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More than ever, consideration of the natural environment and social welfare are values that firms must signal to their stakeholders. One way to do this is by adopting an environmental orientation (EO) and pro-social organizational identity (PSOI). The purpose of this paper is to examine how frontline employees (FLEs) respond to these firm-level values through four outcomes.

Polynomial structural equation modeling with response surface analysis was implemented on FLEs survey data to uncover how different levels of EO and PSOI impact sales performance, word-of-mouth, turnover intent and job satisfaction.

Both firm-level values have a positive and direct effect on all four outcomes. However, each imposes a boundary condition as well. Specifically, salespeople perform better when their firm has a stronger EO, but they are happier in their work, less likely to quit and more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth when PSOI is stronger.

The results suggest that perceptions of a firm-level EO or PSOI enhance employee-level outcomes. Signaling to employees that your firm cares about the natural environment and the greater social good positively influences employee outcomes, but optimization of each outcome depends on the strength of those values.

This research answers two specific research calls. First, it applies signaling theory to the workplace context, positioning FLEs as the receivers and feedback mechanisms of firm-level signals. Second, using too-much-of-a-good-thing logic, it uncovers boundary conditions imposed by social and environmental constructs on frontline outcomes.

This paper aims to examine the common roots of both logistics and sustainability phenomena in supply chains to derive a new potential construct, green logistics competency.

Theoretical synthesis and conceptualization of new construct.

Based on Madhavaram and Hunt’s (2008) resource hierarchy concept, the key to successfully competing with a sustainable supply chain may lie in whether the resources enabling both sustainability and effective supply chains are interdependent, as opposed to merely co-existent.

Most current theory regarding sustainable supply chains regards environmentally-friendly factors as resources that are additively bundled with supply chain resources. To determine if competitive performance differentials exist between truly green supply chains, and supply chains that merely adopt green practices, measurement must account for both the interdependence of green and supply chain resources, and their common cultural antecedents.

The study indicates that it is not sufficient for firms to have expertise in both sustainability and in supply chain practices; managers in each of those areas must develop the cultural antecedents of both supply chain and sustainability excellence if firms are to achieve meaningful competitive capabilities through sustainable supply chains.

This conceptual study addresses a paucity of theory describing how and why organizations build a genuinely green supply chain, as opposed to simply adapting supply chains to green practices.

Companies are beginning to rely more on customer participation (CP). As a result, consumers are expected to expend more resources throughout the service exchange. Through three studies, this study aims to examine the effect of CP on customers’ evaluations of these exchanges. Study 1 examines the interaction between two levels of CP (low versus high) and shopping experience type (hedonic versus utilitarian). In Study 2, the focus shifts to understanding the negative consequences of high CP. In Study 3, the authors explore how the negative effects of high CP can be mitigated.

Scenario-based experiments were implemented across three studies. This study used multivariate analysis of variance (Study 1) and PROCESS (Hayes, 2018; Studies 2 and 3) to uncover how consumers respond to CP.

Results of Study 1 indicate that the CP level negatively impacts satisfaction and positive word-of mouth (PWOM) in a utilitarian context but has no effect in a hedonic context. Study 2 finds that the negative effects of high CP on satisfaction and PWOM are mediated by fairness and frustration. Study 3 suggests that these negative results can be mitigated by offering a financial incentive.

This study’s two primary objectives address specific calls in the CP literature. First, this study examines the effects of increased CP during hedonic and utilitarian shopping experiences. Second, this study investigates mediators and moderators associated with the negative effects of increased CP, shedding light on how the consumer processes high CP service encounters.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate guilt proneness as a prosocial salesperson trait and its impact on outcomes important to the firm, the customer as well as the salesperson. Specifically, the authors look at how this variable relates to job effort and the indirect effects on customer satisfaction. The corollary purpose is to uncover how managers influence these constructs through positive outcome feedback.

Prosocial motivation theory grounds the conceptual model which the authors test through survey implementation. The final sample consisted of 129 business-to-business (B2B) salespeople working across multiple industries in India. Latent moderated structural equation modeling was utilized to test the proposed model.

The results suggest that guilt proneness positively influences the likelihood that a salesperson adopts a relational orientation, which has a direct effect on individual effort and an indirect effect on customer satisfaction. Supervisors have the ability to amplify this effort through positive outcome feedback, but only when relational orientation is low. Their support had no effect on salespeople with a high relational orientation.

The study is unique in that it combines an overlooked prosocial trait with a B2B Indian dataset. We provide value for firms because our results show that guilt-prone salespeople put more effort into their job – ”something universally desirable among sales managers” – through the development of a relational orientation. The authors also give practical implications on how to support salespeople given their level of relational orientation.

This paper lays the groundwork for future research in supply chain transparency in two ways. First, the authors delineate the construct and explore how it is shifting the business landscape. Second, the authors connect nine theories to the construct to guide future scholars in this growing research area.

The authors explore the practical implications for the future of supply chain transparency research through the application of nine theories: stakeholder theory; the technology acceptance model; transaction cost theory; commodity theory; competing values theory; ambidexterity; the natural-resource-based view of the firm; actor-network theory and neo-institutional theory. The authors also consider the blending of theories to provide further insights into the ways firms engage in supply chain transparency.

This analysis relates theories from several disciplines (i.e. marketing, supply chain management, economics, information systems and organizational behavior) to add theoretical insights to the concept of supply chain transparency, with suggestions for using these theories in conjunction to address complex emerging issues. The authors offer guidance and direction for cross-disciplinary research to help supply chain and logistics influence other fields.

Supply chain transparency is a boundary-spanning phenomenon swiftly proliferating multiple aspects of business. This research applies nine theoretical perspectives to guide future researchers and lays the foundation for managers looking to adopt transparency into their supply chains.

This paper aims to investigate the interrelated role of relational commitment and dependence as drivers of key performance outcomes. Specifically, the authors provide a conceptual model of the impact of commitment on relationship value dependence and switching cost dependence. The authors further investigate how these dimensions of dependence offer differing noneconomic and economic paths to strategic and financial performance.

Survey data was collected from 296 purchasing agents across multiple industries located in the USA. The conceptual model and accompanying hypotheses were tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results show that the relational path is driven by affective and normative commitment, which are related to relationship value dependence. Conversely, calculative commitment is related to switching cost dependence. This economic path is related to both strategic and financial performance, whereas the relational path is more closely related to strategic as opposed to financial performance outcomes.

This study extends research on Business-To-Business (B2B) relationships by leveraging social exchange theory to examine the interrelated roles played by two forms of dependence on performance outcomes. Thus, the authors answer Scheer et al.’s (2015) call for research into the two distinct types of dependence – relationship value and switching cost dependence – and their roles in determining B2B relationship outcomes. The findings contribute to the literature by integrating social exchange and relationship marketing concepts to develop a dual pathway approach to B2B partnerships.

The results suggest that dependence is not necessarily negative for firms. Specifically, buyers can and do still exhibit positive performance, both strategic and financial, in relationships with suppliers even when dependent on the relationship. Regardless of whether buyers are dependent due to a relationship or economic factors, both can, in different ways, lead to positive strategic and financial outcomes. Together, the authors contribute to the understanding of B2B partnerships by offering guidelines for both buyers and suppliers in the dyad.

The authors derive a comprehensive model depicting primarily relational and economic paths to performance through different types of commitment and dependence. The authors contribute to the literature by demonstrating that relational and economic paths to success are not the same, highlighting how firms could influence performance even when the relationship is not necessarily characterized by generally positive relational benefits and behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing and to determine the influence of consumers’ overall attitude on consumers’ intentions and behaviors. Many services companies practice relationship marketing and customer relationship management. Although the benefits and drawbacks of relationship marketing for consumers have been established, little is known about whether consumers have a relatively positive or negative attitude toward relationship marketing practices.

This research investigates consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing using a national survey of 245 consumers and a survey of 417 consumers living in the southern region of the USA.

Although approximately 70 per cent of our national consumer sample had a somewhat positive attitude toward relationship marketing, about 30 per cent had a somewhat negative or neutral attitude. Furthermore, approximately 39 per cent of consumers in the study would choose a company that does not engage in relationship marketing over a company that does. The results also indicate that consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing impacts their likelihood to respond favorably to specific relationship marketing tactics.

Some limitations should be noted. First and not uncommon to most survey research in marketing, the relationships between constructs in this study may be inflated because of common methods bias. Second, this research reports the results from two studies. Although one of the studies represents a national sample, additional research using the scales developed in this research is needed.

This research indicates that consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing impacts their willingness to engage in relationships with service companies and their response to specific relationship marketing tactics. Because consumer attitudes toward relationship marketing vary, companies should consider segmenting their customer base using this information.

This study extends previous research by using quantitative techniques to measure consumers’ overall attitudes toward relationship marketing and assessing the influence of those attitudes on intentions and behaviors.

Suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers alike are still considering reverse logistics (RL) to be the “necessary evil” in their day‐to‐day operations rather than an opportunity for future performance. At the same time, a well‐structured RL program can create a substantial value‐added and positively affect the bottom‐line. Based on in‐depth investigation of best‐in‐class RL programs implemented in practice, the purpose of this paper is to offer a grounded flow charting approach for assessing the state of program development and, potentially, identifying areas for improvement across different companies in various industries.

The current study utilizes rich qualitative research methodology based on the combination between a thorough review of existing literature and multiple field studies. The findings from existing research, semi‐structured interviews and observation at companies’ sites, and RL‐related documentation at those companies, provide the backbone for the development of the assessment tool.

Although substantial variations exist in the way companies are setting up their RL programs, some common processes prevail. Formalizing these processes and related activities becomes the differentiating factor in RL program development and implementation. In addition, providing structure to the RL effort helps companies to strategically control the related value‐added.

The paper introduces process formalization as a necessary condition for the development and implementation of RL programs. The grounded flow charting approach, based on a qualitative inquiry in real business situations, aims to bridge the gap between theoretical developments and practical guidance for best‐in‐class RL operations.

Social and environmental actors have been added to the stakeholder balancing act required of organizations in today’s competitive marketplace. To address this, the firms may create orientations to convey their strategic priorities. The purpose of this paper is to explore how different levels of environmental orientation (EO) and social orientation (SO) influence firm outcomes. This paper leverages logic from the too-much-of-a-good-thing effect to predict that firms must strategically align their resources with performance goals to optimize these resources.

The paper outlines a step-by-step guide that combines latent moderated structural equation modeling with response surface analysis to estimate curvilinear relationships. The approach leverages the benefits of both techniques to produce precise results and more nuanced – and meaningful – implications.

The procedure is effective in uncovering a curvilinear relationship between the indicator variables. Specifically, firms optimize environmental performance when EO is higher than SO. The opposite is the case for the outcome of social value and manager trust. Economic performance is highest when both indicators are simultaneously high.

This study tests the relationships between social and EOs and performance. As such, the exploratory data in this study are US-centric and self-assessment in design. These limitations open the door to confirmatory studies using objective outcome data and cross-cultural comparisons. Such studies should embrace more variables and examine potential moderating influences. Most importantly, future research should work to expand and verify the development of the eco-SO construct presented here, as the dynamics of these relationships have been overlooked in most social responsibility and sustainability research. Future studies should adopt this construct into extant models and also consider the dynamics and inter-organizational fit for partner firms with competing orientations.

For managers, the results show that conveying an environmental or social outcome has unique benefits to the firm. Further, there is an incentive to try and do both simultaneously. However, there is a critical point where the effects taper off, which can guide managers as they implement social and/or environmental strategies.

The research questions ask if a company can simultaneously deliver: economic value to shareholders, environmental value to the planet and social value to consumers while maintaining the trust of its managers. The results generally support that to fully serve one group, a firm must underserve another.

The study introduces SO as a valid construct to mirror EO and then models their interaction in three-dimensional space to present an optimal firm strategy.

The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to determine the impact of interpersonal identification on sales performance; second, to uncover whether or not that relationship changes direction based on levels organizational prestige; and third, to test the antecedent of managerial support on salesperson interpersonal identification. Ultimately, the authors want to provide sales managers with tangible ways to nurture the self-concept of their sales force while optimizing sales performance.

The authors test the hypotheses using a data set of 196 B2C retail salespeople in the shoe industry. Respondents answered a printed questionnaire, which was analyzed using multiple linear regression and response surface analysis.

The authors find that managerial support does positively influence interpersonal identification among salespeople which, in turn, increases sales performance. However, the relationship is curvilinear, becoming negative when over-identification occurs. This inverted U-shaped relationship is moderated by organizational prestige such that the negative influence is overcome by employees who have pride and confidence in their organization.

Managers should balance the level of support that they provide their employees. While this mentorship generally leads to positive results, too much can lead to over-identification, and consequently reduce sales performance. However, this negative effect can be overcome if the salesperson perceives his organization as prestigious. Therefore, a mix of guidance and autonomy may foster the strongest self-concept among the sales team and generate the most positive outcomes. Further, managers should monitor their employees’ perceptions of the company, communicating its strong reputation internally to generate organizational prestige.

The authors extend social identity theory in a sales context to provide a better understanding of how self-concept can be altered – for better or worse – by the sales manager. The authors also show the importance of communicating your company’s social value to employees. While over-identification in the manager–employee dyad can create a “tipping point” where sales performance begins to decrease, organizational prestige may be able to overcome this effect, demonstrating the power of prestige. Together, the authors present the importance of contextual and external influences on individual sales performance.