Drivers of Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales Success and the role of Digitalization after COVID-19 Disruptions

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to investigate the drivers of business-to-business sales success and the role of digitalization, in a selling and sales management landscape being disrupted by COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology follows a discovery-oriented grounded theory approach which consists of a two-stage qualitative study with sales professionals in Chile, and a Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Findings - This research shows that interfunctional coordination, agility in the selling process, and business customer engagement are critical determinants of B2B sales success, while digitalization moderates these relationships. Originality/value - This research responds to a call for more research on the impact of digitalization on business relationships in different contexts and perspectives. We study the Chilean context, through a two-stage qualitative study, and a fsQCA analysis, which constitutes a novel combination in this stream of research

Interfunctional coordination: the role of digitalization

Purpose: This research investigates interfunctional coordination (IC) in a B-to-B context. More specifically, it explores the role of digitalization as a strategic driver for an effective IC. Design/methodology/approach: Following a qualitative methodology, three studies have been integrated: Study 1 (focus group with five participants); Study 2 (31 in-depth interviews with top executives); Study 3 (online focus group with 9 experts). Findings: One finding is that digitalization is the main driver for IC and can be considered strategic. Other findings show that digitalization can enhance IC, but it was also found that digitalization can have negative side effects on IC. Originality/value: This study contributes to the understanding of the importance of digitalization on IC and also contributes to the conceptualization of IC as a dynamic capability

The statistics of atmospheric turbulence at Maunakea measured by RAVEN

Prior statistical knowledge of the turbulence such as turbulence strength, layer altitudes and the outer scale is essential for atmospheric tomography in adaptive-optics (AO). These atmospheric parameters can be estimated from measurements of multiple Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensors (SH-WFSs) by the SLOpe Detection And Ranging (SLODAR). In this paper, we present the statistics of the vertical CN^2 and the outer scale L_0 at Maunakea in Hawaii estimated from 60 hours telemetry data in total from multiple SH-WFSs of RAVEN, which is an on-sky multi-object AO demonstrator tested on the Subaru telescope. The mean seeing during the RAVEN on-sky observations is 0.475 arcsec, and 55% turbulence is below 1.5 km. The vertical profile of CN^2 from the RAVEN SLODAR is consistent with the profiles from CFHT DIMM and MASS, and TMT site characterization

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda

Although social media use is gaining increasing importance as a component of firms’ portfolio of strategies, scant research has systematically consolidated and extended knowledge on social media marketing strategies (SMMSs). To fill this research gap, we first define SMMS, using social media and marketing strategy dimensions. This is followed by a conceptualization of the developmental process of SMMSs, which comprises four major components, namely drivers, inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Next, we propose a taxonomy that classifies SMMSs into four types according to their strategic maturity level: social commerce strategy, social content strategy, social monitoring strategy, and social CRM strategy. We subsequently validate this taxonomy of SMMSs using information derived from prior empirical studies, as well with data collected from in-depth interviews and a quantitive survey among social media marketing managers. Finally, we suggest fruitful directions for future research based on input received from scholars specializing in the field

An application of means-end and extended self theories to explore enablers and inhibitors of autonomous car adoption

Investments in autonomous cars (ACs) are growing, yet there is scant evidence on the likely adoption of such cars. Integrating the means-end and extended self theories, we explore the holistic drivers behind adopting or not ACs and their linkage with human values and wellbeing, as well as the self-expression considerations of prospective adopters. Data from 54 interviews suggests that consumers perceive AC adoption can both facilitate and hinder the achievement of human values. For example, ACs can enhance life comfort and lower stress by creating convenience and extra time to rest and socialize; equally, they can lower life excitement by eliminating the joy of driving. The autonomy in ACs can mean freedom given the flexibility allowed by driverless technology, but can also hamper freedom and security given the perceived risk of accidents which comes with a novel technology. Importantly, we find ACs’ pondered adoption is linked to identity-related and self-image concerns

An Integrated MASS/DIMM Monitor Based on a Low-Noise CCD Detector

International audienceWe propose a novel design for a turbulence profiler. Using a single detector, images of the pupil (scintillation) and stars (image motion) are formed in the detector plane. The instrument is called FASS (Full Aperture Scintillation Sensor), as it uses the full aperture of the telescope. Different processing strategies are evaluated, including spatial segmentation and Fourier analysis. The different approaches are tested via simulation and on-sky data from two telescopes and compared to profiles obtained with the Durham Stereo-SCIDAR monitor. Overall, simulations shows that the method is more accurate that the classical MASS configuration, but it is shown that the photon noise plays an important role in the accuracy of the method, imposing stringent requirements on the pixel size, which must be significantly smaller than the speckle size formed from turbulence close to the ground (Fresnel law for speckle size). Encouraging results have been obtained for on-sky data and compared to contemporaneous profiles obtained with a Stereo-Scidar technique