Vijaykumar Krishnan

Social Media’s Influence on Business-to-Business Sales Performance

The implementation of social media technology in a firm’s marketing strategy has been adopted by some forward-thinking sales forces. Sharing content and building a network of contacts are the principles behind social media. The utilization of social media (e.g., LinkedIn and Twitter) for reaching business-to-business clients is a relatively new phenomenon with performance outcomes essentially unknown. Data were collected from 1,699 business-to-business salespeople from over 25 different industries. Using structural equation modeling, the findings support that social media has a positive relationship with sales processes (creating opportunities and relationship management) and relationship sales performance.

Musical intelligence: explication, measurement, and implications for consumer behavior

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to develop and test a psychometrically valid scale for musical intelligence as an individuating variable. This scale can elicit individual differences on reactions to sonic branding stimuli such as audio logos, radio jingles and commercial music. Design/methodology/approach – A two-step confirmatory factor analysis followed by structural equation modeling was used to develop and test the scale. Data were collected across three studies consisting of 470 participants. The scale was developed and nomologically validated. Findings – Findings suggest that musical intelligence discriminates reactions to music as evidenced by the three component conceptualization of musical intelligence. Originality/value – This study offers an original, three-component conceptualization of musical intelligence, proposes a measurement scale and then presents evidence of construct validity. Finally, the paper discusses potential applications of the scale in personality research.

The Brand Recall Index: a metric for assessing value

Purpose – In this article, the purpose is to discuss the Brand Recall Index (BRI) as an easily implementable marketing metric to assess the brand equity for any brand specific to an identified segment.Design/methodology/approach – Two quasi‐experimental timed surveys were conducted to assess the robustness of the Brand Recall Index (BRI).Findings – Findings demonstrate assessment potential of the BRI.Research limitations/implications – The study demonstrates the viability of BRI as a managerial measure; however, it does not necessarily demonstrate downstream nomological validity. Future research could address the influence of changing mindshare, as uncovered by BRI, on market share for a brand.Practical implications – Ongoing assessment of BRI will enable brand managers to track a brands evolving mindshare in identified segments and allow them to take corrective action.Originality/value – This paper develops an easily implementable index to measure brand value–an intangible yet critical asset for any firm.

One-to-One and One-to-Many Business Relationship Marketing: Toward a Theoretical Framework

ABSTRACT Purpose. This work addresses mixed findings in relationship marketing literature regarding the importance of micro-level (interpersonal) relationships on firm outcome. Methodology/Approach: The article leverages impression formation theory to advance a framework to understand one-to-one and one-to-many marketing relationships to better predict firm outcome. Findings: The authors suggest that 5 framework moderators—the type and consistency of the encounters, relationship age, purchase frequency, relationship interruptions, and two customer side characteristics (i.e., need to evaluate [NTE] and need for cognitive closure [NFCC]”)—can qualify the relationship building process and impact the effectiveness of interpersonal and/or group relationships on firm outcome. Practical Implications: The framework suggests that (1) highly consistent sales team behaviors reduce the risk of losing business in case of a sales team member leaving; (2) low frequency purchases are better suited for one-to-many selling relationships; (3) temporarily suspending relationships by individual salespeople is more harmful than suspending relationships by sales teams; (4) involving the customer in the acquisition process facilitates team selling; and (5) a positive first impression is more important for high (vs. low) NFCC and high NTE customers. Originality/Value. The theoretical framework (1) distinguishes between individual-to-individual and individual-to-group relationships, (2) suggests a distinction between micro-level individual-to-individual and individual-to-group relationships and macro-level individual-to-firm relationships, (3) analyzes the impact of micro-level relationships under the influence of context-related and customer-related factors, and (4) provides managerially relevant guidelines for strategic sales planning.

The Effect of Sales People, Processes, and Provisions on Performance: The 4P-Sales Management Model

In this paper the authors develop and empirically test a comprehensive 4-P Sales Management Model. The model simultaneously considers the affect sales People, sales Processes and sales Provisions (how the firm equips sales representatives, in this case technology support, specifically CRM) have on firm Performance. By simultaneously examining the relative effect these various characteristics have on firm performance this research presents a holistic approach to understanding the antecedents of sales performance. The development of the 4-P Sales Management Model offers important theoretical and substantive contributions. A brief overview of the model is outlined here.

Impact of CRM technology on sales process behaviors: empirical results from US, Europe, and Asia

ABSTRACT Purpose: The diffusion of customer relationship management (CRM) systems across the globe, over the last decade, has created a need to improve the understanding of the impact of technology on the sales process from a global perspective. The authors examine how CRM technology impacts the sales process (creating opportunity, managing opportunity, and managing relationships) in three regions of the world (US, Europe, and Asia). Methodology/Approach: The differences among US respondents (n = 789), European respondents (n = 327), and Asian respondents (n = 91) were explored. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted on creating opportunity, managing opportunity, and managing relationships, with dichotomized CRM effectiveness and geography (US/Europe/Asia) as factors. Findings: The MANOVA revealed a significant influence of CRM effectiveness, but a non-significance for geography and a non-significance for the interaction between CRM effectiveness and geography. This pattern of results suggests that CRM effectiveness leads to significant differences in sales processes; however, these influences are not qualified by the geography to which the firm belongs. Ensuing univariate Analysis of Varirances (ANOVAs) revealed a significant influence of CRM effectiveness on creating opportunity, managing opportunity, and managing relationships, but not for firm–geography or its interaction with CRM effectiveness. Post hoc tests revealed that firms high on CRM effectiveness were better at creating opportunity, managing opportunity, and managing relationships. Differences in CRM effectiveness lead to significant differences in sales processes; however, these influences once again are not qualified by the geography to which the firms belong. Originality/Value Contribution: This study provides several contributions to the stream of research focused on CRM globally. First, due to globalization, CRM use and process can be more standardized across regions and cultures. With the evolution of technology such as Web 2.0 and cloud computing, barriers to communicating and exchanging information, regardless of time zone or location, have been decreased. A US firm’s use of a CRM platform can essentially capture the same information on a client that a firm in Europe or Asia also manages. CRM’s ultimate measure of success is for the buyer–seller relationship process to positively impact the level of business conducted.