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This study aims to develop and test a process model of the effect of social media use by business-to-business (B2B) salespeople on their value cocreation and cross/upselling performance. Adopting a research acquisition perspective, the authors claim that salesperson’s social media use is critical for generating social capital – an operant resource characterized by superior market knowledge, reputation and networking – which, in turn, directly and synergistically enhances value cocreation and cross/upselling outcomes.

A model is developed based on extant sales research on salesperson’s social media use and social capital theory. Data from B2B salespeople is analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results demonstrate that salespeople’s social media use enhances their social capital with support for direct effects on market knowledge and reputation, and indirect effect on networking. The results also show that the three aspects of social capital drive value cocreation, which enhances cross/upselling performance. Post hoc analysis shows the indirect effects of salesperson’s social media use as well as the interconnected effects of the aspects of social capital on value cocreation.

The study indicates that salespeople should be encouraged to use social media as a means for enhancing market knowledge and reputation, which can then be leveraged to build networking skills. Providing training to salespeople and coaching them on how to build their social capital is essential if organizations need to capitalize on novel ways to improve the value cocreation performance of their sales teams.

This study demonstrates how salespeople’s social media use can enhance their social capital, which, in turn, is critical for value cocreation and cross/upselling performance. The proposed framework opens opportunities for future studies to examine the role of salesperson social capital and value cocreation in B2B exchanges.

Drawing on socioanalytic theory, this paper aims to explore whether a moderation mediation model can describe the mechanism linking salesperson social reputation (perceived stability and plasticity) and performance (customer share of wallet) in relationship marketing. The mediator is the salesperson’s overall equity, and the moderator is the salesperson-customer congruence.

A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from 233 customers, served by 44 personal finance advisors at five banking agencies in Canada.

A multilevel approach showed that both perceived stability and perceived plasticity predict salesperson equity and performance. In addition, the empirical results indicated that the relationship between perceived stability and salesperson performance is partially mediated by salesperson overall equity. However, equity fully mediated the relationship between perceived plasticity and salesperson performance. Finally, the salesperson-customer congruence moderated the effect of both perceived stability and plastic on the salesperson overall equity.

This research suggests that the moderation mediation model enables predicting the relationship between the perceived personality and performance. From a managerial perspective, the author encourages sales managers to pay attention to salespersons’ equity development as well as their performance. Notably, the author suggests that sales managers support and monitor salespeople with regard to improving their social status as well as their social popularity in their interactions with customers.

Previous research in sales force literature focuses on salespersons’ self-personality to predict sales performance. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to show it is important to consider the perceived personality of a salesperson in predicting their performance. This study is also the first to introduce the salesperson reputation concept and its dimensions (perceived stability and plasticity).

The market maven is looked to by others for a wide variety of product, price, brand, and shopping information. The market maven scale and questions regarding the importance of various evaluative criteria applied when selecting brands and stores for a variety of consumer products was administered to 306 couples with husbands and wives responding independently. Demographic data suggested that mavens identified were similar to those found in other studies. Although the relationship varied by product and criterion, mavens generally ascribed more importance to evaluative criteria than did nonmavens. Mavenism was found to relate to the importance placed on brand and retail store evaluative criteria differently for men and women. Mavenism among women was associated with greater concern for both brand and store evaluative criteria while mavenism among men was generally associated with a greater emphasis on brand evaluative criteria.

Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory and the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework, this study examines how salespersons' self-monitoring and psychological capital influence sales performance.

This study uses survey data from 293 salespersons employed in China and their archival sales performance to test the hypotheses posited.

The results show that both salespersons' self-monitoring and psychological capital enhance sales performance via adaptive selling. However, these elements are primarily substitutes in influencing adaptive selling. In addition, by dividing social capital into two types (i.e. family-based social capital and customer-based social capital), the results reveal that salespersons' self-monitoring enhances family-based social capital, but not customer-based social capital. Finally, customer-based social capital, but not family-based capital, improves sales performance.

This paper extends the literature on sales force management, which examines various psychological traits and their influences on sales performance. While self-monitoring and psychological capital have been investigated separately, this research simultaneously examines these two factors by drawing on resource conservation theory. Furthermore, it explores how these psychological traits impact salespersons' ability development (i.e. adaptive selling) and capital accumulation (i.e., family-based social capital and customer-based social capital), which, in turn, affect sales performance.

The results offer managerial insights into sales force selection and management. In particular, managers should encourage salespersons to obtain greater customer-based social capital, which is more valuable than family-based social capital in boosting sales performance.

The present research is also beneficial for employee psychological health management, as it seeks to illuminate the role of psychological traits, ability development and capital accumulation. It offers insights into sociological research on social capital by categorizing it into family-based and customer-based capital.

This paper extends the literature on salespersons' psychological traits, selling abilities and social capital by examining the impacts of self-monitoring and psychological capital on adaptive selling and social capital. Specifically, this study examines the interplay between self-monitoring and psychological capital from the perspective of resources conservation theory.

In the digital era, business-to-business (B2B) salespersons are encouraged to communicate with buyers on social media platforms and shape customer loyalty. However, the effect of social media usage and its mechanism remain unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how salespersons’ social media usage influences B2B buyers’ trust beliefs and purchase risk, and therefore, customer loyalty.

The authors conduct an online-survey, use partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the data, and adopt SPSS PROCESS macro 2.13 to test mediation effects.

Salespersons’ social media usage can enhance buyers’ trust beliefs on salespersons’ ability, integrity and benevolence, but only the latter two can improve customer loyalty. Social media usage does not directly affect purchase risk, and only benevolence can reduce purchase risk. Serial mediation models reveal that the effect of social media usage on customer loyalty is mediated by buyers’ trust beliefs on salespersons’ integrity/benevolence and purchase risk.

First, the authors confirm the effect of social media usage on customer loyalty in B2B context and refute the fallacy of social media uselessness in B2B practices. Second, the research shows that buyers’ trusting beliefs on salesperson’s ability and integrity do not significantly influence perceived risk. The finding is different from the stereotypical judgment in B2C scenarios. Third, the authors distinguish differently weighted influences of buyers’ trusting beliefs on salesperson’s ability, integrity and benevolence, and highlight the role of salespersons’ altruism attributes in shaping customer loyalty.

This paper aims to explore how business-to-business (B2B) salespeople use social media and emulate value creation strategies used by social media influencers.

Using 28 interviews with salespeople, this paper develops six propositions and a conceptual framework that outlines when and how B2B salespeople use social media in value-creating sales.

This study’s findings provide a critical analysis of when social media are most effective and beneficial in supporting salespeople’s value-creating sales in various stages in the sales process (e.g. prospecting, opening relationships, qualifying prospects and serving accounts) and when they are less effective (e.g. presenting sales messages and closing sales).

This research yields a substantive understanding of the evolving role that social media play in B2B sales by examining B2B salespeople’s value creation strategies through the lens of social media influencers’ practice and outlines ideas for future research on B2B salespeople’s social media strategies.

The findings of this research can be used by B2B organizations to structure the training of B2B salespeople to use social media to the fullest extent by aligning specific strategies with different parts of the sales process.

This paper contributes by summarizing the B2B sales literature on social media and integrating recent insights from the social media influencer literature; empirically identifying how B2B salespeople use social media to create value, thus validating previous findings and extending understanding by offering a set of six theoretical propositions; and delineating B2B salespeople’s social media practice into 11 value creation strategies that are critically explored for their place in the sales process.

Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to investigate whether, how and when salespeople’s substantive attribution of the organization’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects value-based selling (VBS). The authors argue that salespeople’s substantive CSR attribution increase value-based selling through two mechanisms (i.e. by lowering emotional exhaustion and increasing empathy), and treatment by customers can increase or decrease the strength of these relationships.

B2B salespeople working in various industries in China were recruited through snowball sampling to participate in the study. There were 462 volunteers (57.58% women; aged 30–55; tenure ranging from six months to 15 years) who provided valid self-report questionnaires.

Hierarchical multiple regression supported the association between salespeople’s substantive CSR attribution and VBS. The results showed that salespeople’s emotional state (i.e. emotional exhaustion and empathy) mediated the association between substantive CSR attribution and VBS. As expected, salespeople’s experiences of customer incivility weakened the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion; contrary to expectations, customer-initiated interpersonal justice weakened the mediation effect of empathy.

This study makes a unique contribution to the existing marketing literature by first investigating the role of salespeople’s attribution of CSR motives in facilitating their VBS, which answers the call to identify factors that predict VBS. In addition, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors are the first to test salespeople’s emotions as a mechanism of the link between their CSR attributions and selling behaviors.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to combine the concepts of network building (NB) and job embeddedness (JE; both on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness (ON and OFF)) and examines how to improve sales performance (SP) by effectively stabilizing the sales force.

Sales practices were examined to establish the measures of overall sales performance. A factor analysis was conducted to extract two performance dimensions: customer relationship performance (CRP) and product selling performance (PSP). Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized model by analyzing survey data collected from 445 salespeople who work for the top five insurance firms in Taiwan.

The results show that the NB of salespeople has a direct positive effect on ON and OFF; JE plays a critical role in mediating the relationship between NB and SP; and NB contributes directly only to CRP. However, it does not have a positive effect on PSP until JE is introduced as a mediator to generate CRP.

In developing the NB of salespeople, managers should be provided with clear indicators about on-the-job and off-the-job-embeddedness for manpower stability. Moreover, in addition to seeking product sales, managers should direct salespeople to embed in sales work by providing performance measures involving customer relationship.

This study highlights the need for a viable and integrated model of sales performance. The results indicate that the career achievement of field service employees relies primarily on whether they could effectively build social relationships. Theoretically, this investigation introduces NB into the JE theory, clarifies the relationship among NB, JE, and SP, and proposes a superior mechanism (CRP) for improving sales performance in the financial and insurance industries. Moreover, this study provides additional support for the relationship between ON and OFF.

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.