Salesmanship: the influence of social networks on sales-service ambidexterity
ISSN: 0025-1747
Article publication date: 6 October 2022
Issue publication date: 10 November 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Although social networks play an important role in individual ambidexterity, few studies have examined the impact of salespeople's social networks on sales-service ambidexterity. The purpose of this paper is to explore how salespeople's internal and external social networks affect sales-service ambidexterity.
Design/methodology/approach
The unique data of 331 salespeople from 39 units in retail banking industry and insurance industry were collected, and the hierarchical linear model was adopted to test the hypotheses. Finally, the alternative measure of the dependent variable and the alternative estimation method were adopted for robustness test.
Findings
The results show that the strength of salespeople's internal social networks and the extensiveness of salespeople's external social networks could facilitate sales-service ambidexterity of salespeople separately and synergistically. Salespeople's role breadth self-efficacy partially mediates the influences of internal and external social networks on sales-service ambidexterity, while empowerment climate and transformational leadership positively moderate the aforementioned mediational process by strengthening the relationship between salespeople's role breadth self-efficacy and sales-service ambidexterity.
Practical implications
Practical guidelines are provided for managers to shape ambidextrous salespeople by facilitating salespeople's internal and external social networks, promoting transformational leadership and creating empowerment climate within the unit.
Originality/value
To the best of the author's knowledge, this paper is the first to systematically examine the impact of salespeople's social network on sales-service ambidexterity. Drawing from social cognitive theory and the ambidexterity literature, this research reveals the mechanism of how salespeople's internal and external social networks contribute to sales-service ambidexterity.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is funded by The Humanities and social sciences research project of the Ministry of Education (No: 21YJA630123). The author would like to thank the research assistants who aided in data collection as well as the salespersons who participated in the study.
Citation
Zheng, X. (2022), "Salesmanship: the influence of social networks on sales-service ambidexterity", Management Decision, Vol. 60 No. 11, pp. 3086-3126. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-01-2022-0038
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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