. The study supports that both activity and capability controls impact salespeople’s creative performance directly and through work engagement.

[35] Park, Hyewon, Won-Moo Hur, and Seongho Kang. 2023. “Contribution of Sales Control in Salespeople’s Creative Selling: Work Engagement as a Mediator.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 75: 1–10. [Lastner]

The authors develop a model to test the effects of outcome-based (OBCS) and behavior-based (BBCS) managerial control systems on the creative selling of salespeople through work engagement. Results using a sample of 270 insurance salespeople in South Korea reveal direct effects of both OBCS and BBCS on creative selling. Work engagement is found to mediate the effects of OBCS on creative selling but does not mediate in the case of BBCS. Additionally, the authors examine the joint effect of OBCS and BBCS on work engagement and find that the perceived combination of high OBCS and low BBCS produces greater work engagement for salespeople. Managerial implications of control system utilization are discussed.

Sales technology applications – information systems – automation – database – sales enablement

[36] Karlinsky-Shichor, Yael, and Oded Netzer. 2024. “Automating the B2B Salesperson Pricing Decisions: A Human-Machine Hybrid Approach.” Marketing Science 43(1): 138–157. [Zhao]

This research proposes a human-machine hybrid model to automate pricing decisions in B2B retail environments that involve a high-level of human interactions. This model leverages sales transaction data from a B2B aluminum retailer to create automated versions of salespeople. A field experiment conducted with the retailer demonstrated an 11% increase in profits for treated quotes relative to a control condition. This research contributes to the understanding of how automation can be effectively implemented in domains requiring soft skills and interpersonal interactions. It offers a promising avenue for enhancing B2B sales performance through the synergy of human expertise and algorithmic precision.

[37] Momeni, Khadijeh, Eija Vaittinen, Markus Jähi, and Miia Martinsuo. 2023. “Introducing smart services: requirements and interconnections in multi-actor cooperation.” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 38(13): 105–121. [Kalra]

In this study, authors adopt a multi-actor perspective and analyze the factors that lead to adoption of smart services across customers, employees, and distributors. Following an embedded case study approach and analyzing the qualitative findings of 30 in-depth interviews, authors show that there are 8 different requirements (such as value, reliability, and competence of smart service) that must be met to ensure that smart services are adopted across different actors in a business-to-business context. Authors also provide implications of their work and offer directions for future scholars.

[38] Pappas, Alec, Elena Fumagalli, Maria Rouziou, and Willy Bolander. 2023 “More than Machines: The Role of the Future Retail Salesperson in Enhancing the Customer Experience.” Journal of Retailing 99 (4): 518 – 531. [Gustafson]

The authors discuss the unique strengths and weaknesses of humans and AI technologies in the retail sales customer experience and outline how each can work together. The authors propose that AI “raises the floor” of a customer experience through service consistency, operational efficiency, and multitasking capabilities. While humans “raise the ceiling” of the customer experience through the ability to build a customer relationship, be adaptively creative, and consider ethics. Further, the authors demonstrate how the AI and salesperson strengths can work in synergy across the customer experience categories of curation, customization, cost, convenience, customer retailtainment, category expertise, and community. This work helps to set a foundation for further investigation into integrating AI into the retail customer experience. In addition, for practitioners, this work critically examines the limitations of AI and the continued importance of salespeople.

[39] Sanyal, Priyavrat, Rakesh Singh, and Ramendra Singh. 2024. “Making of a social buyer: the role of knowledge capital authenticity and inter-firm communication in B2B sales situations.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice (February): 1–20. [Schrock]

With interview data from 29 B2B buyers and sellers across industries, the authors explore how social media adoption by selling firms influences B2B buying behavior. Based on the findings from the interview data, the authors develop several propositions and, correspondingly, a conceptual model. Ultimately, the authors suggest that the positive effects of social media adoption by selling firms on buying firms’ purchase intentions are mediated by factors such as “knowledge capital repository” and enhanced buyer-seller communication. Interestingly, the authors also propose that the “authenticity” of information shared on social media is an important moderator of social media adoption’s downstream purchase effects.

[40] Schmitt, Laurianne, Rhett Epler, Eric Casenave, and Jessie Pallud. 2024. “An Inquiry into Effective Salesperson Social Media Use in Multinational Versus Local Firms.” Journal of International Marketing 32 (1): 72–91. [Schrock]

The authors take a multi-study, multi-method approach to better understand the effects of salesperson social media use from an international perspective. In Study 1, survey data from 131 B2B salespeople in France indicated that salesperson social media use was positively associated with “customer relations,” which in turn boosted salesperson performance through both “positive publicity” and “social media advocacy.” Interestingly, the positive effects of “social media advocacy” on performance increased with the degree of internationalization or international scope at the firm level (i.e., number of countries in which the salesperson’s firm had direct operations). In Study 2, interview data from 23 B2B salespeople who actively use social media provided unique qualitative insight regarding differences between salespeople working at multinational enterprises and those working at local firms. Overall, the authors help shed new light on how social media use (e.g., in impacting both external and internal relations) can help strengthen salesperson performance.

[41] Silva, Pedro, Jose F. Santos, and Victor F. Moutinho. 2023. “Salespeople’s performance and digital technologies in real estate: Evidence from the Portuguese retail real estate sector.” Journal of General Management 49 (1): 18–31. [Swan]

This study investigates how a salesperson’s digital orientation has an impact on their skills, strategy, and overall performance. Survey data was collected from a sample of 517 real estate salespeople in Portugal. The data was then analyzed utilizing structural equation modeling and generalized logic modeling. The results support the conception model, which shows that digital orientation positively impacts salespeople’s skills and the implementation of the sales strategy. Further, the findings reveal that the salespeople’s skills influence the implementation of sales strategy, and both then impact the sales performance. Finally, the study found a positive influence of the salesperson’s experience and a negative effect of age on their overall sales performance.

Selling process – stages – activities – adaptive selling – team selling – social selling

[42] Herjanto, Halimin, Muslim Amin and Cut Erika Fatimah. 2024. “Does Knowledge Collecting and Donating Enhance a Bank’s Salesperson Performance?” Business Process Management Journal 30 (1): 183–198. [Lassk]

The authors explore knowledge collecting, knowledge donating, salesperson relationship proneness, and sales-buyer intimacy and their relationships to sales outcomes in the context of banking. Knowledge collecting is associated with salespeople who gather information to better understand their customers and help to achieve their own goals. Knowledge donating is associated with the salespeople who share information with their customers to better support them. Relationship proneness indicates that salespeople are motivated to build positive relationships with their customers. Sales-buyer relationship intimacy is described as a measure of the buyer-seller relationship’s health. The study hypothesizes that knowledge collecting and donating are positively related to salesperson relationship proneness. Knowledge collecting is positively associated with salesperson performance, while knowledge donating is positively associated with job satisfaction. Salesperson relationship proneness is hypothesized to be positively related to sales-buyer intimacy. Salesperson intimacy is positively associated with both salesperson job satisfaction and salesperson performance. Via an online survey, 300 completed responses were collected from Indonesian personal bankers working in a commercial bank with a minimum of one year of experience. All survey scales were used from existing sales measures. The measurement and structural model were analyzed using Smart-PLS. All but one of the study hypotheses were supported. The relationship between knowledge donating and salesperson satisfaction was not significant. The authors provide a theoretical and managerial discussion of the study’s results.

[43] Khalid, Adeel, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Waqas, and Alessio Ishizaka. 2024. “Managerial Latitude and Adaptive Selling: Important Roles of Salesperson Perceived Control and Work Centrality.” Journal of Business Research 172: 114441. [McClure]

Using survey data from 321 manager-salesperson dyads, the authors explore the relationship between managerial latitude and adaptive selling. Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory (COR), the study findings indicate that managerial latitude provides a supportive environment that allows salespeople to feel more in control of their role and sales-related activities, which in turn leads to the usage of adaptive selling strategies. High levels of salesperson work centrality enhance this positive effect even further. For managers, allowing salespeople more freedom with their tasks may lead to more confidence or more autonomy in their salespeople and inspire adaptive selling behaviors.

Selling and sales management in action

[44] Coimbra, Joana, and Teresa Proença. 2023. “Managerial coaching and sales performance: the influence of salesforce approaches and organisational demands.” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management 72(10): 3076–3094. [Gupta]

The authors explore the impact of managerial coaching on sales performance with customer- and result-orientation of the salesperson as mediators. The authors also consider the role of pressure for results and centralization of decision-making as moderators. Using survey data from 167 salespeople in commercial sales across multiple countries, the authors find that customer orientation has a greater impact on performance for coaching compared to result orientation, and centralized decision-making and pressure for results increase the positive impact of coaching on performance.

[45] Johnson, Jeff S. 2023. “”Sorry about my manager”: Mitigating customer-facing adverse manager behaviors.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-023-00974-y. [M. Good]

Frequently, sales managers attend customer meetings with salespeople, offering experience, expertise, and organizational authority to the seller/buyer interaction. Interestingly, the author examines how multiparty (salesperson and sales manager) sales calls can have negative consequences for customers. Hence, while joint sales call participation can be an asset to both buyers and sellers, this study identifies it can also be problematic. Utilizing a qualitative examination of professional B2B buyers and salespeople, the focus of the study was to discover methods of how “customer-facing adverse manager behaviors” transpire and their impacts on sales visits. As part of the investigation, a conceptual model is presented. In terms of the negative impacts of a joint call, managerial arrogance, awkwardness, and indifference were found to be harmful to outcomes. The degree to which these elements are impactful includes sales cycle timing, buyer status, and mitigation plans. The results build on role theory and seller/manager interfaces, as theoretical and managerial implications are presented.

Supervision – leadership – leader behaviors – leader/subordinate relationships

[46] Gabler, Colin, and Ashish Kalra. 2024. “How ethical leaders foster salesperson creativity: exploring the roles of social power, job autonomy, and internal competitive work environment.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2024.2305444 [Kalra]

This article analyzes the relationship between ethical leadership, salesperson social power, and the impact on creative selling behaviors. Exploring the dataset of 100 salespeople and adopting social learning theory, the authors find that ethical leaders enhance salespeople’s sense of power in their job, which ultimately leads to higher creative behaviors. Authors also find that while job autonomy strengthens the impact of ethical leadership in salesperson social power, the internal competitive work environment reduces the effect of ethical leadership. The authors also provide important theoretical and managerial implications.

Time and territory management – allocation – optimization models – customer/account analysis forecasting

[47] Bachrach, Daniel G., Tammy L. Rapp, Jessica Ogilvie, and Adam A. Rapp. 2024. “It’s about time (management)!: Role overload as a bridge explaining relationships between helping, voice, and objective sales performance.” Journal of Business Research 172 (114295):1–15. [M. Good]

This study underscores the value of sales employees possessing skills in time management. Previous foundational research for this study supports relationships between particular discretionary behaviors, voice, and sales performance. Within this framework, the authors present a conceptual model specifically developed and tested to support why adverse outcomes occur and in which employees these outcomes are of the greatest likelihood to occur. Grounded in resource allocation theory, the research objective was to advance theory illuminating individual consequences and to extend knowledge of which individual employees are most exposed. Role overload (situations where employees have excessive work demands) is specifically studied as a critical employee quality that can rationalize negative associations between sales performance and discretional behaviors. Examined through 74 supervisors and 203 sales employees, time management ability was found to counterbalance role overload. Specific managerial and theoretical implications are offered.

Training – development – promotion

[48] Sigler, Tracey Honeycutt and Shepherd, Charles D. 2023. “Emotional Intelligence Training and Professional Salespeople,” Atlantic Marketing Journal 12 (2): 7. [Swan]

This study identifies best practices in emotional intelligence training that can be adapted into sales training programs. Through a review of the sales literature, the authors assert that there is a lack of sales research exploring emotional intelligence training. Therefore, they conducted a literature review of emotional intelligence training research from other fields to propose an effective framework for incorporating it into sales training programs. In particular, the emotional intelligence training guide developed by the Consortium on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations was adapted for this framework and positioned within the sales context. The four-stage process suggested in the framework includes preparation, training, transfer and maintenance, and evaluation. The authors conclude the article by recommending specific execution steps for each of the four stages to conduct an effective emotional intelligence sales training program.

Turnover – propensity to leave – retention

[49] Garrido-López, Mariano, Brian Schaffer, and Hollye Moss. 2023. “Should I Stay or Should I Go? From Turning Points to Decision to Quit in a Call Center Environment.” Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management 23 (3): 125–137. [Kalra]

This study explores the reasons for high employee turnover. Recruiting employees from a call center, the authors conducted a qualitative examination to understand the underlying reasons for employees leaving the organization. The authors found that a higher sales focus than providing services, difficult managers, less flexibility and limited career opportunities, ethical issues, and no appreciation were among the critical factors that led to higher turnover rates among employees. The study provides critical directions for managers to implement and control higher turnover rates.