Corporate Entrepreneurship, Customer-Oriented Selling, Absorptive Capacity, And International Sales Performance In The International B2B Setting: Conceptual Framework And Research Propositions

In the international business-to-business (B2B) setting, a firm\u27s salespeople often have more direct, prolonged, and intimate contact with the customer and market environments than any other employees of the firm. In fact, for customers in many B2B markets, the salesperson is the face of the firm. The sales function can be characterized as an inherently entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurship is founded on knowing or seeing something others do not see, and the sales force has long been recognized as an important source of knowledge about a firm\u27s customers and environment. However, there has been relatively little work linking entrepreneurship to international sales performance, especially in the B2B context. This paper focuses on the intelligence-gathering role of salespeople to firms practicing corporate entrepreneurship in the international B2B setting. More specifically, drawing on the theories of corporate entrepreneurship and the knowledge-based view of the firm, the authors develop a conceptual model that proposes international sales performance for firms practicing corporate entrepreneurship will be enhanced when salespeople practice customer-oriented selling and the firm\u27s absorptive capacity is stronger. Recommended methodology for testing the proposed model is a single-informant survey of sales managers with firms in the domain of interest, using structural equation modeling with moderator tests. The paper concludes with implications and directions for future research

Corporate Entrepreneurship, Customer-Oriented Selling, Absorptive Capacity, And International Sales Performance In The International B2B Setting: Conceptual Framework And Research Propositions

In the international business-to-business (B2B) setting, a firm\u27s salespeople often have more direct, prolonged, and intimate contact with the customer and market environments than any other employees of the firm. In fact, for customers in many B2B markets, the salesperson is the face of the firm. The sales function can be characterized as an inherently entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurship is founded on knowing or seeing something others do not see, and the sales force has long been recognized as an important source of knowledge about a firm\u27s customers and environment. However, there has been relatively little work linking entrepreneurship to international sales performance, especially in the B2B context. This paper focuses on the intelligence-gathering role of salespeople to firms practicing corporate entrepreneurship in the international B2B setting. More specifically, drawing on the theories of corporate entrepreneurship and the knowledge-based view of the firm, the authors develop a conceptual model that proposes international sales performance for firms practicing corporate entrepreneurship will be enhanced when salespeople practice customer-oriented selling and the firm\u27s absorptive capacity is stronger. Recommended methodology for testing the proposed model is a single-informant survey of sales managers with firms in the domain of interest, using structural equation modeling with moderator tests. The paper concludes with implications and directions for future research

Revisiting the firm, industry, and country effects on profitability under recessionary and expansion periods: a multilevel analysis

Despite voluminous past research, the relevance of firm, industry, and country effects on profitability, particularly under adverse contexts, is still unclear. We reconcile institutional theory with the resource‐based view and industrial organization economics to investigate the effects of economic adversity, such as the 2008 global economic crisis. Using a three‐level random coefficient model, we examine 15,008 firms across 10 emerging and 10 developed countries for the 2005–2011 period. We find that firm effects become stronger under adversity, whereas industry effects become weaker, as well as country main and interaction effects, particularly among the emerging economies. These findings confirm our assumptions that the firm's own fate is, to a great extent, self‐determined; a reality that is even more pronounced during periods of extreme economic hardship

International Business: Strategy, Management and the New Realities

International Business Strategy, Management, and the New Realities, is a component of an innovative educational system we have been developing over the past several years. The system represents an innovative and exciting approach to teaching international business. The insight we gained from comprehensive research research to teaching international business. The insight we gained from comprehensive research and discussions with hundreds of practitioners, students, and faculty have been instrumental in refining our pedagogical philosofy and resources. The book attemts to impart the core body of knowledge in international business in an interesting and lively manner. Our teaching system works from the ground up, where cases, exercise, and management skill buliders are seamlessly integrated and matched to the topics covered in each chapter

The Great Lockdown Recession and International Business

The global health pandemic and the ensuing global recession has caused unprecedented uncertainty, risks, and devastation to individuals, families, societies, and organizations. In this context, a central question arises: what are the prospects for globalization? This article addresses five pressing questions that affect globalization for multiple stakeholders: (1) How is this pandemic different from previous disruptive events? (2) Are there silver linings to this economic disruption? (3) What are current and future impacts on globalization? (4) How will different entities be affected? and (5) What will be the likely impact on major economies? We have opportunities to fundamentally shift international business for economic, environmental, and social advancements that offer hope during this overwhelming health crisis

Always trust in old friends? Effects of reciprocity in bilateral asset specificity on trust in international B2B partnerships

Grounded in Social Exchange Theory (SET), this study is motivated by two unresolved issues. First, scholars find mixed results on how relationship duration facilitates business-to-business (B2B) trust. The lack of consensus results from the assumption that relationship duration is a measure of prior trust-building efforts. We contend that trust-building lies in exchanges between B2B partners, and relationship duration moderates the effects of reciprocal exchanges. Second, although Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) is one of the most used theoretical lens in the study of B2B trust, TCA is criticized for neglecting the exchange process in B2B trust-building. To provide clarity to these issues, we validate the expectation that bilateral asset specificity constitutes social exchange processes, which communicate goodwill reciprocity and equivalence reciprocity. Empirical findings suggest that, within bilateral asset specificity: (1) achieving goodwill reciprocity always enhances trust, regardless of the duration contingency; and (2) violating equivalence reciprocity impairs trust over the duration

Organizational-Social-Capital, Time and International Family SMEs:An Empirical Study from the East of England

Previous studies on family-SME internationalization have largely focused on what resources are needed to drive an incremental process rather than how resource management occurs in historical time. This paper focuses on the latter, adopting a social capital perspective (capturing both internal, i.e. among family-SME board members, and external, cross border agent dyads, relations) in order to decipher case study data from the East of England. Findings show that it is not the presence or absence of organizational-social-capital that affects family-SME internationalization success but rather its variable use over the years driven by the future pursuit of longevity, not growth. Key within this context is the variable use of the international expertise and management capability of non-family managers in the family SME intra-organizational context. Ultimately this may lead to change and learning that occurs erratically, often including reversals, without causing family-SME progression across a sequence of incremental stages

Psychic distance : antecedents, retail strategy implications and performance outcomes

The authors propose a conceptual model of the psychic distance&ndash;organizational performance relationship that incorporates organizational factors (international experience and centralization of decision making), entry strategy, and retail strategy implications. The findings suggest that when entering psychically distant markets, retailers should adopt low-cost/low-control entry strategies and adapt their retail strategy to a greater extent than in psychically close markets. However, the authors find that such strategic responses have an adverse effect on performance. They find that international experience, psychic distance, entry strategy, and retail strategy adaptation are significant drivers of organizational performance and factors that determine critical success in international retailing.<br /

International Business in an Accelerated VUCA World: Trends, Disruptions, and Coping Strategies

It is clear that the current business environment has changed fundamentally over the past several years. Major transformations were well underway prior to the global pandemic, but the latter and the ensuing global recession made the business landscape even more extraordinary. This paper discusses the new realities which define the contemporary global economy and provides insights into the changing nature of cross-border business. Specifically, we examine some of the short and long-term trends and disruptions that impact business. We also explore potential coping mechanisms and strategies that can help business thrive in this new environment