Purpose – This article aims to position current sales research in relation to what academics perceive as important future research areas for sales theory and practice. It makes the argument that after a 20‐year period of rapid growth and almost a decade of a transition phase, sales research...

Purpose – This study aims to develop and test a model of relationship selling management. It seeks to examine the impact of leadership quality and relationship selling, as antecedents of salespeople's relational behaviours, on sales effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – Starting from...

This paper explores the meaning of relationship selling in the light of sales force developments during the “relational era”. Starting from a review of relationship marketing, personal selling and sales management literature, it defines a “firm's selling orientation” (FSO) and designs a...

Purpose – Although there is substantial practitioner evidence for changes in the role and functioning of sales in the twenty‐first century, there is little academic research charting new directions for the sales function in a business‐to‐business context. This paper aims to report on...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model of the role managers and peers play in shaping salespeople's ethical behaviour. The model specifies that sales manager personal moral philosophies, whether sales managers themselves are rewarded according to the outcomes or...

Purpose – This paper's aim is to provide an empirical test of the assumption that coaching impacts salespeople's attitudes and behaviors under various contingencies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the survey responses of 2,532 salespeople and regression analyses. Findings –...

Purpose – Key account management (KAM) programmes are a way for companies to develop existing relationships and increase sales, thus being proactive and searching for opportunities (which is often expected of KAM). It is also a way to meet changing customer demands arising from changes in...

Purpose – The study explores structural devices designed to enhance collaboration between sales and marketing groups. The paper aims to develop a conceptual framework of how such integrative devices link to higher levels of sales‐marketing collaboration and also to higher levels of business...