When Salespeople Harbor Negative Stereotypes of their Corporate Headquarters : How Harmful is it and How can it be Avoided

This study examines the performance implications that organizations may suffer when their salespeople develop negative stereotypes of their corporate headquarters. How such stereotypes can be remedied through managerial action is also examined. The study draws on matched data from four different sources: sales managers, salespeople, customers, and company reports. Findings indicate that negative headquarters stereotypes among salespeople are associated with poor marketing-related performance across a range of outcomes, including salespeople’s adherence to corporate strategy, their customer orientation, and their sales performance. Findings also show that negative headquarters stereotypes can be remedied through managerial action, but more so at the corporate management level than at the sales unit level

When salespeople develop negative headquarters stereotypes: performance effects and managerial remedies

This study examines the performance implications that organizations may suffer when their salespeople develop negative stereotypes of their corporate headquarters. How such stereotypes can be remedied through managerial action is also examined. The study draws on matched data from four different sources: sales managers, salespeople, customers, and company reports. Findings indicate that negative headquarters stereotypes among salespeople are associated with poor marketing-related performance across a range of outcomes, including salespeople's adherence to corporate strategy, their customer orientation, and their sales performance. Findings also show that negative headquarters stereotypes can be remedied through managerial action, but more so at the corporate management level than at the sales unit level

The role of leadership in salespeople’s price negotiation behavior

Salespeople assume a key role in defending firms’ price levels in price negotiations with customers. The degree to which salespeople defend prices should critically depend upon their leaders’ influence. However, the influence of leadership on salespeople’s price defense behavior is barely understood, conceptually or empirically. Therefore, building on social learning theory, the authors propose that salespeople might adopt their leaders’ price defense behavior given a transformational leadership style. Furthermore, drawing on the contingency leadership perspective, the authors argue that this adoption fundamentally depends on three variables deduced from the motivation–ability–opportunity (MAO) framework, that is, salespeople’s learning motivation, negotiation efficacy, and perceived customer lenience. Results of a multi-level model using data from 92 salespeople and 264 salesperson–customer interactions confirm these predictions. The first to explore contingencies of salespeople’s adoption of their transformational leaders’ price negotiation behaviors, this study extends marketing theory and provides actionable guidance to practitioners

O Efeito da Sinalização de Qualidade no Contexto de Serviços

Signaling theory states that signals are firms’ actions that communicate information about the quality of a product. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of signal quality in a service context, through the investigation of the signaling effects of price and responsiveness in a service context. Perceived behavior control, regarded as an individual's perception of the ability to perform a behavior, was proposed as a moderator between signaling variables and perceived quality. Two experimental studies with factorial and inter-subject designs were conducted in order to test the hypotheses formulated from the literature review. Results from both experiments show that signaling quality through price and responsiveness can affect perceived quality. The second experiment supports the hypothesis of perceived behavior control moderation between price as a signaling variable and perceived quality, but not between responsiveness and perceived quality. These results and their implications are discussed in the final section of the paper

Characterization of polyploid wheat genomic diversity using a high-density 90,000 single nucleotide polymorphism array

High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays are a powerful tool for studying genomic patterns of diversity, inferring ancestral relationships between individuals in populations and studying marker-trait associations in mapping experiments. We developed a genotyping array including about 90,000 gene-associated SNPs and used it to characterize genetic variation in allohexaploid and allotetraploid wheat populations. The array includes a significant fraction of common genome-wide distributed SNPs that are represented in populations of diverse geographical origin. We used density-based spatial clustering algorithms to enable high-throughput genotype calling in complex data sets obtained for polyploid wheat. We show that these model-free clustering algorithms provide accurate genotype calling in the presence of multiple clusters including clusters with low signal intensity resulting from significant sequence divergence at the target SNP site or gene deletions. Assays that detect low-intensity clusters can provide insight into the distribution of presence-absence variation (PAV) in wheat populations. A total of 46 977 SNPs from the wheat 90K array were genetically mapped using a combination of eight mapping populations. The developed array and cluster identification algorithms provide an opportunity to infer detailed haplotype structure in polyploid wheat and will serve as an invaluable resource for diversity studies and investigating the genetic basis of trait variation in wheat.Shichen Wang, Debbie Wong, Kerrie Forrest, Alexandra Allen, Shiaoman Chao, Bevan E. Huang, Marco Maccaferri, Silvio Salvi, Sara G. Milner, Luigi Cattivelli, Anna M. Mastrangelo, Alex Whan, Stuart Stephen, Gary Barker, Ralf Wieseke, Joerg Plieske, International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium, Morten Lillemo, Diane Mather, Rudi Appels, Rudy Dolferus, Gina Brown-Guedira, Abraham Korol, Alina R. Akhunova, Catherine Feuillet, Jerome Salse, Michele Morgante, Curtis Pozniak, Ming-Cheng Luo, Jan Dvorak, Matthew Morell, Jorge Dubcovsky, Martin Ganal, Roberto Tuberosa, Cindy Lawley, Ivan Mikoulitch, Colin Cavanagh, Keith J. Edwards, Matthew Hayden, and Eduard Akhuno

Making SENS: exploring the antecedents and impact of store environmental stewardship climate

Retailers increasingly recognize that environmental responsibility is a strategic imperative. However, little research has investigated or identified the factors that facilitate the successful implementation of environmentally responsible strategies across a network of customer-facing sales units (stores). We propose that a store manager’s ability to lead by example facilitates this process by fostering a supportive climate for store environmental stewardship (SENS-climate). By examining the influence of store managers’ actions on sales associates’ perceptions of the SENS-climate, as well as the subsequent impact on their performance—measured by margins, as well as sales of green and regular products—this study demonstrates that store managers can foster a SENS-climate by articulating their prioritization of environmental responsibility in their operational decisions. These positive effects are sustained by relational factors, such as the moderating effect of the store manager–sales associate dyadic tenure. In contrast, when store managers display high variability in their environmental orientation, it hinders the development of SENS-climate perceptions among sales associates. If sales associates perceive an enabling SENS-climate, they achieve higher margins and more green but fewer regular sales

The complex role of complexity: how service providers can mitigate negative effects of perceived service complexity when selling professional services

During professional service encounters, integrating customers into the process of service provision is both important and challenging, as the complexity of professional services can impair value creation at the service provider–customer interface. This study addresses this problem by examining how service complexity impacts customer cognitive capacity and finally important marketing outcomes. Through an examination of 310 interactions between service providers and customers of a retail bank, this study shows that customers’ cognitive capacity is drastically reduced at moderate levels of perceived complexity. Subsequently, a lack of cognitive capacity decreases customer satisfaction with the encounter and loyalty intentions toward the company, two important drivers of company profitability. Results further show that service providers’ ability to adapt to the specific nature of the encounter helps customers to conserve cognitive capacity. This study hence contributes to service literature by emphasizing the central role of perceived service complexity and establishing the importance of customers’ cognitive capacity in professional service encounters. From a managerial perspective, this study underlines the importance of decreasing service complexity to avoid the negative consequences of mentally overtaxing customers and shows how service providers can effectively use adaptive selling to manage customers’ cognitive capacity at the service provider–customer interface