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This paper aims to explore how and why salespeople enhance or hinder long-term business-to-business (B2B) customer relationships at the interpersonal level by considering self-disclosure and relational cost and reward evaluations.

Data from interviews (N = 47) with B2B sales professionals were analyzed, focusing on the shift of the phases in long-term B2B customer relationships.

Long-term B2B customer relationships evolve at the interpersonal level through a process of continuous relational cost and reward evaluation, self-disclosure and business disclosure in three phases: becoming business partners, collaborative partners and collaborative and personal partners. The reward evaluations progress from being business related to including even more relational benefits. Disclosure progresses through general business disclosure and general self-disclosure; strategic business disclosure and personal life self-disclosure; and synergistic business disclosure and private self-disclosure.

The long-term B2B customer relationships could be studied at the interpersonal level from the customer’s perspective. Self-disclosure could be studied in cross-cultural settings as well as gender differences should be considered in future studies. Business and social penetration theory could be applied to investigate different types of relationships and other professional relationships, such as those between employers and employees. It would be important to test whether the business-related and self-disclosure subtypes apply to the development of other types of professional relationships or whether other disclosure subtypes exist. The authors recommend exploring salespeople’s and customers’ privacy management strategies in multiple communication channels.

Managers may apply the results of this study in their customer relationship management and sales training.

The findings outline a contextual extension of social penetration theory.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact that systematization of sales activities through sales process management has, at the firm level, on profitable sales growth in business‐to‐business (B2B) companies. The research aims to compare companies focusing on service offerings to those focusing on product offerings.

The study is based on survey data.

Despite the emergence of service‐dominant logic, B2B service and product companies still differ in how sales process management contributes to firm performance.

The findings suggest that differences between service and product firms in their sales process management stem from the different underlying modes of interaction. The findings are generalizable to B2B companies.

The findings help businesses differentiate between productive sales process management practices in product and service firms.

The study contributes to the wider need of operationalizing ideas about sales process management at the level of organizations and business units.

Currently, online chat is in common use in e-commerce. By adding social interaction to the online context, companies hope to increase customers’ purchasing intentions. However, previous studies have not investigated how social presence is embedded in online business-to-business (B2B) chat conversations between buyers and sellers. Moreover, the functions of online chat in B2B sales have not been investigated.

The data was collected at a case company over the course of four years, from which the authors analyzed 157 online chat conversations between buyers (n = 157) and sellers (n = 9) with a theory-driven thematic analysis. In addition, data from the company’s customer relationship management system was collected to specify buyer types.

The results reveal that social presence was embedded in online B2B chat via buyers’ interactive, affective and relationship maintenance responses. Social presence differed depending on the type of buyer, with only existing customers having relationship maintenance responses. E-commerce B2B chat functions can be described as multiple and changing depending on the buyer–seller relationship stage.

Having data only from one case company limits the results to one type of industry.

The results can be used in sales training and when developing online chat services.

Results bring scientific utility to B2B sales and marketing research, as the authors build a bridge between social presence, the existing theoretical model on B2B buyer–seller relationship development and online chat as a communication medium. Other researchers may use this understanding when exploring B2B buyer–seller interaction in different digitalized communication media.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the entrepreneurial practice of intellectual capital sharing (ICS) with client organizations and assess its potential for collaborative business-to-business (B2B) relationship building. B2B collaborations within the traditional marketing paradigm are restricted due to perceived opportunism.

The research is based on the grounded theory approach and involves 22 semi-structured interviews with the employees of a focal organization and its five client organizations regarding 36 implemented projects. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed via constant comparison to surface codes, categories, concepts and themes from which the authors developed propositions based on the particular context of this study.

ICS approach helps customers to reconstruct sellers’ identity from one characterized by opportunism and arm’s length relationships to one defined by openness and collaboration. Identified benefits of ICS include higher trust, commitment, social bonding, value co-creation, individual and organizational performance and learning. Eight propositions and a model of ICS consequences are presented.

The context of the study is limited to a single industry – financial services – however, the findings should be highly relevant for other sales contexts characterized by low buyer trust.

Entrepreneurial marketers can engage in ICS approach quickly at minimal cost, as the capabilities and talent are typically already internal to the organization.

This paper examines a unique relational approach to serving clients called ICS that de-emphasizes the sale. Subject matter experts help buyers overcome challenges outside the scope of the traditional marketing paradigm.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of sales performance measurement by developing an organizing framework for classifying sales performance measures based on the various performance criteria used by researchers. Subsequently, the results of both a focus group and in‐depth interviews with sales managers and salespeople will be presented using the classification framework developed. The objective is to determine whether gaps exist between how researchers and practitioners view and classify salesperson performance measures as well as to provide insights to effective sales management practices in areas such as salesperson skill development, goal attainment, resource allocation, and customer relationship management.

A qualitative study, using in‐depth interviews, explores the relationship between sales managers and salespersons and their respective views on sales performance measurement. The interview questions were developed using information derived from a sales executive focus group. In‐person in‐depth interviews were conducted with eight sales managers and eight salespeople from eight organizations.

The paper proposes a new method for organizing the types of performance measures that are used, crossing effectiveness‐efficiency with internally‐externally‐focused measures. The findings indicate that a gap appears to remain between the attributes of performance that researchers focus on and what occurs in the world of sales.

The findings suggest that sales control theories can be used to present an organizing framework of sales performance based on sales outputs, salesperson skill/capability development, sales activities, and market indicators. Our typology might serve as a way to better understand certain research areas where there have been inconsistent findings, and should lead to new measure development for empirical research. In addition, a number of manager and salesperson recommendations for the practicing sales manager are reviewed.

This paper helps to clarify an area that is characterized by ambiguity and an identified need to identify new performance metrics.

This study aims to identify and analyze factors affecting the business-to-business (B2B) relationship between Sri Lankan telecommunication operators and vendors. The authors conduct a survey and develop models to explain relationship strength and satisfaction. The authors find that telecommunication operators and vendors value trust, commitment, adaptation and communication. Operator satisfaction varies by perception of product quality, service support, delivery performance, supplier know-how and value for money. The vendor’s relationship strength is impacted by trust and commitment; vendor satisfaction is affected by economic factors and referencing. The authors suggest formulating management strategies using these results to strengthen business relationships.

The authors develop two conceptual models to analyze the supplier and customer perspectives. This study’s drafted models were drawn from established models and were presented to experts in the industry, both telecommunication operators and vendors. Models were modified based on experts’ feedback, and hypotheses were developed from the conceptual models, developed separately for the two perspectives. Data collection was done via questionnaires; 150 questionnaires were sent via email to identified telecommunication operators and 100 questionnaires were sent via email to identified telecommunication vendors, with follow-up emails and telephone calls to improve response rates.

This study’s findings show that employees in the telecommunication industry recognize the importance of B2B relationships. Employees of both telecommunication operators and vendors agree that stronger relationships are advantageous. The correlation and regression analysis results identify factors that affect the B2B relationship. The following factors impact the strength of B2B relationships irrespective of view point: trust, commitment and satisfaction. The following factors were found to significantly affect the strength of B2B relationships between telecommunication operators and vendors from the operator perspective: adaptation and communication.

To enhance relationship strength, the management of operator organizations should take action to improve trust, commitment and satisfaction. Demonstrating honesty and integrity when dealing with vendors and exhibiting concern for the other party’s interests can help establish trust or enhance trust in existing relationships. Displaying commitment toward the vendor will also facilitate stronger relationships. Reasonable profits for both parties and sizeable business volume will also help satisfy vendors, increasing relationship strength. Positive referencing of the vendor in industrial and public forums will improve vendor satisfaction, enhancing relationship strength. Reputational capital can be built and maintained for both operators and vendors by keeping promises and defending the other party to outsiders. For managers of telecommunications operators and vendors in other emerging markets, this study’s results are important and can inform internal business practices to support trust, commitment and satisfaction.

This study contributes to the existing literature in two ways, a focus on the telecommunication industry and a previously unexplored emerging market, Sri Lanka. In addition, this study includes an analysis of the relationship from both the operator and vendor perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of the antecedents of the exchange domain (use of coercive influence, ideational favor exchange, calculative resource‐dependence, and decision uncertainty) on relationship building. The paper examines the link between the two mediating dynamics of embedded trust and relationship‐specific customization and loyalty by developing a model of vulnerability‐based commitment.

The links between the model elements are tested using data from a survey of clients in the Hong Kong insurance service. Structural equation analysis is used to test research hypotheses and to examine the extent to which vulnerability‐based commitment leads to the development of loyalty.

The degree of embedded trust between parties is enhanced by the use of coercive influence, favor, and resource‐dependence. Embedded trust has a negative relationship with decision uncertainty. The antecedents of coercive influence, favor, and resource‐dependence have positive impacts on relationship‐specific customization. Vulnerability‐based commitment is positively affected both by trust and customization whilst commitment has a positive impact on loyalty.

A vulnerability‐based commitment model is developed as an analytical and managerial tool for understanding the benefits and hidden vulnerabilities of client loyalty and for implementing effective service strategies.

By understanding the implications of the benefits/costs in commitment vulnerabilities, the findings can help in the design of a loyalty quality system. A new measurement tool is provided to enable researchers to perform more vigorous scale development of commitment.

Using role theory, this paper aims to focus on business-to-business inter-personal relationships and the strain such relationships can have on the individual. How is this strain expressed, and what are the implications for the future of these relationships?

Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with experienced account managers. The relationship under scrutiny was the inter-personal relationship that exists between the account managers of UK insurance brokers and their business customers.

The study found account managers use a range of resources to support their inter-personal relationships. Where there was a mismatch in the perception of relationship closeness, this did result in role strain for the account managers. In particular, resentment was expressed over time being taken from their working day and their personal life and the impact this had on their work–life balance.

Identification and an understanding of role strain in inter-personal relationships enables firms to provide support, guidance and training to their employees on how best to manage such relationships. Identifying when and in what ways strain can occur enables firms to identify and take steps to avoid relationship disintegration.

This is one of a few papers to provide empirical evidence of the role strain in inter-personal relationship from an individual employee’s perspective. Identification of the personal resources used in inter-personal relationships may prove useful for other researchers working in this under-researched area. In addition, the in-depth interviews highlighted the often overlooked subtleties within relationships and issues that can trigger relationship strain.

This paper aims to identify purchasing-related costs through the prism of transaction costs and costs of purchasing management activity.

The authors conducted a survey among 150 medium and large manufacturing companies in the chemical, automotive and electromechanical industries operating in Central and Eastern European countries. The collected data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis.

The studied companies carry out an integrated purchasing-related cost system. The authors found a statistical significance of the covariances between the pretransaction, transaction and post-transaction costs. In addition, costs that are of particular importance in long-term purchasing transactions were identified. Moreover, the authors identified the costs of quality and support actions as the most significant.

This research details the discussion of costs with consideration for the insights of managers of medium-sized and large companies.

The paper contributes to the knowledge of purchasing-related costs through the lens of the total cost of ownership that influences the purchasing management and the decisions within the buyer-supplier relationship.

The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth understanding of the B2B customers’ perspective regarding salespeople’s social media use.

The study adopts a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with 26 key informants performing their job in customer role in various industries.

The authors inductively identify five themes regarding the B2B customers’ perspective of social media use in B2B selling. These themes allow for valuable implications for social selling activities and expected outcomes.

Against a growing body of literature on drivers, best practices and outcomes of social media use by B2B salespeople, less attention has been paid to the customer’s side. The authors extend current research by providing a more complete picture of social selling activities and expected outcomes.