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Article
Publication date: 24 August 2021

Ceyda Maden-Eyiusta, Zeynep Yesim Yalabik and Mehmet Ali Burak Nakiboglu

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study focuses on the impact of perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) on employees' adaptive

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study focuses on the impact of perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) on employees' adaptive (selling) behavior in a personal selling context. As part of the support-adaptive behavior relationship, the authors also explore the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating role of customer orientation (CO).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 200 salespeople from the financial and pharmaceutical sectors in Turkey. Hypotheses were tested with hierarchical multiple regressions and hierarchical moderated regressions.

Findings

Supported salespeople feel more empowered in their jobs and show adaptive (selling) behavior. Our results also show that the impact of support on adaptive selling behavior through empowerment is stronger for salespeople with low CO.

Research limitations/implications

This study has two limitations: the generalizability of its findings and cross-sectional design. Still, it significantly contributes to support, empowerment and adaptive behavior literature.

Practical implications

By creating a supportive work environment and by training their managers to improve their support skills, organizations boost their employees' adaptability. Both of these support practices motivate employees to use their discretion in sales situations. Organizations should also evaluate and manage their employees' level of CO by conducting company surveys and by increasing top management communication.

Originality/value

This study tests the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relationship between POS, PSS and adaptive behavior in the understudied personal selling context. The authors also test the moderating role of CO in the proposed model.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2022

Shoaib Shafique, Amer Rajput, Usman Javed and Hayam Alnakhli

In hypercompetitive markets, retail brands should fuel their sales employees’ to responsively serve customers. In connection, the study aims to unpack the direct and indirect, via…

Abstract

Purpose

In hypercompetitive markets, retail brands should fuel their sales employees’ to responsively serve customers. In connection, the study aims to unpack the direct and indirect, via psychological flourishing, the role of inclusive leadership in paving the path for retail salesperson adaptive selling behaviour. Additionally, the study also empirically investigates the moderating role of work centrality to offer critical insights for effective managerial interventions.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon conservation of resource theory to test the nexuses of the model, time-lagged survey data were collected from 313 retail salespersons from the leading retail brands. Data were analyzed using the bootstrapping method.

Findings

Results revealed the direct positive association between inclusive leadership and adaptive selling behaviour and indirect association via psychological flourishing. Furthermore, the direct association between inclusive leadership and adaptive selling becomes more pronounced for employees high on work centrality.

Practical implications

Findings can help retail brands to enhance adaptive selling behaviour, which enables them to provide efficient solutions and gain sustainable competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The study offers several important contributions to the sales literature by establishing the direct and indirect link between inclusive leadership and adaptive selling via psychological flourishing. Moreover, the result of the interaction effect highlights the critical aspects of work centrality in the retail sales context.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 40 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2021

Myoung-Soung Lee and Jaewon Yoo

This study investigated the effects of social capital on frontline bank employee's adaptive selling behavior via the psychological process. Frontline bank employees' positive…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated the effects of social capital on frontline bank employee's adaptive selling behavior via the psychological process. Frontline bank employees' positive social relationships enhance their perception of the work environment and encourage work engagement. With the multiple mediation model, both internal and external social capital have direct and indirect influence on the frontline bank employee's adaptive selling behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected from a cross-sectional sample of retail banking industry in Korea. Specifically, using two-step procedures, employees of financial service or insurance sales department in banks were selected and online survey questionnaires were distributed to them. Data from 330 employees were collected and analyzed.

Findings

The results of this study showed how social capital affects frontline bank employees' person–job fit as a cognitive psychological process, leading to work engagement as an emotional psychological process and, in turn, more adaptive selling behavior. Using multiple mediation analysis, the results showed that work engagement on its own exerts a mediating effect on social capital, whereas a person–job fit does not.

Research limitations/implications

This study applied both aspects of the social capital concept by dividing it into internal and external social capital, and exploring each separately. This study examined the influence on psychological processes and behavioral response by distinguishing between the two forms of social capital. Second, this study expands the previous studies by introducing social capital as an antecedent factor of frontline bank employees' adaptive selling behavior. Finally, this study explains how frontline bank employees' relational resources (i.e. social capital) influence their emotional aspect (i.e. work engagement) and cognitive aspect (i.e. person–job fit), which ultimately influence performance-driven behavior (i.e. adaptive selling behavior).

Practical implications

This research showed the importance of hiring frontline bank employees with excellent social capital capabilities. Furthermore, this study underscored the fact that organizations require preparing and providing practical management methods that can improve the social capital of their current frontline employees. Last, organization need to design the job in a way that innately improves frontline employees' social capital. Therefore, these jobs provide many opportunities for frontline bank employees to use their ability to build relationships in their interactions with customers and make practical decisions to achieve job performance.

Originality/value

This study improved our understanding regarding the importance of employees' social capital by revealing the psychological process of how frontline bank employees' social capital affects adaptive selling behavior. Second, this study expands on the literature by introducing internal and external social capital as an antecedent factor affecting the adaptive selling behavior of frontline bank employees. Furthermore, this study advances understanding on the manner in which relational resources of frontline bank employees (i.e. social capital) influence the emotional (i.e. work engagement) as well as the cognitive aspects (i.e. person–job fit), which ultimately influence performance-driven behavior (i.e. adaptive selling behavior).

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2020

Jihong Zhou and Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol

This study aims to draw on the categorization theory to explore the mediating role of customer qualification skills in explaining how social media use in sales contributes to…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to draw on the categorization theory to explore the mediating role of customer qualification skills in explaining how social media use in sales contributes to salespeople’s adaptive selling behaviors to achieve high sales performance in export selling. The study also integrates network effect theory and social linguistics theory to identify the specific social media platform (Facebook versus non-Facebook) and the characteristics of salespeople in terms of English language proficiency, which play a facilitating role in promoting the effectiveness of social media use in export sales.

Design/methodology/approach

The sampling frame of the research is a list of Chinese export salespersons obtained on the FOB Business Forum website. Survey data were obtained from 873 Chinese export salespeople. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data.

Findings

Social media use in sales is associated positively with customer qualification skills and adaptive selling behaviors. Moreover, the results revealed a partial mediating effect of customer qualification skills on the positive impact of social media use in sales on adaptive selling behaviors. The moderating effect analysis found that the positive association between social media use in sales and customer qualification skills was stronger in export salespeople who used Facebook and had mastered a high level of English language proficiency.

Originality/value

This study provides new findings, based on data collected from salespeople in Mainland China, that support the effectiveness of social media use in an export sales context. Moreover, the study advances prior research by showing that the effectiveness of social media use still depends on the type of social media used and the English language proficiency of the salespeople.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2021

Fortune Edem Amenuvor, Ho-Taek Yi and Henry Boateng

This paper examines the antecedents of adaptive selling behavior empirically from the salespeople's, customers', and firms' perspectives.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the antecedents of adaptive selling behavior empirically from the salespeople's, customers', and firms' perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey design was used for this study. Data from 219 salespeople and their visiting customers in selected cosmetics companies in Korea are used to test the conceptual model using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Findings show that intrinsic motivation, empathy, and product knowledge are germane to adaptive selling behavior among salesperson-level factors. Similarly, among the customer-level factors, the length of the relationship between salespeople and customers positively affects adaptive selling behavior. Also, while supervisory empowerment among the organizational-level factors significantly predicts adaptive selling behavior, supervisory control has a negative effect on adaptive selling behavior. The study finds that emotional intelligence and customer value demandingness do not significantly affect adaptive selling behavior.

Originality/value

Even though there is extant research on adaptive selling behavior, our research differs from previous research because our research focuses on door-to-door personal selling channels. Furthermore, this study departs from previous research because it uses customer-reporting of the salespeople and salespeople's self-reporting responses.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2021

Kwan Soo Shin, Fortune Edem Amenuvor, Henry Boateng and Richard Basilisco

The current study aims to empirically examine the impact of formal salesforce control systems on salespeople and customer behavior.

Abstract

Purpose

The current study aims to empirically examine the impact of formal salesforce control systems on salespeople and customer behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected from 704 salespeople and their respective visiting customers (704) in Ghana. The suggested hypotheses are tested through the structural equation (SEM) modeling technique.

Findings

The study results show that all three formal control mechanisms have positive and significant effects on customer-directed problem-solving and adaptive selling behaviors. Similarly, the study finds that salespeople's customer-directed problem-solving behavior increases, respectively, customer-directed opportunism and relationship continuity. Adaptive selling behavior also has significant positive effects on both customer-directed opportunism and relationship continuity, respectively.

Practical implications

The study offers practical and theoretical insights into understanding salesforce control dynamics, customer-directed opportunism, adaptive selling behavior, customer-directed problem-solving behavior and continuity of relationships. The results also have significant consequences for sales organizations as they can help sales managers decide on the best form of salesforce control systems to deploy.

Originality/value

The current research demonstrates how control mechanisms can influence both adaptive selling and customer-directed problem-solving behaviors and how these could generate both customer-directed opportunism and relationship continuity.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 39 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2020

Claudio Pousa, Yunling Liu and Asad Aman

The purpose of the study is to test the effect of relationship managerial behavior (i.e. managerial coaching) on frontline employee performance (i.e. sales performance) and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to test the effect of relationship managerial behavior (i.e. managerial coaching) on frontline employee performance (i.e. sales performance) and the mediating effect of employee's relationship behaviors (i.e. customer orientation and adaptive selling) in a Chinese banking environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a survey from 242 frontline employees working at a large commercial bank in Dalian (China). Measures on managerial coaching, customer orientation, adaptive selling and sales performance were adapted from the literature. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS 26.

Findings

Results indicate that (1) managerial coaching positively affects employee customer orientation, (2) employee customer orientation positively affects employee adaptive selling behavior and (3) adaptive selling behavior positively affects sales performance. Bootstrap analysis confirmed the significance and stability of all the direct paths (suggesting that every mediator fully mediates the effect of its antecedent on the criterion) but none of the indirect paths found support (full mediation model).

Research limitations/implications

The study makes a contribution to the nomological network of managerial coaching by introducing a construct that has not been used previously (i.e. employee adaptive selling behavior) and testing its relevance in a commercial setting.

Practical implications

The results suggest that (1) managerial coaching is a central managerial behavior for companies that would like to implement a relationship marketing strategy because it helps promote specific employee relationship behaviors like customer orientation and adaptive selling, (2) there seems to be little cultural differences in the banking industry between the Chinese and the Western banks, suggesting that coaching and other management tools can be transferable from one culture to the other and (3) that coaching is an effective tool to help employees achieve higher sales performance.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature on the use of managerial coaching in commercial areas to increase frontline employee relationships behaviors. The identification of adaptive selling as a mediator is an original contribution because it has received little attention in scientific research. Additionally, the use of a Chinese sample of bank employees responds to recent call for more research in cross-cultural settings.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 38 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 February 2022

Fortune Edem Amenuvor, Richard Basilisco, Henry Boateng, Kwan Soo Shin, Dohyun Im and Kwasi Owusu-Antwi

This study sets out to empirically investigate the effect of salesforce output control on perceived job autonomy, customer-oriented selling behaviours and sales performance.

Abstract

Purpose

This study sets out to empirically investigate the effect of salesforce output control on perceived job autonomy, customer-oriented selling behaviours and sales performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are gathered from 704 salespeople and their visiting customers in Ghana. The hypotheses are tested using the structural equations modelling technique (SEM).

Findings

According to the findings of the study, output control has a significant and positive impact on perceived job autonomy. It also discovers that perceived job autonomy improves both customer-directed problem solving and adaptive selling behaviours. Furthermore, the study finds that customer-directed problem solving and adaptive selling behaviours both improve sales performance. Moreover, the study uncovers that perceived job autonomy mediates the relationship between output control and customer-oriented selling behaviours, whereas both customer-oriented selling behaviours mediate the relationship between perceived job autonomy and sales performance.

Practical implications

The current study provides both practical and theoretical insights into salesforce control dynamics, job autonomy, adaptive selling behaviour, customer-directed problem-solving behaviour and sales performance. The findings have important implications for sales organisations because they can assist sales managers in determining the best type of salesforce control systems to deploy and highlight the strategic role job autonomy plays in enhancing sales performance.

Originality/value

The current study shows how output control can influence salespeople's perceived job autonomy, adaptive selling and customer-directed problem-solving behaviours, and how these can improve sales performance.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 40 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2020

Hayam Alnakhli, Rakesh Singh, Raj Agnihotri and Omar S. Itani

This study aims to investigate salespersons’ self-monitoring and its effect on adaptive selling behavior. As salespeople are constantly facing different customers with various…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate salespersons’ self-monitoring and its effect on adaptive selling behavior. As salespeople are constantly facing different customers with various needs and want and engaging in a different sales situation, salespeople must deploy their inner capabilities in practicing adaptive selling behavior during and across sales interactions. This study also investigates the impact of salesperson’s intrapersonal leadership – where leadership stems from the individuals with the purpose to influence oneself.

Design/methodology/approach

Authors draw on the social cognitive theory of self-regulation to develop our model and examine the relationship between self-monitoring, thought self-leadership and adaptive selling behavior. We empirically test the model using data from 335 pharmaceutical salespeople working across several countries in Asia.

Findings

The results support the role of self-monitoring and thought self-leadership as antecedents to adaptive selling. Further, the results suggest that self-monitoring positively moderates the relationship between thought self-leadership and adaptive selling behavior. In light of these results, we explore implications and limitations and conclude by suggesting directions for further research.

Research limitations/implications

The sampling method used was convenience sampling, which may limit the theoretical generalization of our results across all emerging markets. Moreover, this study examines the direct impact of self-management mechanism on adaptive selling behavior and the way it interacts with salesperson's thought self-leadership to strengthen adaptive selling behavior. However, the research model does not include organization-level drivers.

Originality/value

This study makes an important and original contribution to sales literature by demonstrating the direct and interaction effects of self-monitoring mechanism on a critical component of a business to business sales process, adaptive selling behavior. Results from this study highlight the critical importance of cognitive processes that drives positive selling behavior.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 35 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2020

Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol and Pornprom Suthatorn

This research examined the relationships between improvisational behavior, adaptive selling behavior and sales performance of direct sellers in Thailand. This research also…

Abstract

Purpose

This research examined the relationships between improvisational behavior, adaptive selling behavior and sales performance of direct sellers in Thailand. This research also investigated whether these relationships are moderated by the degree of challenge orientation and sellers' knowledge about the products.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected through a survey with sellers from a subsidiary of a multinational corporation located in Bangkok, Thailand (n = 172). Partial least squares–structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Findings

Results from data analysis revealed positive relationships between improvisational behavior, adaptive selling behavior and sales performance. The relationship between improvisational behavior and adaptive selling behavior, as well as the relationship between adaptive selling behavior and sales performance, significantly depended on the degree of challenge orientation and the sellers' knowledge about the products.

Research limitations/implications

The data were collected using self-report measures; the sample was sellers from a single sales organization, and cross-sectional data were used for the analysis. Overall, this study is the exploratory research that does not intend to prove the causal effect of improvisational behavior, but rather to provide new insight on some conditional factors that influence its effectiveness.

Practical implications

It is essential for sales organizations to ensure that their sales force has adequate improvisational skills to handle sales adaptations effectively during unexpected sales situations. Some training may be offered to the sales force to develop these imperative improvisational skills.

Originality/value

The results regarding the moderating effect of challenge orientation and product knowledge provided additional insight to prior research about the potential conditions that influence the effectiveness of improvisational behavior and adaptive selling behaviors.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 70 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

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