Nils M. Høgevold, Gøran Svensson and Carmen Otero-Neira
The purpose of this paper is to test hypothesized relationships within and between the domains of action and social alignment based on a sales perspective in business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test hypothesized relationships within and between the domains of action and social alignment based on a sales perspective in business relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a cross-industrial sample of Norwegian companies consisting of 213 key informants corresponding to a valid response rate of 40.7 percent.
Findings
The findings validate that coordination relates positively to economic satisfaction (ES); coordination does not relate to non-economic satisfaction (NES); coordination relates positively to cooperation; cooperation relates positively NES; and cooperation mediates between ES and NES.
Research limitations/implications
This study tests and successfully validates an action and social alignment model based on a sales perspective in seller business relationships, providing additional insights into the field of relationship quality and the sales literature. Suggestions for further research are provided.
Practical implications
According to sales practitioners, the research model makes sense in relation to managerial implications for seller business relationships.
Originality/value
This study contributes to incorporating a seller perspective in relation to existing theory and previous studies on a buyer perspective to quality constructs in business relationships.
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Tzong-Ru (Jiun-Shen) Lee, Ku-Ho Lin, Chang-Hsiung Chen, Carmen Otero-Neira and Gøran Svensson
This paper aims to examine the common denominators of measurement properties of a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) dominant logic for business sustainability through time and across…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the common denominators of measurement properties of a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) dominant logic for business sustainability through time and across business contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The method was based on a quantitative approach and a questionnaire survey in corporate Taiwan with a response rate of 68.5%.
Findings
This article uncovers and fortifies common denominators through time between oriental and occidental business contexts.
Practical implications
The framework of TBL dominant logic for business sustainability establishes a toolbox for practitioners to examine economic, social and environmental elements as the marketing strategy in connection with business sustainability.
Social implications
This enables to validate the framework of TBL dominant logic for business sustainability in previous research. Multiple dimensions are validated through time and across business contexts.
Originality/value
This study contributes to existing theory and previous research by fortifying the framework of TBL-dominant logic for business sustainability. The twenty-dimensional framework demonstrates universal measurement properties through time and across oriental and occidental business contexts.
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Nils M. Høgevold, Gøran Svensson and Mercy Mpinganjira
Seen from the seller's point of view, this study examines economic and non-economic satisfaction as distinct conceptual variables, and tests how the constructs relate to each…
Abstract
Purpose
Seen from the seller's point of view, this study examines economic and non-economic satisfaction as distinct conceptual variables, and tests how the constructs relate to each other and to the business transactional cost variables of formalisation, specific investments and dependence.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 213 key informants from Norwegian companies involved in business-to-business marketing. Structural equation modelling was used to test the posited hypotheses.
Findings
The findings show that sellers' economic satisfaction exerts a positive influence on non-economic satisfaction and on formalisation, while its posited influence on specific investments was not found to be significant. Formalisation was, however, not significantly influenced by seller non-economic satisfaction. Specific investment was positively influenced by seller non-economic satisfaction. The influence of formalisation on specific investments and dependence was significant. Specific investments were also found to be positively influenced by dependence.
Research limitations/implications
The study reveals the importance of assessing both economic and non-economic satisfaction in trying to understand sellers' behaviour in business-to-business markets.
Practical implications
The findings show the need for managers to ensure economic satisfaction, as its affects non-economic satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study contributes to a better understanding of satisfaction in business-to-business exchange relationships and its relationship with transactional cost constructs based on a seller's perspective.
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Nils M. Høgevold, Rocio Rodriguez, Gøran Svensson and Mornay Roberts-Lombard
The purpose of the study is to confirm a conceptualised framework regarding organizational and environmental indicators of sales performance on sellers in a business-to-business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to confirm a conceptualised framework regarding organizational and environmental indicators of sales performance on sellers in a business-to-business environment. The study is based on the meta-analyses of sales performance by Churchill et al. (1985) and Verbeke et al. (2011).
Design/methodology/approach
A research instrument was used to establish whether three categories that were positioned into a framework of six dimensions can be perceived as valid and reliable. These categories related to organization and environmental indicators of sales performance. A wide variety of organization that are representative of different sectors and organizational sizes were included in the study. These industries and sectors are representative of the commercial sector of Norway.
Findings
A six-dimensional framework of organizational and environmental indicators was tested with success in the study. The different dimensions encompass a focus on the external environment, market orientation (internal environment), teamwork (internal environment), positive behavioral feedback (supervisory leadership), transformational leadership (supervisory leadership) and positive feedback (supervisory leadership).
Originality/value
A foundation is provided to structure the assessment of sales performance in business-to-business settings through the development of a business-to-business framework of organisational and environmental indicators in sales performance. In addition, a foundation for further studies on sales performance is delivered. Therefore, the study secures a practical orientation to organise and structure the process of business-to-business environmental and organisational planning through verified categories of organisational and environmental indicators, divided into six categories.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Firms in the B2B context can improve sales performance through an emphasis on several key performance indicators. An approach that adapts to uncertainties within the external environment and considers internal environment factors and sales leadership will become better positioned to increase the ability of sellers and achieve desired sales outcomes.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Nils M. Høgevold and Göran Svensson
“Business sustainability” refers to the total effort of a company – including its demand and supply chain networks – to reduce the impact on the Earth's life‐ and eco‐systems. The…
Abstract
Purpose
“Business sustainability” refers to the total effort of a company – including its demand and supply chain networks – to reduce the impact on the Earth's life‐ and eco‐systems. The objective of this paper is to describe a business sustainability model based upon a case study of a European manufacturer.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach was applied describing the efforts of business sustainability in the demand and supply chain networks of a Norwegian office chair producer. It is based upon a series of semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with top executives of the company as well as observations and content analyses of internal and external documents about the company's efforts of business sustainability.
Findings
The case study shows that business sustainability is not about doing just one thing, but that a multitude of simultaneous efforts (e.g. actors, resources and activities) should be in place. Furthermore, business sustainability is not only about a company's own business operations, but its whole demand and supply chain networks which need to be included and taken into consideration.
Research limitations/implications
The case study in focus is limited to just one company's effort of business sustainability and its demand and supply chain networks. It provides a business sustainability model that offers opportunities for further research.
Practical implications
Focusing on the corporate impact of the natural environment can be highly profitable. Business sustainability and by extension the carbon footprint of demand and supply chain networks is becoming a criterion in the decision‐making process of customers across industries. Business sustainability is a concern to everybody in society as the indicatives of climate change and global warming become more evident and troublesome. No one can have missed the fact that the weather is becoming more extreme, causing damage around the globe.
Originality/value
The authors argue that research into business sustainability needs at this stage of development to be inductive rather than deductive – it may be an irreversible mistake to try to re‐package existing theory into business sustainability, as climate change prediction and the poor condition of the Earth have not been fully understood or comprised in previous theory.
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Geir Gripsrud, Marianne Jahre and Gøran Persson
Distribution arrangements are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic in business as well as in consumer markets. The purpose of the present paper is to explore and discuss the…
Abstract
Purpose
Distribution arrangements are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic in business as well as in consumer markets. The purpose of the present paper is to explore and discuss the theoretical frameworks available to interpret these distribution arrangements, to uncover how they are interrelated and to suggest extensions.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of extant research is undertaken, starting with the literature on supply chain management (SCM). It turns out that prior to the launch of the SCM concept in the early 1980s, two separate research streams coexisted which both pertain to aspects of distribution. These two research streams are described and traced back to a common root.
Findings
It is suggested that SCM may be regarded as an attempt to unite the two separate research streams known as business logistics and marketing channels, respectively. These two approaches have focused on different aspects of distribution arrangements, but both are preoccupied with managerial challenges faced by individual companies. The managerial focus is also very clear in SCM. The paper traces the common roots of all of these approaches to the marketing discipline in the first half of the twentieth century and suggests that this constitutes a basis for the future development.
Originality/value
The contribution of the paper is twofold: first the overview of the different streams of literature dealing with distribution arrangements and how they are interrelated has not been spelled out so clearly before. Second, the discussions undertaken suggest that future research would benefit from going “back to the future” in the sense that one can learn from frameworks developed for the purpose of understanding the supply system as a whole, the role of the individual participants in that system, and the underlying economics of such a system.