Industrial Marketing Management最新文献

The intricate dynamics between social networks and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) present a fertile ground for academic inquiry. This study seeks to bridge the existing knowledge gaps concerning the boundary conditions impacting the dynamics of social networks and EO. Our research targets the influence of two contingent factors — dynamic capability and cognitive flexibility — and their interaction with diverse and cohesive networks shaping EO. Utilizing quantitative analysis of survey data from 165 firms, our findings unveil an underappreciated phenomenon: robust dynamic capabilities can counteract the diminishing returns associated with increasingly diverse and cohesive networks on EO. Furthermore, elevated cognitive flexibility serves as a balancing force against the decrease in EO advantages spurred by intensified cohesion within networks. Intriguingly, it also intensifies the negative repercussions of an overly diverse network on EO. Our research illuminates the complex tapestry of drivers within social networks, elucidating their roles as facilitators or barriers to EO, thus carving out new dimensions and trajectories for further investigation.

Business-to-business (B2B) suppliers need to develop specific capabilities to successfully manage digitalized touchpoints in B2B customer journeys. As digitalization leads to shifts in touchpoints, new demands arise regarding a supplier's ability to manage these touchpoints. Developing capabilities for managing digitalized touchpoints is becoming a key aspect for suppliers in designing and managing attractive B2B customer journeys. Although extant research has highlighted the importance of managing touchpoints in the form of capabilities, this area has received surprisingly little research attention. Similarly, the B2B context in customer journeys remains under-researched. The present study investigates supplier capabilities for the management of digitalized touchpoints in B2B customer journeys. Through an exploratory in-depth case study, this research identifies seven key supplier capabilities for the management of digitalized touchpoints in B2B customer journeys: preparing customer resources, integrating customer resources, enabling collective actions, supporting customer actions, balancing activation levels, hybridizing environments, and merging digital environments. These capabilities are structured around a theoretically derived conceptualization of touchpoints as consisting of resources, actions, and environments. From a capability perspective, this study also demonstrates the key role of touchpoint control, as well as approaching touchpoints as sequences to ensure consistency across, and seamlessness between transitions of, touchpoints.

There is growing recognition that many salespeople frequently experience anxiety, which may impact salesperson mental health and well-being. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence on how to manage this situation. Using a longitudinal sample of 156 business-to-business salespeople, the present study examines the impact of sales anxiety on the key mental health outcome of burnout, alongside providing recommendations to sales managers on how to manage this impact. The results suggest that sales anxiety is positively related to each individual component of burnout, and that positive supervisor feedback plays a mitigating role in each of these relationships. By contrast, however, a social climate of autonomy can strengthen the impact of sales anxiety on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The present study contributes to the developing literature on salesperson mental health, further advancing emerging evidence that autonomy can result in detrimental outcomes. Implications, limitations, and future research avenues are discussed.

Professional social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, allow individuals to build their own personal brand with the aim to foster B2B engagement. Individuals can project both individual- and corporate-driven characteristics through LinkedIn, to create favorable impressions management (IM) strategies and attract viewers engagement. This study aims first to understand the difference between individual- versus corporate-driven elements of LinkedIn profiles. Then, using the IM theory, this paper explores the different perceptions formed by potential business partners on these elements which can lead to B2B social media engagement. A content analysis of 130 LinkedIn profiles, followed by 20 in-depth interviews with business professionals, show that perceptions are different between the individual- versus the corporate-driven profiles and these perceptions together with the IM strategies are not static, showing that IM strategies need to be assessed in combinations and over difference phases. Individual-driven profile elements seem to project the most favorable perceptions to foster B2B engagement, leaving the corporate-driven elements to only compliment what is described as the ‘ideal’ profile for B2B engagement. The findings provide valuable insights to different business partners who want to initiate contact and engage with business professionals on social media in a B2B context.

Employee work stress jeopardizes employee well-being and enterprise performance in micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Although previous studies show that formal stress prevention practices effectively improve employee well-being and, in turn, foster enterprise performance, MSE managers rarely adopt such formal prevention practices. Based on qualitative evidence, we explore the attitudes and perceptions underlying MSE managers' decision to adopt formal stress prevention practices (i.e., their perceived closeness with employees, perceived expertise in stress prevention, attitude toward formal practices, attitude toward external support, attitude toward work stress, and perceived employee buy-in). Moreover, we develop a theoretical model explaining how the extracted attitudes and perceptions influence MSE managers' adoption decisions. Our study contributes to the research on MSE managers' experience with managing work stress and their role as employers. Furthermore, we provide practical recommendations for external providers of formal stress prevention practices on how to engage with MSE managers.

Being fired is stressful. While unpleasant for all concerned, what if the person being sacked is a high-level B2B executive and a poor performer? What kind of impact does this exit have on co-workers, customers—and ultimately on a firm's performance? This research examines all these aspects, and introduces three moderators of C-suite dynamics in one framework. These are erosion of status, diminished social support, and group cohesiveness. And by applying job demands-resources theory, we are able to explain organizational stress. Our results show that when poor-performing executives are permanently let go, companies actually see a sacking sales bump of up to 6.3%. Results also show that upper echelon firings improve Tobin's Q, conditional on erosion in status (decreased by −5.9%), and cohesiveness (increased by +3.8%). To substantiate, we undertake over two dozen robustness checks. We also compare the implications when an executive's departure is forced or voluntary.

This study aims to evaluate B2B branding in a global context by constructing a framework for future research, practitioners, and brand managers operating in international B2B markets. Employing co-citation and text-mining techniques to investigate 281 articles, we identified five knowledge fields that map the intellectual structure of this domain: brand equity, industrial branding, brand value, global brand leadership, and relationship marketing. We also gained a deeper understanding of the important topics in global B2B branding literature. This framework not only highlights gaps and challenges in conceptual and methodological approaches but also challenges and extends existing academic discourse. It offers a systematic approach to strategic decision-making and the overhaul of marketing practices, guiding practitioners to navigate the complexities of global B2B branding. Our critical analysis sets a new agenda for future research, calling for a more rigorous and holistic advancement in the field of global B2B branding.

In the race toward autonomous vehicle solutions, providers engage in disruptive market-shaping processes to overcome barriers to commercialization and trigger market formation. This study investigates how disruptive market-shaping processes unfold by employing a multiple case study of 10 AVS providers. Our findings reveal a disruptive market-shaping process comprising four dimensions: shaping the value logic, nurturing the demand side, forging ecosystem alliances, and catalyzing institutional changes. Furthermore, we analyze the temporal unfolding of these activities to illustrate a comprehensive market-shaping process comprising three phases: market exploration, market preparation, and market experimentation. We make significant contributions to the market-shaping and AVS literature. By showing empirically how disruptive market-shaping processes unfold, we refine existing knowledge on the broader market formation stage, anchoring it to the emergence of new markets. Our framework offers micro-level insights into the sequencing of activities and phases embedded in shaping new markets. We argue that successful disruptive market shaping is contingent on creating an attractive market value proposition. Finally, we identify the foundational activities required to overcome market barriers and advance the commercialization of autonomous solutions. We find that granular systems logic reveals AVS's true value, questioning traditional market logic and paving the way for a sustainable, autonomous future.