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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the salespeople profile (i.e., effort, commitment and creativity) – and its degree of market orientation (MO) – on the success of new product launch and sales outcomes. An emerging economy context is taken as a reference.

A structural equations model is proposed. The data are based on a sample of retail sector sales managers in Peru.

The results indicate that salespeople effort, creativity and degree of MO influence overall sales performance. Salespeople commitment, however, does not have a significant impact. These antecedents are helpful when attempting to understand both the potential success of a new product and sales outcomes.

There is no evidence to date of studies that simultaneously assess the impact of seller profiles and degree of MO on new product launch success and sales outcomes. This paper breaks new ground in analyzing this phenomenon in the context of an emerging economy. The findings are of general interest both for sales force management and for companies interested in familiarizing themselves with the peculiarities of emerging economies and the potential need to adapt policies to these specific realities.

Previous studies that examined the role of empathy and nonverbal immediacy on business-to-business (B2B) salesperson performance is limited in scope and yielded inconclusive evidence. Grounded in Plank and Greene’s (1996) framework of salesperson effectiveness, this paper aims to empirically investigate the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior through which empathy and nonverbal immediacy influence sales force performance and the form of empathy (cognitive or affective) that has the most beneficial role in improving relationship (versus outcome) salesperson performance.

Using cross-sectional data that were collected from 422 pharmaceutical sales representatives, this study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Adaptive selling behavior mediates the effect of perspective taking empathy and empathic concern on relationship performance. However, the impact of empathy on outcome performance is not significant through adaptive selling behavior, but perspective taking empathy has a direct influence on outcome performance. Contrary to expectations, nonverbal immediacy is not mediated by adaptive selling behavior but has a direct and positive impact on relationship performance.

The results of this study have several implications for recruitment, training and assessment of salespeople in a B2B context. Based on the empirical evidence, it is highlighted that firms may use different forms of empathy and nonverbal cues to promote adaptive selling behavior that impact sales force performance (i.e. outcome or relationship).

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which simultaneously examines the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior in the relationship between three antecedent variables that relate to sales force empathy and nonverbal communication (i.e. perspective taking empathy, empathic concern and nonverbal immediacy) and two aspects of B2B sales performance (relationship and outcome).

Salesperson behavior performance is conceptualized as a predictor of outcome performance and sales organization effectiveness. The research considers the effects of salesperson capabilities, industrial/consumer products, and industry growth moderators on salesperson performance and sales organization effectiveness relationships. Empirical analyses are conducted using data from a sample of 174 field sales managers in Austrian sales organizations. The results of moderator regression analyses indicate that salesperson capabilities, product type, and industry growth are relevant moderators. The roles of the moderators vary across the relationships analyzed. Several management and research implications are examined.

This paper focuses on the role of personality congruence, between salespeople’s own personality and the personality of the brand they represent, in driving salesperson identification with the brand and its subsequent effects on important sales force outcomes, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, task self-efficacy and both behavioral and outcome performance.

Data was collected via an online survey from a cross-sectional sample of salespeople. In all, 246 completed the survey. SmartPLS was used to estimate the measurement model and test the hypothesized path relationships using a (partial least squares) structural model.

Results indicated support for all proposed hypotheses in our model. In conclusion, we demonstrate, that the congruency of the salesperson personality with his or her perceived brand personality has a significant impact on the brand identification by the salesperson. This identification has important sales force outcomes, including affecting intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, task self-efficacy and both behavioral and outcome performance. This supports the notion of social identity theory as an important theoretical framework for understanding how the salesperson relates to and delivers the brand message.

Previous research has investigated the drivers and implications of customers’ identification with brands and employees’ identification with their organizations. However, less research attention has focused on salesperson identification with the brand. Given the uniqueness of the boundary-spanning role and the importance of the salesperson to the marketing communication of the brand image, investigation of the drivers of salesperson brand identification becomes particularly important.

This study examines the effects of sales training on sales force performance and customer orientation in the context of small and medium‐sized companies (SMEs). The results give empirical evidence of the importance of sales training investment as a means of increasing sales performance. However, more training investment does not imply higher levels of customer‐oriented selling. Yet, higher levels of salespeople performance and customer‐oriented selling are observed when specific training methods and content are implemented. Additionally, customer‐oriented selling positively influences sales force performance, and sales training seems to moderate the relationship between sales force performance and effectiveness. Managerial implications and applications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.

A strong and repeating theme in sales force automation (SFA) tool research is perceived usefulness. When salespeople perceived high levels of SFA tool usefulness, they report higher intent and actual use. The authors aim to apply agency theory to the concept of perceived usefulness (from the technology acceptance model) to explain why salespeople adopt some forms of SFA and reject still others. A set of hypotheses are proposed and tested revealing that salespeople will decide to use a SFA tool because they perceive it to be useful to themselves (i.e. PU_sp) and to their management (PU_sm).

Based on responses from 105 salespeople, the SFA tools they used were categorized as either outcome‐based (i.e. helping salespeople achieve their selling outcome goals) or activity‐based tools (i.e. helping management monitor selling activities/behaviors). Regression analyses were used to test six hypotheses relating salespeople's usage of each category of tools (the dependent variable) to the salesperson perceived usefulness constructs (both PU_sp and PU_sm – the independent variables).

The findings confirm that SFA tool use (either outcome‐based or activity‐based) is a function of both forms of perceived usefulness (i.e. PU_sp and PU_sm). Furthermore, when PU_sp is high, the salesperson is more likely to use outcome‐based (versus activity‐based) SFA tools over a longer period of time.

The paper validates agency theory as a useful paradigm for understanding salesperson SFA tool adoption. Salespeople will use SFA tools that they view as useful to their productivity and that the sales manager's influence over the salesperson's use of SFA tools may not be as important. To encourage use, firms need to emphasize how a SFA tool can meet salesperson needs.

The paper is the first to hypothesize and test the relationship between perceptions of SFA tool usefulness and actual usage by considering salesperson perception of usefulness to themselves (PU_sp) and perception of usefulness to their sales manager (PU_sm).

The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between the HR control system and organizational results, examining the moderating effect of uncertainty and HR risk behavior.

The study analyzes the relationship between HR control systems and organizational results introducing two major moderating variables as, uncertainty and risk behavior. The data used for this study comes from questionnaire responses by sales and human resource managers of 108 Spanish firms.

The empirical results show that these moderating variables have an influence on the success of the control system, but it can be stated that the control system has an independent impact on the organizational and sales force performance.

Small sample size and cross sectional study, and the use of subjective measures of company and HR performance are the main limitations of the work.

To make correct decisions about HR control systems, managers should assess their environment and the composition of the workforce. There is not a control system that is good for all situations.

An analysis was made of an important non‐executive employee group, as the sales force is, and addressed the important issue of control and performance while the literature is focused on management control systems. The study does not limit the performance measures only to company variables, displaying customer satisfaction and human resource performance factors.

This article describes an approach to strategy execution using lessons learned from improvement efforts to the sales incentive compensation (SIC) business processes and IT systems in Cisco Systems.

This case outlines an alternative approach to strategy execution–a COAR strategy map methodology– illustrated with lessons learned from efforts to improve the sales incentive compensation business processes and IT systems in Cisco Systems.”

By following a structured and systematic process, organizations can implement a process for strategy execution that is effective and repeatable. In executing strategy, stay focused on how to translate the decisions taken while defining business strategy into operations. As business strategy changes, elements of the strategy execution must change as well.

This case is primarily a guide to strategy execution and is not meant to be a prescription for a cutting edge sales compensation plan.

Although the examples used in this article relate to SIC business processes, the lessons learned can be applied to strategy execution in general.

It is this “peek forward” into a virtual execution setting, and the opportunity to use it as a scenario-like tool to test alternatives, that increases the likelihood that managers will devise a stable and executable strategy.

For the past several decades, the sales control literature has focused on the outside sales context. This study aims to extend sales control research by examining formal and informal sales controls, embodied by cultural controls, used by sales managers in an inside sales context, where the sales agent’s performance focus extends beyond sales outcomes to include the influence of operational phone outcomes.

Based on 232 B2C and B2B inside sales agent survey responses, this study presents evidence that in an inside sales department, this study focuses on the congruent effect of formal sales and cultural sales controls on inside sales agent overall performance.

Based on 232 B2C and B2B inside sales agent survey responses, this study presents evidence that in an inside sales department, the operational focus of sales activities and resultant operational performance mediates the relationship between sales controls and inside sales agent sales performance, whereas cultural controls centered on maximizing inside sales autonomous motivation positively moderates the effect of operational outcomes on an inside sales agent’s sales performance.

By focusing on the tenants of an inside sales agent’s overall performance, this research provides practitioners a holistic view of the inherent conflict inside sales managers must balance between the impact of formal sales controls and the benefits of cultural controls.

By being the only study to examine sales controls in an inside sales context, with a broad definition of overall performance to include both sales and operational phone outcomes, this study extends sales control research to a new sales context. The need to jointly focus on operational results, as well as sales outcomes, illustrate the importance of cultural controls compared to other sales processes and outcome controls

The purpose of the study is to address the gap in understanding how the brand influences sales outcomes by focusing one’s attention on the salesperson perceptions of the brand and the salesperson brand selling confidence.

The study uses a cross-section survey of professional salespeople. SmartPLS was used to estimate the measurement model and test the hypothesized path relationships.

The study’s results indicate that salespeople who believe in the strength of the brands they represent are more likely to identify with the brand, are more confident in selling the brand and, overall, tend to perform better, have higher job satisfaction and are more committed to their companies.

This paper contributes to the sales literature by further exploring the relationship between the brand and sales function in the firm. This area has recently received academic attention but has not yet considered the mediating processes that connect the two areas. This study identifies perceptions of brand strength and brand selling confidence as mechanisms that mediate the impact of brand on sales outcomes.