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Purpose:A limited number of studies have attempted to reveal the mechanism underlying integration amongst the economic, environmental, and social components of business sustainability (BS). BS refers to a company’s efforts to go beyond focusing only on profitability, also to manage its environmental, social, and broader economic impact on the marketplace and society as a whole. The research objective of this study is therefore to develop and test a framework of BS, based upon the triple bottom line (TBL) approach. Methodology/approach:Companies with more than 100 employees were identified to take part in the study. Respondents included executives in charge of BS initiatives, such as chief sustainability officers, sustainable business managers, and CEOs. Ultimately, 261 companies agreed to participate. Questionnaires (and an accompanying letter with survey details and contact information on the researchers) were sent to the targeted key informant in the company. A total of 110 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a final response rate of 42.1%. Findings:To assess the underlying pattern of dimensions and items of the BS framework, factor analyses were conducted. An initial factor analysis revealed 3 separate subframeworks of BS (economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the TBL-approach), all of which demonstrate satisfactory factor solutions. A second factor analysis iteration, containing all subframeworks of BS (i.e., 20 dimensions and 60 items) generated a total explained variance of 80%, although the factor loadings of 3 dimensions and their items merged with 3 other dimensions. The final factor solution generated a satisfactory 17-factor solution and explained 83% of the variance, indicating satisfactory convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity, as well as reliability of each dimension. Research implications:The study proposes a BS framework and concludes that the measurement metrics of the BS framework, which were developed and tested, are valid and reliable. Suggestions for applications, research limitations, and further research are provided. The BS framework may be used by companies to assess and monitor their sustainable business practices in the marketplace and society. The framework provides managerial structure and guidance in terms of the dimensions to be taken into consideration and also the items for measuring each of the dimensions of the BS framework in the market and society. The study is not without its limitations and further work is needed to verify the validity and reliability of the empirical findings of the BS framework across contexts and over time. As it stands, the investigation provides a foundation for further research, offering opportunities for updates, amendments, and refinements.Originality/value/contribution:A principal contribution of this study is the empirically developed and tested BS framework. It is based on the elements of the TBL approach, consisting of dimensions and measurement items. The BS framework and its hierarchical layers provide a structured contribution that assesses and monitors the managerial implementation of sustainable business practices and sustainable business models. Furthermore, the structural properties of the BS framework, in relation to contextual variables, provide additional research opportunities for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: The objective of this study is to develop understanding of the interplay between the perceptions of power balance, relationship value, and relationship quality between retail distributors and their suppliers. Methodology: The authors applied a phenomenological approach in both qualitative and quantitative data collections and analyses. Key informants in 27 of the dominant retail distributors within 5 Norwegian industries and 50 of their most important suppliers were interviewed. Findings: The power balance seems to favor the retail distributors. Retail distributors and suppliers tell of somewhat different characteristics pertaining to “best” and “worst” relationships relating to economic-, capability-, and integration-based values as perceived between retail distributors and their suppliers. Research limitations/implications: The empirical findings indicate the complexity in assessing relationship quality and show a rich basis for further research, thereby contributing to knowledge and insights in characterizing relationship quality when power is asymmetrically distributed between distributors and their suppliers. However, personal interviews may reveal answers at rational, cognitive, and even emotional levels, thus complicating subjective analysis. Practical implications: The results of the study are important for both researchers and practitioners on both sides of retail distributor–supplier relationships. Originality/value: This study advances the work on what characterizes relationship quality in asymmetric power business relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeDesignFindingsResearch implicationsPractical implicationsOriginality\nSUMMARY STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONTo explore the role played by DCT, SM, and CRM through customer knowledge, and market knowledge in the sales performance of a salesforce, and their economic and non-economic satisfaction in B2B sales.A total of 66 B2B Norwegian companies out of 69 participated in this study. A questionnaire with an introduction letter was sent to 356 sellers, and 216 valid questionnaires were used for this study, generating a net response rate of 60.6%. The approach followed was deductive.The results have both purified and simplified the structural relationships in the nomological framework initially posited. The triadic exploration of digital communication tools (DCT), social media (SM), and CRM-solutions (CRM) in relation to customer and market knowledge, the sales performance of a salesforce and their economic and non-economic satisfaction in B2B sales, yield complementary insights to existing theory and previous research.The combined focus on the effect of acquiring customer knowledge and obtaining market knowledge through DCT, SM, and CRM on the sales performance of a salesforce in B2B sales has important implications. The results have simultaneous implications regarding the role of customer and market knowledge through DCT, SM, and CRM in B2B sales.DCT, SM, and CRM enable a salesforce to stay updated and maintain contacts with existing customers, and also facilitate updates, and to getting in contact with potential customers. DCT, SM, and CRM may enable a salesforce to acquire additional information about existing and potential customers. DCT, SM, and CRM may enable a salesforce to obtain more information about the market. Customer and market knowledge may also become more accessible through peers, superiors, or other informants.Contributes to enhancing our understanding of the role of digital communication tools (DCT), social media (SM), and CRM solutions (CRM) through customer knowledge and market knowledge on sales performance in B2B sales. It also contributes to enhancing the understanding of a salesforce’s economic and non-economic satisfaction in B2B sales through DCT, SM, and CRM. The results clarify the structural characteristics between a salesforce’s customer and market knowledge, their sales performance, and economic as well as non-economic satisfaction in B2B sales.This study contributes to knowledge on the role of digital communication tools (DCT), social media (SM), and CRM-solutions (CRM) through customer knowledge and market knowledge on sales performance in B2B sales. It also contributes to the knowledge of salesforces’ economic and non-economic satisfaction through DCT, SM, and CRM. It provides empirical evidence on the structural properties between salesforces’ customer and market knowledge, their sales performance, and economic as well as non-economic satisfaction in B2B sales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the study is to assess proposed relationships in a model across different settings, where satisfaction is a mediator between quality constructs in a seller-customer relational setting in B2B markets. The positioning of satisfaction as a mediator is between trust and commitment as antecedents of satisfaction, and cooperation, continuity, and coordination as postcedents of satisfaction in seller-customer relationships. The study was quantitative in nature, supported by an exploratory research approach. Data was collected based on a population of companies across Norwegian industries, as reflected in the Norwegian database Sales Navigator on LinkedIn. To enable research on seller-customer business relationships, key informants who adhered to specific criteria (e.g., that they were sales or marketing managers/directors or key account managers) were selected to participate in the study. A total of 841 potential key informants were identified and contacted telephonically to verify whether they qualified to participate in the survey and, if not, to identify an appropriate person who fit the criteria at the same firm. A total of 523 informants adhered to the stipulated criteria to participate in the study, with a total of 213 informants who completed the questionnaire satisfactorily. This resulted in their responses to be used for data analysis purposes, representing a valid response rate of 40.7%. Respondents were requested to name one key business customer with whom they engaged in the last year, and to be mindful of this respondent when answering the questionnaire. To secure privacy, respondents did not have to identify the customer. Furthermore, the respondents were asked to answer the questions to the best of their ability to ensure quality responses to each item in the questionnaire. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire began with a competency check to ensure respondents were suitable to participate in the study. The respondents were asked, "Please consider how knowledgeable and experienced you are concerning your business and your business dealings with this customer." They then had to answer the following two statements: a) "I have a lot of knowledge about this customer"; and b) "I have a lot of experiences with this customer," which were measured using a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging between (1) strongly agree and (5) strongly disagree. Almost all respondents (99.5%) indicated that they had extensive knowledge about the customer, while 94.5% indicated that they had wide-ranging experiences with the customer. The application of a five-point Likert-type scale was secured to determine the degree to which respondents agreed or disagreed with the items included in the questionnaire relating to trust, commitment, satisfaction, coordination, continuity and cooperation in seller–customer relationships. The SPSS/Amos 24.0 software was used to conduct the multivariate analysis. Firstly, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, followed by structural equation modeling. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to assess the measurement properties of each construct, while structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed hypotheses in the precursor and outcome research model. The tested research model adheres to the cutoff points for satisfactory convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity, as well as to the minimum requirements for construct reliability. Furthermore, it was determined that trust and commitment have a positive and significant influence on satisfaction in a seller-customer context, while satisfaction positively and significantly influences coordination, continuation, and cooperation in seller-customer relationships in a B2B setting. The tested model validates the hypothesized relationships between trust, commitment, satisfaction, coordination, continuity, and cooperation from a seller's perspective in a B2B setting. Moreover, the model confirms the sequential logic of quality constructs in seller-customer business relationships. Furthermore, the findings reported on the seller-customer research model raise the question for further research on the seller's perspective in relation to the sequential logic of quality constructs in business relationships. Extensive research has been undertaken based on the buyer's perspective, while the seller's perspective requires additional research. The findings indicate consistency between the measurement and structural properties based on sellers' and buyers' perspectives in business relationships. Evidently, further research is required to verify the validity and reliability beyond the studied Norwegian seller-customer business relationships. A crucial research implication is that existing items to measure trust, commitment, satisfaction, cooperation, coordination, and continuity in buyer-supplier relationships (i.e., a buyer's perspective) appear to be valid and reliable – after the minimal replacement of the word "supplier" with the word "customer" – to measure the same construct in seller-customer business relationships (i.e., a seller's perspective). This offers further opportunities to test other constructs and related items used that are based on a buyer's perspective to verify their validity and reliability in seller perspective contexts. Finally, the study provides opportunities to assess the mutuality of satisfaction, trust, commitment, cooperation, coordination, and continuity in buyer-supplier and seller-customer business relationships. The findings assist sellers in a B2B setting to better understand the quality factors that are vital for business-to-business customers when building long-term relationships with industrial sellers. In addition, these quality factors are perceived as important by sellers across industries in Norway. Therefore, the study established that it is important to make the seller aware of the positive consequences of trust (e.g., through information and education). Secondly, when the seller understands the positive consequences of trust, the seller can use them as an argument in discussions with a customer focusing on the benefits (e.g., cooperation, coordination, and continuity) of keeping a satisfied and committed business relationship, and so trust is maintained between the seller and the buyer. It was furthermore established that mutual trust creates a relationship rewarding both parties (i.e., a win-win situation). Conclusively, it is argued that trust is the basis of positive consequences (e.g., commitment and satisfaction) that stimulates the seller's self-confidence, and most likely leads to improved sales performance through cooperation, commitment, and continuity of the business relationship. The majority of studies measuring quality constructs in B2B relationships are positioned from the buyer's perspective in a B2B setting. This study established a foundation to assess the relationship quality of a firm's inbound and outbound business relationships from a seller's perspective in a B2B context. Furthermore, the study provides an understanding of the seller's perspective toward the quality constructs required for long-term relationship building. Since the majority of B2B studies are conducted from a buyer's perspective, a seller's perspective is required increasingly to better manage the long-term relationship building process in B2B markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on a framework of sales performance drivers, considering four areas of seller skills, and seven dimensions that the literature generally recognizes as affecting sales performance in B2B settings. The four areas and seven dimension of seller skill level are as follows: (i) interpersonal abilities, including communication as well as presentation skills; (ii) degree of adaptiveness, considering seller ability to modify both the sales approach and the sales behavior; (iii) selling-related knowledge, covering product and market-knowledge skills; and (iv) sellers' use of technology. As a whole, assuming a pivotal role played by seller skills, the research objective is to empirically verify a conceptual framework based on B2B seller skills in the context of sales performance. This study responds to a recent call to use meta-analyses to increase research-based knowledge in the sales domain. This study offers an empirical testing of a research framework for the identification and understanding of those skills that sellers need to embrace handling and increasing value in business relationships with customers in B2B settings of tangible products. The methodology relies on a questionnaire survey using a deductive approach. A total of 315 companies were ultimately selected to take part in the study, so as to represent a range of companies from different industries and corporate sizes within the product-oriented business sector of Norway (i.e. services-oriented companies are not included). The companies were identified from the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2007). A total of 236 questionnaires out of 315 were returned, generating a response rate of 74.9%. Methodology/Approach An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to falsify or confirm the seven-dimensional framework of skill level. The initial factor analysis consisted of 21 items with three per dimension. The principal component method was applied to reveal the pattern in the factor solution. An orthogonal approach (varimax rotation) was applied to rotate the factor solution. The multi-item measures of each dimension were selected and modified from various sources. The empirical findings provide a foundation for further studies on sales performance. In particular, the findings can be used to assess the relationship between seller skill dimensions on sellers' objective and subjective performance in B2B sales settings. The findings can also be used to assess the relationship between these skill-level indicators on sellers' economic and non-economic satisfaction. Findings Companies could use the reported findings to organize and structure the process of B2B seller planification. This study offers seven verified categories of seller skill level. Companies should focus on each category in relation to their specific industry, so as to optimize sales performance. Seller skills become relevant with respect to taking into consideration the context of sales performance in areas such as planning and organization, recruiting and screening, training, remuneration and motivation, and evaluation and control. Note that companies need to consider the reported seven categories of skill level across all areas of sales performance. Companies should evaluate their sellers in relation to each category of skill level, and offer continuous training that is appropriate to each category. It is evident that training is fundamental to acquiring seller skills. The recruitment and screening of sellers are also important for acquiring sellers with an appropriate level of each category of skill levels. Furthermore, companies need to evaluate the training results of sellers, and offer economic compensation in accordance with the skill level reached in each of the seven categories. This study contributes to creat a B2B framework of seller skills in the context of sales performance. Accordingly, the tested and reported seven-dimensional framework provides a foundation for structuring the skill level dimensions in B2B sales settings. A further opportunity in B2B settings is to assess the structural properties of how the seven dimensions of seller skills are associated with and related to the other sales performance indicators (i.e. seller role perceptions, motivations and aptitude, as well as the influence of organizational and environmental aspects on sellers). One such research opportunity is to assess to what extent there are any moderating and mediating effects between skill level, role perception, motivation, aptitude and organizational/environmental, or whether they all relate only to sales performance in B2B settings. We conclude that the seven-dimensional framework of B2B seller skills in the context of sales performance verified in this study offers satisfactory validity and reliability. We therefore argue that the reported dimensions of B2B seller skills – i.e. interpersonal presentation and communication skills, degree of adaptiveness regarding abilities to modify sales approach and sales behavior, selling-related knowledge about customers and product/technology knowledge, and sales technology use – offer a sound foundation for assessing and following up on sales performance. This study contributes to existing theory and previous studies, thus providing a foundation for framing relevant indicators of sales performance regarding B2B seller skills. The seven-dimensional framework therefore provides a foundation on which to structure the assessment of sales performance in B2B settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses an ongoing business-to-business (B2B) relationship perspective to establish the interrelationships between trust, commitment, and relationship satisfaction (as relational constructs) and specific assets, formalization, and opportunism (as transaction cost variables) from a buyer's perspective, framed within micro-enterprises in the business banking industry in South Africa. Data were collected via self-administered online questionnaires from 381 micro-enterprise customers of one of South Africa's major banks. We first used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the measurement model before structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to estimate the hypothesized relationships between the study constructs. The measurement and structural models fitted the data well. The research was approached using the dual theoretical lenses of relationship marketing and transaction cost theory to investigate relationship satisfaction from a buyer's perspective. The results support the notion that, in a B2B context, relationship satisfaction is an outcome of trust and commitment, with commitment being the stronger predictor. Relationship satisfaction, in turn, was positively related to both specific assets and formalization (the relationship with formalization being the strongest), and a negative relationship between relationship satisfaction and opportunism. Since our results found commitment to be a stronger predictor of relationship satisfaction than trust (contrary to much previous research that found the opposite to be true), the paper concludes with several commitment-related suggestions for banks. Although much research exists on trust, commitment, and satisfaction, to our knowledge this study is the first using dual theoretical lenses (relationship marketing and transaction cost theory) to investigate relationship satisfaction from a buyer's perspective among micro-enterprise customers in a banking context. The insights gained from our study therefore not only address this under-researched area (micro-enterprises), but also contribute toward expanding our understanding of forming (and maintaining) banking relationships with the customers of the smallest-sized businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to position economic and non-economic satisfaction as outcomes of micro-enterprises' perception of value, and to determine the antecedents of perceived value within the business banking industry. The study is based on a self-administered and internet-based questionnaire conducted in the South African business banking industry. The sample consists of 381 micro-enterprises that employ one or two staff members. The results reveal that economic satisfaction and non-economic satisfaction are influenced by customers' perceived value, and that price fairness influences perceived value through the mediating effects of perceived price and service quality. Significant relationships were also found between perceived price and economic satisfaction, and between economic satisfaction and non-economic satisfaction. Drawing on social exchange theory, this research adds to the existing literature by exploring price fairness in business customers' perception of value, and their subsequent satisfaction judgments – specifically economic and non-economic satisfaction. The study offers banking executives insight into factors that influence micro-enterprises' perception of value, and the consequences of higher perceived value in terms of their economic and non-economic satisfaction levels. Micro-enterprises are an under-researched target group in the areas of price, quality, value, and satisfaction within the business banking industry. The study further contributes to theory by being among the first to posit economic and non-economic satisfaction as dual outcomes of perceived value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main objective is to test and assess a research model through time and across contexts in which satisfaction is a mediator between quality constructs in manufacturer–supplier relationships. Satisfaction is positioned as a mediator between trust and commitment (i.e., causes) on the one hand, and cooperation, coordination and continuity expectancy (i.e., outcomes) on the other. The objective is also to provide a substantiation and contribution through time and across contexts, to business theory of supplier-manufacturer relationships Methodology/approach: One out of eight samples selected for additional empirical substantiation for this study comprises a total of 600 small and medium-sized Spanish enterprises from various industrial sectors. A total of 259 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 43.2%. The study is positioned (and compared) in relation to seven other samples that have been tested within the same research model in Canada, Finland, Norway (twice), South Africa, Sweden, and Taiwan. The total number of useable questionnaires is 1641, the average number of useable questionnaires per study is 205 and the average response rate is 37.4% in the studies assessed of this article. Findings: The research model tested and assessed in the eight studies meets the requirements for satisfactory convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as for construct reliability. The measurement and structural metrics support validity and reliability over time and across contexts, which is rare in marketing research. Research implications: The theoretical framework contributes, through time and across contexts, to the business theory of supplier–manufacturer relationships. The tested research model demonstrates properties of validity and reliability across countries and company sizes. Implications and suggestions for further research are provided. Practical implications: The empirical findings indicate key factors that contribute to satisfaction in manufacturer–supplier relationships in different countries and companies. Originality/value: The article makes a contribution to theory relating to supplier–manufacturer relationships, providing evidence that the tested, hypothesized relationships are generally applicable. The validation or falsification of empirical findings in previous research is crucial in building valid and reliable theory over time and across contexts. Otherwise, theory becomes fragmented and undermines the credibility of marketing research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose:The primary purpose of this study is to test the importance of activity-oriented precursors in a relationship model. This study supports the theoretical view that firms create trust and knowledge through activities and these activities make a commitment decision less risky (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009). The secondary purpose of this study is to collect and examine data from interorganizational relationships in both Sweden and the United States. By including data from two countries, results will be more generalizable. Results can also lead to several managerial implications. Methodology/approach:This study focuses on a sample of distributors from both the United States and Sweden. One hundred sixty-one usable surveys were returned from the U.S. survey, for a response rate of 27%. One hundred twenty-four usable surveys were returned from the Swedish survey, for a response rate of 21%. The PLS-SEM method was used to examine the model’s constructs. Findings:Similar to past research results show that trust and commitment have a direct positive influence on satisfaction, and that trust also has a direct positive influence on commitment. However, this study uniquely supports four out of six newly tested hypotheses. Both cooperation and relationship assets have a direct positive influence on commitment. Cooperation has a direct positive influence on trust and commitment. Relationship assets have a direct negative influence on trust but a direct positive influence on commitment. Surprisingly, two hypotheses were not supported: Coordination did not have a significant relationship with either trust or commitment. Research implications:Managers who want to achieve a satisfactory relationship based on trust and commitment need to prioritize their attention toward cooperation. They should also be aware that participation in joint activities (i.e., coordination and relationship investments) does not guarantee higher levels of trust or commitment in the relationship. It is the quality of the joint activities and the how dependent firms are on each other and not just participation in joint activities that are likely to create higher levels of trust or commitment. The quality of coordination and manageable levels of dependence may counteract the higher costs associated with joint activities compared to the costs associated with cooperation. Managers may be wise to not make major commitments to other firms unless high quality joint activities have created knowledge and trust between firms.Originality/value/contribution:The model adds the joint activity-oriented antecedents associated with collaboration which is essential to a successful relationship. Because of the high failure rate of collaboration may be due to cooperation and coordination failures and because these two constructs are underspecified in interorganizational research, this study is unique in examining activity-oriented antecedents in a trust/commitment model of relationship satisfaction in a cross-cultural context (i.e., with U.S. and Swedish samples). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]