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Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 5/2019

08-06-2019 | Original Empirical Research

How intrafirm intermediary salespeople connect sales to marketing and product development

Authors: Gabriel R. Gonzalez, Danny P. Claro

Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science | Issue 5/2019

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Abstract

This research reveals the ways that salespeople manage intrafirm relationships by acting as intermediaries, connecting intrafirm members that would otherwise be unconnected. Using a two-study, multimethod design, the authors establish that (1) salespeople act as representative intermediaries positioned between peers in sales and those in marketing and product development; (2) the effects of representative positions with marketing and product development on performance are non-linear; and (3) selling-related knowledge moderates representative effects on performance. Representative salespeople act as the exclusive connection between a peer salesperson and a non-sales contact (marketing or product development), controlling non-redundant knowledge to gain influence over their peers. This research contributes to marketing by identifying non-linear effects for how salespeople mediate relationships between their peers and others in key intrafirm functions, and showing that salespeople with high selling-related knowledge realize enhanced effects of the representative position on sales performance.
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Appendix
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Metadata
Title
How intrafirm intermediary salespeople connect sales to marketing and product development
Authors
Gabriel R. Gonzalez
Danny P. Claro
Publication date
08-06-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science / Issue 5/2019
Print ISSN: 0092-0703
Electronic ISSN: 1552-7824
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00656-8

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