Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

MIXED METHODS STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (B2B) SALES PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF DESIGN ATTITUDE

St. Clair, Donald Philip

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
Practitioner-scholars continue to search for effective approaches to improve sales performance. This is indicated by the fact that nearly 80% of U.S. companies make significant changes to their salesforce programs every two years or less (Zoltners, Sinha, & Lorimer, 2012). Additionally, the extant literature is limited in its ability to capture true antecedents to explain sales performance (Bolander, Satornino, Hughes, & Ferris, 2015; Plouffe, Sridharan, & Barclay, 2010). Significant variance remains unexplained in the understanding of sales performance, which suggests the behavioral determinants of sales performance are not straightforward nor sufficiently understood. This mixed-methods study provides empirical evidence regarding these gaps in the literature around measuring sales performance and its explanatory antecedents. This dissertation examines alternative explanations to account for sales performance variations. To this end, the salesperson’s capability to relate, understand and generate genuine solutions for customers (what is called design attitude) is defined, and its antecedents and effects are explored across three empirical studies. Subsequent integration of these studies provides new insights into how to better explain sales performance grounded in the principle of design attitude. The first qualitative inquiry utilizes constructivist grounded theory to understand better what makes salespeople intrinsically motivated to pursue interpersonal relationships with customers. I find that they foster an identity of helping others by engaging in “systems-savvy selling.” Specifically, the study challenges the dominant logic by revealing that salespeople are not manipulating care and personal relationships to improve business outcomes. The system savvy-selling improves desired relational dynamics and fulfills psychological needs as salespeople view the selling process holistically and systematically. A quantitative study extends this line of inquiry by examining knowledge dissemination and cognitive antecedents of sales performance. I measure the concept of systems-savvy selling defined as a cognitive approach where a salesperson apply design attitude (DA) to improve his or her sales performance. This study validates the hypothesized research model and reveals that systems-savvy selling forms a potential causal antecedent for internal knowledge brokering among salespeople as well as for sales performance. The third study examines news way of measuring sales performance, which is better aligned with the complexities of contemporary selling tasks and processes. Design attitude is introduced as a critical antecedent to long-term sales performance. I also examine the mediating influence of value co-creation and sales technology use between design attitudes on long-term sales performance. My findings demonstrate that design attitude has a significant and positive influence on long-term sales performance, which is also mediated through value co-creation and sales technology use. Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that role of design attitude forms strong predictor of B2B sales performance with significant explanatory powers, which is better than other predictors suggested so far. The research extends theories of the sales performance by introducing the joint role that cognitive and affective sales behaviors underlying design attitude have on influencing sales performance.
Kalle Lyytinen, PhD (Committee Chair)
Richard Jr. Boland, PhD (Committee Member)
Philip Cola, PhD (Committee Member)
Gary Hunter, PhD (Committee Member)
229 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • St. Clair, D. P. (2018). MIXED METHODS STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (B2B) SALES PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF DESIGN ATTITUDE [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522852069581315

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • St. Clair, Donald. MIXED METHODS STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (B2B) SALES PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF DESIGN ATTITUDE . 2018. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522852069581315.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • St. Clair, Donald. "MIXED METHODS STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (B2B) SALES PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF DESIGN ATTITUDE ." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522852069581315

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)