The Effects of Formal Controls on Supervisee Trust in the Manager in New Product Selling: Evidence from Young and Inexperienced Salespeople in China*

How should sales managers enhance the support and commitment of young, inexperienced salespeople during a new product selling? Some scholars have suggested sales managers should use formal controls (i.e., output and process controls) to develop the salespeople's trust in their benevolence. Drawing on a sample of young, inexperienced salespeople with rather low education selling new products in China's competitive, volatile, and transitional economic environment, the present study investigates the relationship between output and process controls and supervisee trust (i.e., the salesperson's trust in the sales manager). The empirical results of the study suggest that process and output controls have differential effects on supervisee trust. Specifically, the results indicate that process control enhances supervisee trust by itself and also under conditions of intense training for new product selling and when market volatility is perceived as high. However, process control hinders supervisee trust when the manager is long‐term oriented and engages in participative supervision. It was found that output control engenders supervisee trust when the manager is long‐term oriented but hinders supervisee trust when salespeople have undergone intensive training for new product selling. Implications of these results are provided for both researchers and practitioners involved in launching and selling new products.     

Do supplier perceptions of buyer fairness lead to supplier sales growth?

Despite the growing number of studies focusing on fairness perceptions in buyer–supplier relationships, the pertinent literature mostly focuses on understanding the buyers' perceptions of fairness. In this study, we argue that sellers' perceptions of the fairness of the buyer are equally important but often overlooked. Moreover, existing research fails to provide empirical evidence for examining the long-term effects of fairness on sales growth. We address these gaps by reporting the results of a longitudinal study based on both primary data collected from automotive suppliers in 2009, and objective sales data for these suppliers from an automotive manufacturer over a three-year period after 2009. We employ a latent growth curve model, which reveals that only interactional and distributive fairness have a positive and significant effect on both trust and commitment. Our analysis further reveals that the positive effect of trust and commitment on sales growth is smaller as the supplier's level of dependency on the car manufacturer increases. When the buyer's perception of dependence is considered, these effects are reversed. Several managerial implications of these findings are provided.     

Salesperson influence tactics and the buying agent purchase decision: Mediating role of buying agent trust of the salesperson and moderating role of buying agent regulatory orientation focus

Little is known about antecedents of salesperson influence tactic usage or how and which influence tactics impact buying agent purchase decisions. To aid such understanding, we draw from the relationship selling literature, and both regulatory fit and focus theories, to propose a novel theoretical framework and test hypotheses. The study's findings, derived by applying the critical incidence methodology to a heterogeneous dataset of buying agents (n > 200) representing small and medium enterprises and acting as key informants on salespeople, show that: (i) salesperson influence tactics heterogeneously explain the buying agent's trust of the salesperson, (ii) trust of the salesperson serves as a mechanism through which influence tactics impact the buying agent's purchase decision, (iii) buying agent's regulatory orientation moderates the relationship between salesperson influence tactics and buying agent's trust of the salesperson, and (iv) salesperson regulatory orientation predicts a salesperson's use of particular influence tactics. The article concludes with a discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of the research.     

Intercultural competences and interaction schemes — Four forces regulating dyadic encounters in international business

Intercultural competences are highly valued in international business (IB) as antecedents to building trust, whereas a lack of them and problems concerning cultural sensitivity have been identified as major reasons for failure. And yet, there is very little research on trust building and interaction on the level of the individual, particularly from the viewpoint of interaction dynamics and the individual's behavioral schemes. This paper approaches the rudiments that regulate individuals' behavior in dyadic IB encounters from a psychological perspective. It integrates Grawe's consistency theory from psychology into intercultural competence literature and analyzes interaction dynamics. As a result, it proposes a conceptual model introducing novel forces for behavior and motivation in IB encounters. The model comprises four forces that are based on the basic needs that regulate interaction towards proximity or avoidance behavior. Based on the model, we present propositions linking consistency, motivational schemes, and encounter outcomes.     

An investigation into commitment in non-Western industrial marketing relationships

This paper reports an investigation into the antecedents of commitment in non-Western industrial marketing relationships. The authors draw the antecedents from extant literature and posit that commitment is related to trust (integrity and reliability), communication quality, conflict, and similarity (social, ethnic, and economic). It is further argued that trust mediates the effects of communication, conflict, and similarity on commitment. As an extension, the authors examine the moderating effects of normative contracts (an implicit understanding of roles and responsibilities) on the construct interrelationships. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from approximately 150 industrial marketing relationships sampled from overseas Chinese firms. The results generally support the authors' framework; however, the mediating hypotheses are not supported. There is evidence of systematic differences in the effects of the studied antecedents on commitment and trust. Furthermore, a multigroup analysis provides evidence of significant moderating effects due to contracting mode. The study provides new insights into the theory and practice of industrial marketing.     

Adding co-creation as an antecedent condition leading to trust in business-to-business relationships

Trust enjoys wide acceptance among scholars as a key facilitator of inter-organisational relationship development, and successful relationship development demands an understanding of what drives the propensity to trust between organisations within both cognitive and affective dimensions of trust. The six most salient antecedents of trust within contemporary trust literature have been identified as satisfaction, communication, competence, shared values, benevolence and integrity. This research suggests that co-creation is also an important antecedent of trust in business-to-business relationships. Co-creation is described here as the active participation, interactions and collaboration of the buyer and seller and other actors in the marketing exchange to develop a deeper understanding of the customer problem solving context.The relative strength of the cognitive and affective aspects of trust antecedents, the moderating influence of business experience and seniority on the relationship between significant antecedents and trust is also explored. The analysis uses statistical tools and then probes deeper using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).     

The trusted general manager and business unit performance: empirical evidence of a competitive advantage

Employee trust for the general manager is proposed as an internal organizational characteristic that provides a competitive advantage for the firm. This paper empirically examines the relationship between trust for a business unit's general manager and organizational performance. Trust was found to be significantly related to sales, profits and employee turnover in the restaurant industry. Managers who were either more or less trusted differed significantly in perceptions of their ability, benevolence and integrity. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do business customers perceive what salespeople believe? Perceptions of salesperson adoption of innovations

A salesperson's commitment and effort toward an innovation can determine whether the customer agrees to buy it, such that customers' perceptions of such commitment and effort are critical. But these perceptions also might differ fundamentally from the salesperson's self-perceptions of commitment and effort. Therefore, this paper presents a theoretical framework of the relation between salesperson-perceived and customer-perceived commitment and effort, as exhibited by the salesperson while selling an innovation, which represents salesperson adoption. In the framework, job satisfaction factors also exert contingent, moderating effects. The authors gather unique, dyadic data from surveys of salespeople and their (potential) business customers during visits to sell a conventional, incremental innovation, complemented by objective purchase data gathered from company records. Three key insights emerge fromt this study. First, salespeople's own perceptions of their commitment and effort have only moderate influences on customers' perceptions of salespeople's commitment and effort. Second, customers seem to recognize salesperson effort more readily than salesperson commitment, although salesperson commitment has a higher sales performance impact than salesperson effort. Thus, sales managers should seek to encourage and support both the commitment of salespeople and also perceptions of that commitment among customers. Third, while a higher organizational support or job autonomy strengthens customers' perceptions of salesperson adoption, a higher pay satisfaction diminishes it. Thus, firms might need to find ways to increase the support for the salespeople and their autonomy and to reduce salespeople's satisfaction with their (direct) payments. In total, these findings suggest significant scientific and managerial implications.     

Adoption of digital sales force automation tools in supply chain: Customers' acceptance of sales configurators

Digitalization changes both buying processes and sales processes and, consequently, the dynamics and division of work between buyers and suppliers in the supply chain. This has major implications for industrial marketing and supply chain management. In this study, we analyze the impact of sales configurators, which are used to create valid configurations of market offerings that fulfill customer requirements. The usefulness of sales configurators can be investigated from both the sellers' and buyers' perspectives. In this research, we focus on the latter, and we specifically investigate the antecedents of customers' acceptance of sales configurators in a supply chain. In our analysis, we concentrate on system-level antecedents, which have been neglected by the existing literature. Our research yields better knowledge of how digital sales technologies can be used by customers for improved effectiveness and perceived value. The results demonstrate that ease of use and system adaptability contribute strongly to the perceived effectiveness, and eventually to the perceived usefulness, of sales configurators. Yet, surprisingly, perceived enjoyment is identified as having the most significant effect on perceived usefulness.     

The impact of cultural differences in U.S. business-to-business export marketing channel strategic alliances

Given slower growth and fierce competition in the domestic market, combined with increasing opportunities in many overseas markets, more and more U.S. companies are going international. While many doing so may initially use a direct exporting approach that relies on foreign channel members to distribute the product in the host country, over time, strategic alliances among distribution partners may form based on trust, commitment, and cooperation. For these alliances to succeed, the partners' perceptions of these variables need to be congruent so that expectations on each side of the dyad are reasonably similar. However, what happens when the cultural backgrounds of each channel partner are substantially different? This study empirically examines whether cultural differences do affect trust, commitment, and cooperation in international marketing channel alliances between U.S. exporters and their foreign distribution partners. Based on the survey responses from 149 U.S. exporters with marketing alliances abroad, cultural differences do affect trust, commitment, and cooperation. The greater the cultural differences between channel partners, the lower the levels of trust, commitment, and cooperation. Managerial implications are discussed, and study limitations are identified.     

Are culturally intelligent professionals more committed to organizations? Examining Chinese expatriation in Belt & Road Countries

The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between cultural intelligence (CQ) and organizational commitment in Belt & Road area, with critical consideration given to the moderating effect of cultural distance (CD) on the commensurate relationships. We examined a dataset of 390 international professionals on Chinese cross-border projects in Belt & Road countries. Findings indicate that cognitive CQ has an inverted U-shaped relationship with organizational commitment, while motivational CQ has a positive linear relationship with organizational commitment, and cultural distance moderates the relationships between CQ and commitment such that negative or positive moderation occur contingent on whether the optimal CQ level is reached. Our results suggest the need for identifying an inflection point of individuals’ CQ level to differentiate between the increasing and decreasing trend of organizational commitment in view of the effect of cultural distance. This may help enabling multinationals to leverage expatriates with different levels of CQ to stay committed in multi-cultural environments along the Belt & Road countries.

     

The Effect of Sales Force Adoption on New Product Selling Performance

Although several studies have suggested that the sales force is a major contributing factor to new product success, few studies have focused on new product adoption by the sales force, particularly with respect to its relationship with selling performance. The present article presents empirical evidence on the impact of sales force adoption on selling performance. We defined sales force adoption as the combination of the degree to which salespeople accept and internalize the goals of the new product (i.e., commitment) and the extent to which they work hard to achieve those goals (i.e., effort). It was hypothesized that the impact of sales force adoption on selling performance will be contingent on supervisory factors (sales controls, internal marketing of the new product, training, trust, and supervisor's field attention), and market volatility. Therefore, this article also provides evidence of the conditions under which sales force adoption of a new product is more or less effective in engendering successful selling performance. The hypothesized relationships were tested with data provided by 97 high technology firms from The Netherlands. The results show that sales force adoption is positively related to selling performance. This finding suggests that salespeople who simultaneously exhibit commitment and effort will achieve higher levels of new product selling performance. Outcome based control, internal marketing and market volatility are also positively related to new product selling performance. The effect of sales force adoption on selling performance is stronger where outcome based control is used and where the firm provides information on the background of the new product to salespeople through internal marketing. Training and field attention weaken the adoption‐performance linkage. These findings may indicate that salespeople in The Netherlands interpret training as “micromanaging” and field attention as “looking over their shoulder.” We conclude with implications of our study for research and managerial practice.     

Organizational differences,relational mechanisms,and alliance performance

In studying the antecedents of alliance performance, one stream of research has underscored the alignment between partners' characteristics whereas another has concentrated on relational mechanisms such as mutual trust, relational embeddedness, and relational commitment. We integrate these two perspectives by examining how congruence of the partners' cultures and organizational routines facilitates the emergence of relational mechanisms in non‐equity alliances. Our analysis of 420 non‐equity alliances in the information technology industry demonstrates how differences in partners' internal task routines undermine relational mechanisms that in turn impact alliance performance. Partners who acknowledge their latent differences can overcome some of these negative consequences. We advance alliance research by studying the performance implications of alliance partners' organizational differences and by demonstrating how these effects are mediated by relational mechanisms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“I think I can…I think I can”: The impact of perceived selling efficacy and deal disclosure on salesperson escalation of commitment

Salespeople have considerable autonomy in the choices they make with respect to both the types and amounts of resources they deploy in pursuing potential customer accounts and specific sales opportunities. Building from a prospect theory framework and also leveraging self-justification theory, this research reports the results of three experimental studies conducted on practicing salespeople. The experiments help shed light on several factors that might influence a critical form of salesperson resource allocation decision — the allocation of the salesperson's own ‘selling time’ which is devoted to a specific sales opportunity. Study 1 establishes that an escalation of commitment effect exists when salespeople pursue a new customer opportunity, and that “competitive intensity” is a key variable that attenuates the escalation of commitment effect. Study 2 demonstrates that a salesperson's “selling efficacy” – or their confidence in their abilities and decision-making in sales – has important, but mixed, effects on the salesperson's allocation of scarce resources. Finally, study 3 broadens this research by showing that environmental factors such as the extent to which the salesperson has ‘disclosed’ their pursuit of a new sales opportunity within their own organization can also influence the escalation of commitment effect on how they allocate resources in pursuit of that business. The article's broader contribution is that it offers an overdue and preliminary glimpse into the levers which shape and influence how, when, and why salespeople apply resources in the pursuit of new customers.     

Corporate reputation and customer behavioral intentions: The roles of trust, identification and commitment

How does corporate reputation influence customer behavioral intentions? This article proposes a model with customer trust, customer identification and customer commitment as the key intervening factors between corporate reputation and customer purchase intention and willingness to pay a price premium. We test the model by using data from 351 customers of three Chinese B2B service firms. Results indicate that corporate reputation has positive influence on both customer trust and customer identification. Customer commitment mediates the relationships between the two relational constructs (customer trust and customer identification) and behavioral intentions. Customer identification and customer commitment relate closely, but they are distinct constructs in the B2B setting.     

Person–organization fit, OCB and performance appraisal: Evidence from matched supervisor–salesperson data set in a Spanish context

Despite the extensive work carried out by sales researchers regarding the influence of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) on significant individual and organizational outcomes, it is still of interest to address new research questions and support previous results with samples from different organizational settings and other countries. Researchers have also identified the need to thoroughly investigate relationships between different antecedents of extra-role behaviors.In this study, we intend to test a two-part model. The first part of the model assumes that a salesperson's OCB is determined by Person–Organization fit and that this relationship is mediated by the salesperson's job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The second part examines the impact that such behavior may have on the supervisor's rating of the salesperson's performance.Data collected from 122 salesperson–supervisor dyads from 35 firms confirmed that Person–Organization fit has a positive effect on OCB due to the effect it has on the salesperson's job satisfaction. The results also verified the positive effect of OCB on the supervisor's evaluation of the sales agent's performance, both directly and indirectly, through the impact OCB had on the supervisor's fondness of the salesperson. Certain implications of this study, as well as directions for future research, are also addressed.     

基于业主方视角的工程项目中信任的产生与影响

在文献综述的基础上将信任划分为计算型信任和关系型信任,构建了包括信任的前因、信任(计算型信任和关系型信任)、项目成功的整体理论模型.对业主方进行了调研,根据实证数据对理论模型加以验证和完善.结果表明:信任的前因包括承包商特征(声誉、能力、言行一致性)和双方关系特征(双方的沟通、相互性、合同);计算型信任对关系型信任具有非线性作用;两类信任对项目成功具有重要作用,但关系型信任的作用更大.     

Affective commitment,home-based working and the blurring of work–home boundaries: Evidence from Germany

Analysis of data from the representative German Linked Personnel Panel revealed that, overall, the use of home-based working is associated with a higher affective organisational commitment on the part of employees. However, this is less often the case when the use of home-based working involves the blurring of work–home boundaries. Perceived trust and fairness on the part of supervisors mediates the association between employees' experiences with working from home and their affective commitment. These results show that experiences with home-based working shape employees' perceptions of trust and fairness in their exchange relations with supervisors and thus their affective commitment to the organisation. Employees' experiences with home-based working that reflect its supportive implementation by their employers and supervisors are critical for their commitment. Our results provide the first evidence that in exchange relations between employees and supervisors, perceived fairness is as important as perceived trust.     

区域品牌认同的前因及对消费者购买意愿的影响

目前,相对于其他国家的区域品牌而言,中国区域品牌的发展缓慢,国内学者认为对区域品牌的研究非常有必要且有意义。在区域品牌领域,较少有学者以具体的研究对象分析塑造区域品牌认同的要素和区域品牌认同的作用。基于消费者视角,以自我一致性和感知质量为起点,选择天津地区的区域品牌作为研究对象,调查了共356位学生消费者,探讨研究区域品牌认同的前因变量以及其对消费者购买意愿的影响。应用结构方程模型研究发现,自我一致性和感知质量对区域品牌认同的形成都有显著的促进作用,并且区域品牌认同对消费者购买意愿具有正向的影响。根据结论提出区域品牌利益相关者如何通过提高自我一致性和感知质量构建消费者区域品牌认同的策略。     

Manufacturer's retailer dependence: A private branding perspective

With the recent increase in the power of major retailers through consolidations, the world of brands has divided in two categories: national brands belonging to manufacturers and private brands belonging to retailers. While national brands are well studied in the literature, there is a dearth of studies on private brand phenomenon particularly from a manufacturer's point of view as opposed to that of retailers and consumers. To address this gap, we explore the antecedents and consequences of a manufacturer's private brand retailer dependence with a focus on the manufacturer's relationship with retailers. Drawing on the Resource Dependence Theory and Transaction Cost Economics, we examine various products and market characteristics as potential antecedents of a manufacturer's private brand retailer dependence while adopting private brand sales growth and returns from private brand production as outcomes using a sample of 153 South Korean manufacturers currently involved in private brand production. The results show that the private brand retailer dependence of a manufacturer leads to private brand sales growth directly and returns from private brand production indirectly through private brand sales growth, and has a negative effect on return from private brand production directly. Furthermore, product characteristics, such as product innovativeness through collaboration with retailers and search goods, and market characteristics, such as high retailer power and knowledge specificity of a retailer, increase a manufacturer's private brand retailer dependence and, therefore, private brand sales growth. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed at the end.