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Strategy type and performance: the influence of sales force management
Author(s) -
Slater Stanley F.,
Olson Eric M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
strategic management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 11.035
H-Index - 286
eISSN - 1097-0266
pISSN - 0143-2095
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0266(200008)21:8<813::aid-smj122>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - premise , explanatory power , strategic management , business , proposition , sales management , process management , marketing , strategy implementation , computer science , industrial organization , operations management , economics , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology
The basic premise of the strategy implementation literature is that different business strategies require different configurations of organizational practices to achieve optimal performance. Sales force management is a key functional activity and should contribute to the successful implementation of business strategy. In this study, we examine the relationship between multiple sales force management practices and performance within each of Miles and Snow's (1978) strategy types. The explanatory power of the eight models tested is quite high (incremental adjusted R 2 ≥ 0.25 for six of the eight models). Thus, we find substantial support for the general proposition that the different strategy types require individualized profiles of sales force management practices for optimal effectiveness and that sales force management is important to the successful implementation of business strategy. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.