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Although research analyzing the consequences of salesperson social media use in driving sales behaviors and performance outcomes has proliferated in the recent past, there are significant research gaps in the domain. Grounded in task-technology fit theory, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework that integrates between previously disjointed areas of research and analyzes the relationships between salesperson social media use, brand awareness, creativity, manager empowerment and company performance.

Survey responses were collected from a multi-industry sample of 158 business-to-business salespeople. Structural relationships were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The analysis shows that salesperson social media use positively affects brand awareness. The relationship between social media and brand awareness is magnified with the increase in salesperson creativity. Findings also show that manager empowerment increases salesperson creativity. Finally, brand awareness positively affects company performance.

Sales organizations should focus on developing digital strategies, especially focusing on salesperson social media use to enhance company’s brand awareness, which in turn increases company performance. Moreover, sales managers should also follow empowering leader behaviors to enhance creativity.

The authors amalgamate salesperson social media use literature and branding literature by proposing salesperson social media use’s positive effects on brand awareness. This study also expands the knowledge by exploring the moderating effect of individual-level variables such as salesperson creativity on driving the effects of salesperson social media use.

Although the role of emotions in buyer–seller exchanges is important, it remains understudied, especially in the business-to-business selling context. This paper aims to provide insights into the role of the salespeople’s ability to appraise emotions (EA ability) and its effects on job-related outcomes in a transaction-oriented environment.

Multi-source data were gathered from 152 salespeople working for a financial service firm. Customer service and sales performance ratings were reported by supervisors. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling using AMOS.

The study finds contrasting effects of EA ability on sales performance in the firm’s transaction-oriented environment. On the one hand, EA ability motivates better salesperson customer service, which then increases their sales performance. On the other hand, EA ability enhances emotional exhaustion, which detracts from sales performance.

Sales managers should consider the ability of new hires to appraise emotions when determining their fit with the job and the organization. Training programs that develop salesperson emotional abilities should be comprehensive as it may be detrimental to be high in EA ability without the skills to regulate or use emotions.

The study is one of the first to consider the effects of emotional abilities in the context of a transaction-oriented environment. By focusing specifically on EA ability, the study provides greater understanding of the influences of the individual components of emotional intelligence, rather than salesperson’s overall capacity for emotional intelligence.

Although the role of self-leadership is important, it remains understudied in business-to-business (B2B) selling context. This study aims to provide insights into the drivers and outcomes of behavioral self-leadership tested through a sample working in pharmaceutical sales in an emerging economy. In accord, the authors investigate the relationships between self-efficacy, behavioral self-leadership, adaptive selling and ultimately sales performance. This study also investigates the moderating role of technical knowledge.

Data were gathered from 208 salespeople working in pharmaceutical industry. AMOS 21.0 and SmartPLS3.0 were utilized to test the conceptual framework.

The study finds that self-efficacy is positively related to behavioral self-leadership that in turn is positively related to adaptive selling and sales performance. In addition, counter intuitive findings were uncovered related to salesperson’s technical knowledge. Those with high technical knowledge exhibited weaker relationship between self-efficacy and behavioral self-leadership, behavioral self-leadership and adaptive selling and that between behavioral self-leadership and sales performance than their counterparts with low technical knowledge.

This study extends work on self-leadership by exploring the effect of self-efficacy and behavioral self-leadership on sales performance. This study also extends the theory on salesperson’s knowledge by proposing the counter-intuitive effect of knowledge and self-efficacy and knowledge and behavioral self-leadership on adaptive selling and sales performance.

Sales managers should consider that not all employees indulging in behavioral self-leadership would reap benefits from the same. As such, sales managers should assess the level of technical knowledge of the salesforce and when determining their training programs that develop such self-leadership skills.

The study is one of the first to consider the drivers and outcomes of behavioral self-leadership and technical knowledge in a B2B sales context. By focusing on the interplay between knowledge and self-efficacy and knowledge and behavioral self-leadership, this study provides greater understanding of the effects of behavioral self-leadership than previously expected by sales researchers.

This study examines the contextual variables that can curb the negative effects of role conflict on job satisfaction and enhance the positive effect of job satisfaction on creativity and service performance. More specifically, adopting the job demands-resources theory, the authors explore the interactive effect of frontline employee (FLE) self-monitoring and FLE-manager trust on the relationship between role conflict and job satisfaction. Extending this line of inquiry, the authors adopt social identity theory and analyze the moderating effect of FLE-manager identification on the relationship between job satisfaction and creativity and between job satisfaction and service performance.

Dyadic data utilizing 122 responses from FLEs and their managers were obtained from FLEs working with a major financial services firm in India. Structural equation modeling and PLS were used to assess the hypothesized relationships.

The negative relationship between role conflict and job satisfaction is reduced at higher levels of FLE self-monitoring and FLE-manager trust. Furthermore, FLE manager identification accentuates the effect of job satisfaction on creativity and service performance.

Organizations should invest in developing FLEs' personal and job-related resources to reduce the deleterious effects of role conflicts on FLEs' job outcomes. Specifically, managers should hire FLEs who are high in self-monitoring while enhancing FLE-manager trust and FLE-manager identification.

Role conflict is inevitable in a service job and can have serious negative downstream consequences. Hence, the study explores the important contextual factors that can help an organization develop policies to reduce the negative effects of role conflict.

Although the role of the internal competitive work environment is important, it remains understudied in a business-to-business (B2B) selling context. Grounded in job-demands resources theory, this study aims to investigate the relationships between internal competitive work environment, working smart, emotional exhaustion and sales performance.

Data were gathered from 147 salespeople working for a financial service firm. Sales performance ratings were reported by supervisors. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

This study finds dual effects of the internal competitive work environment on salesperson’s job outcomes. Although such an environment improves working smart behaviors, which increases sales performance, it also increases emotional exhaustion, which reduces sales performance.

This study extends job-demands resources theory by proposing internal competitive work environment as a challenge demand and extends the theory by proposing that a salesperson’s time management skills as a personal resource that may reduce such environment’s deleterious effects.

Sales managers should consider the complex nature of increasing competition within the organization and assess the ability of their workforce to effectively manage their time. Training programs that develop time management skills should also be promoted.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to consider the multifaceted effects of the internal competitive work environment in a B2B sales context. By focusing on the duality of the work environment, this study provides a greater understanding of the influences of organizational factors on sales performance.

The purpose of this study is to review the role of knowledge-sharing and its association with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). TPB is the most used theory in understanding knowledge-sharing behavior in many contexts.

Based on the bibliometric approach, this study extracted and analyzed 229 journal articles on the Web of Science. In addition, two analyses (bibliographic coupling and co-word) were performed to provide science mapping in presenting the knowledge structure on the present and future research direction on knowledge-sharing and TPB.

The findings of this study suggest that two stand-out clusters are determinants and antecedents of knowledge-sharing behavior based on TPB and the role of the virtual platform and social media in facilitating knowledge-sharing among users.

This study will benefit researchers and scholars in studying individual behavioral traits underpinning TPB in achieving organizational excellence.

This study extends the findings of the previous review because of their limitations on methods. This study confirms the determinants of knowledge-sharing intention and behavior. However, this study suggests integrating TPB with other theories to provide more insights into knowledge-sharing behavior and use online and technology-based platforms to facilitate knowledge-sharing behavior.

The study aims to examine the moderating role of variety-seeking behaviour between customer engagement and its antecedents (customer satisfaction and customer value). Further, this study also tests the existence of the value-satisfaction-engagement behaviour chain.

The perception of 262 respondents was used to examine the hypothesis using the structural equation modelling approach.

The moderation effect of variety-seeking behaviour between customer satisfaction and customer engagement was found to be significant. Also, customer satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between perceived value and customer engagement, hence, empirically validating the value-satisfaction-engagement model in the retailing context.

The findings draw managers' attention towards the segment of consumers who are more likely to be engaged, thus helping managers develop a more efficient and focussed strategy to achieve customer engagement. The result also suggests that variety-seeking buyers may not get engaged even after satisfaction.

This paper is among the first to empirically test the moderating role of variety-seeking behaviour to achieve customer engagement.

Consumer behavior, in the context of general insurance, is worth exploring to formulate growth strategies for insurance sector in India in light of the proposed structural changes. Indian consumers attract global players due to untapped potential and favorable policy measures initiated for higher foreign direct investments. The purpose of this paper is to understand the prevailing level of service quality as perceived by insurance customers in India in the presence of certain contextual antecedents and moderators.

Perceptions about constructs like customer risk dispositions, awareness, past experiences, customer involvement, choice overload, service quality and satisfaction of 256 customers were collected using a questionnaire survey. A variance-based structural equation modeling helped to identify significant linkages among the constructs.

In order to assess service quality levels, a 15-item scale having the infrastructure, employees, agents and product dimensions was found valid and reliable. Choice overload and customer involvement were found to moderate the influence of antecedents and service quality, respectively. The influence of choice overload on quality perceptions is insignificant. The study concludes that the existing risk beliefs are insufficient, and experiences have less predictive contribution to quality perceptions.

Theoretically, this study examined the process of satisfaction development from service quality perceptions. This study offers insights for developing theories to portray future consumer behavior where more dependence of self-service technologies is expected to dominate service delivery mechanisms in insurance. The study informs that general insurance customers in India prefer more diversified products, more customer-centric employees/agents and better technical quality.

The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the prevailing insurance consumer behavior in the general insurance sector of India and help insurance service providers in streamlining their strategies for better insurance penetration and reduced lapse rate.

This study helps in understanding the emerging trends in general insurance buying behavior in India.