| Abstract: | Industrial salespeople spend more time outside of the firm than inside of the firm. As a consequence, they may be particularly prone to salesperson social isolation - or feelings of being disconnected from coworkers and colleagues. Potentially magnified by the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the prevalence of social isolation may become a more common and modern-day challenge for salespeople. As part of this, managers must consider the notion of salesperson social isolation and its impact on job performance. To explore this phenomenon, we employ a multi-study, mixed-methods approach. In Study, 1 we conduct a quantitative survey-based study (with a sample of 233 industrial salespeople) investigating the relationship between salesperson social isolation and salesperson performance and the processes through which it occurs. In Study 2, we utilize a discovery-oriented theories-in-use qualitative approach (with a sample of 27 sales professionals) to investigate the nature of salesperson social isolation (with certain pandemic related factors), its consequences (also considering pandemic related factors), and important manager and salesperson actions that offset the negative effects of salesperson social isolation. Altogether, our findings shed some light into the if, how, what (in much more detail), and when aspects of salesperson social isolation. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed. |
