Building an energizing customer bond model in the consumer goods industry: the evidence of sales force-retailer relations in Indonesia

Abstract This study aims to develop a conceptual framework that describes efforts to improve sales force performance using a relevant theoretical approach. The novelty of this study was developed and synthesized from relevant marketing theories. It is a conceptual model construction that proposes Energizing Customer Bond (ECB) as an intervening variable to address the research gap in explaining the influence of relational capital on the performance of salespeople at consumer goods companies. This study involved salespeople at large-scale fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in Indonesia. The acceptance of all of the hypotheses proposed in this study shows the importance of relational capital, ECB, and value-based selling in driving the performance of the sales force. ECB, as a proposed novelty, is also proven as a mediating variable, thus clarifying the relationship between relational capitals in improving sales force performance.