Raj Agnihotri

Bringing “Social” Into Sales: The Impact of Salespeople’S Social Media Use on Service Behaviors and Value Creation

The explosive growth in the use of social media has evoked a “gold rush”–like response from organizations. However, firms in general, and salespeople in particular, are uncertain about the fit between social media tools and their overall sales strategy. To address this issue, we advance a theoretical framework to explain the mechanisms through which salespeople’s use of social media operates to create value, and propose a strategic approach to social media use to achieve competitive goals. We draw on the existing literature on relationship marketing, task–technology fit theory, and sales service behavior to sketch a social media strategy for business-to-business sales organizations with relational selling objectives. The proposed framework describes how social media tools can help salespeople perform service behaviors leading to value creation.

The Sales Force Technology–Performance Chain: The Role of Adaptive Selling and Effort

Firms continue to struggle with the implementation of sales force technology tools and the role they play in sales representative performance. This research expands previous literature in the area of sales force automation (SFA) and customer relationship management (CRM) by looking at the consequences after technology adoption by a sales force. Data were gathered from three sources to include 662 sales representatives, 60 sales managers, and fi rm archival data. Using structural equation modeling, our fi ndings indicate that SFA usage has a direct impact on effort, thereby reducing number of hours worked, and CRM usage has a direct positive impact on adaptive selling behaviors. Moreover, experience moderates the relationship between CRM usage and adaptive selling. Discussion, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

Understanding the role of information communication in the buyer‐seller exchange process: antecedents and outcomes

Purpose – This study seeks to address the issue of managing buyer‐seller relationships. Specifically, a framework incorporating the constructs of information communication, sales technology, product knowledge, and customer satisfaction is proposed.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical support was derived from salesperson survey data combined with customer‐reported satisfaction ratings. All 254 sales representatives of the womens health care division of a pharmaceutical company were surveyed for this research study.Findings – The results suggest that managers can benefit by extending salesforce training to address not only technical knowledge but also communication skills. Providing technology with the potential to increase customer satisfaction through improved information communication would be beneficial as well.Practical implications – The research suggests that managers should invest resources not only in providing salespeople with technical knowledge, but also in training them in effective communi...

Examining the Drivers and Performance Implications of Boundary Spanner Creativity

For organizations implementing a value-added model, creative boundary spanners can improve service behaviors and overall performance. Advancing Amabile’s componential framework, which underscores the importance of contextual factors and their interaction with individual factors in generating creative responses in a service environment, we develop a model of boundary spanners’ creativity. Outlining how boundary spanner skills and abilities influence performance and service outcomes via creativity, we paint a more complete picture of the creativity process and offer meaningful contributions to service research and practice. Testing the model using employee and manager data matched with archival performance metrics, we find that knowledge, emotional intelligence (EI), and managerial feedback predict boundary spanner creativity. We also uncover a significant interaction between knowledge and EI, and evidence that creativity significantly impacts performance and customer problem solving, a key component of overall service quality. Finally, we underscore the importance of managerial feedback in strengthening the link between creativity and performance.

Conceptualizing Salesperson Competitive Intelligence: An Individual-Level Perspective

Academicians and practitioners alike have agreed on the significance of competitive intelligence in firm performance, strategy development, and the critical role of the sales force in gathering this intelligence. However, the influence that competitive intelligence has on individual salesperson performance has been widely neglected. In order to fill this gap in the literature, this research embarks on the theoretical development of competitive intelligence as an individual-level construct. The differentiating qualities of salesperson competitive intelligence and organizational competitive intelligence are described and a framework presenting the general process of salesperson competitive intelligence is proposed. Finally, links from salesperson competitive intelligence to performance are presented, and the potential negative implications of this intelligence are discussed.

Understanding the mechanism linking interpersonal traits to pro‐social behaviors among salespeople: lessons from India

Purpose – Factors such as globalization and market size have made India a major consideration for multinational firms and their salespeople. Despite the appeal of the market, the majority of theories and empirical studies of sales have been based on Western thought and within a Western context. This study seeks to address the issue of what interpersonal traits impel outcomes and behaviors of Indian salespeople.Design/methodology/approach – A model was tested using survey data collected from salespeople and their respective sales managers within a print media company located in India. A structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses.Findings – The results suggest an interesting interplay between interpersonal traits and pro‐social sales behaviors. Empathy proneness was positively related to helping behaviors targeted at other salespeople, while guilt proneness was positively associated with behaviors targeted at customers.Practical implications – The research suggests that a salespersons capaci...

Salesperson empathy, ethical behaviors, and sales performance: the moderating role of trust in one's manager

Within the domain of sales ethics, researchers are increasingly challenged to adopt a focus on the emotional elements of sales and ethics. However, previous research has primarily examined the more rational, deterministic element of sales, and ethics-based relationships. The current research addresses this issue. We develop a model based on the person–situation interaction viewpoint of ethics. Specifically, we explore the effects of a key social emotion, empathy, as well as an important situational aspect, trust in ones sales manager, on ethical behaviors. Further, we examine the moderating role of the salespersons trust in his/her manager on the link between empathy and ethical behaviors. In addition, we examine the impact of the salespersons ethical behaviors on his/her performance. Using dyadic data collected from salespeople and their respective managers, we test the model through SEM analysis. Results support the direct effects of empathy on ethical behaviors and also highlight the interactive effects of trust and empathy on ethical behaviors.

Salesperson ambidexterity and customer satisfaction: examining the role of customer demandingness, adaptive selling, and role conflict

This research investigates the effects of sales-service ambidexterity on salesperson role perceptions, behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Using a business-to-business, salesperson-customer sample, we build and test a model which highlights both the positive and negative consequences of this simultaneous goal pursuit. Specifically, while sales-service ambidexterity positively impacts adaptive selling behaviors, it also increases perceptions of role conflict among salespeople. Customer demandingness moderates these relationships. Taken together, the results provide insights for firms on how to manage their sales force to optimize both sales and service outcomes based on characteristics of their salespeople and customers.

Developing a Stakeholder Approach for Recruiting Top-Level Sales Students

With growing industry demand for sales professionals, recruitment at colleges and universities that have a sales education focus has increased remarkably over the past few years. However, results indicate that hiring organizations face an uphill task in filling sales positions. Recruiters and students struggle to build critical person–job fit during a relatively brief period of interaction. To address these issues, the present article presents a two-staged ideal recruitment process based on a stakeholder perspective. A set of 16 propositions is provided for improving key outcomes of the sales student recruitment process.

Effects of relational proclivity and marketing intelligence on new product development

Purpose – A number of studies in the marketing and strategy literature show that a firms resource endowment is a major driver in the formation of advantage-generating capabilities. Some researchers have suggested, however, that capabilities are path dependent and that a firms behavioral predispositions and proclivities should be viewed as antecedents to capability formation. The purpose of this paper is to examine how a firms behavioral tendencies, along with its existing business resources, contribute to the formation of new product development (NPD) capability. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are tested by using survey data from more than 150 US-based firms. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed model and analyze hypothesized relationships. Findings – Results of the paper suggest that a firms competency in marketing intelligence and its tendency to engage in partner-style relationships have both direct and interactive effects on NPD capability. This capability is fu...