Nikala Lane’s research while affiliated with University of Warwick and other places

Sales management control strategy attracts considerable research attention because of its importance to achieving superior salesperson performance. However, the research stream on this topic evaluates the type of control exercised by sales managers (e.g., behavior versus outcome based) and the level of control. First, this paper introduces the construct of sales manager control competencies and examines not simply how much control managers exercise, but how well they implement control. Second, the paper examines the role of sales manager organizational citizenship behavior in the implementation of control. Sales manager control competencies is examined as a moderator of the relationship between control and salesperson performance, and sales manager organizational citizenship behavior as a mediator of the control—performance relationship. The study findings provide provocative new insights into the implementation of sales management control. Relevant new research directions and managerial implications are identified.

Purpose This paper attempts to tease out the linkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in business organisations and the imperatives of strategic marketing (to compete effectively through creating superior customer value). The expanding scope and domain of CSR leads us to identify an array of factors placing CSR at the heart of insightful market and segment choices by managers and the building of strong and sustainable competitive position. Design This is a conceptual paper, consisting of a literature review and a variety of supporting case examples. Findings We suggest that beyond altruism and philanthropy, the escalation in CSR investments by companies is opening the way to new business models and new marketing strategies which combine social and business benefits. While these strategic approaches to CSR as a driver of customer value offer great advantages compared to the managerial denial and defensiveness of the past, it is also important for strategic decision makers to understand the dangers to corporate performance of insincerity and unintended consequences in CSR endeavours. Limitations The paper is a conceptual contribution and the underlying premises should provide the basis for empirical investigations. Implications Our research suggests ways of integrating important social initiatives with business development goals, but underlines the emergence of risks from the unintended consequences of poorly conceived social initiatives and resistance to change that undermines implementation. Insincere and cynical attempts to exploit customers' societal and environmental sensitivities are also likely to be punished by an increasingly sophisticated marketplace. Contribution We establish a linkage between CSR and customer value as the foundation for new business and marketing strategies, and conclude by examining a pragmatic link between CSR strengths and customer value in the form of value propositions that link CSR to specific drivers of customer value.

An important change which has occurred during the last decade in many sales organizations is a shift away from a tactical focus to a strategic emphasis. This article examines these imperatives and their implications. It details how sales organizations are becoming more involved in business and marketing strategies, and concludes that the emergence of the strategic sales organization can be explained by several factors: changing customer relationship requirements; change in sales task; and the importance of strategic sales capabilities to cope with complexity, growing customer sophistication, commoditization pressures, and the need for radically different selling approaches. This article discusses the characteristics of the strategic sales organization in terms of the factors significant in developing a new sales domain and those exercising a broader shaping influence on how a strategic sales organization will function.

Purpose Harsh economic conditions have put pricing higher on the agenda but responses to pricing challenges have frequently been tactical. The intent is to build on basic pricing principles to emphasize a strategic perspective on pricing built around opportunities to deliver superior customer value. Design/methodology/approach Our logic is drawn from the observation of company pricing practices and interesting moves from conventional to innovative pricing strategies. Findings Our observations underline the need for executives to adopt a more strategic view of price and to examine the scope for raising prices, especially in a post‐recession economic scenario. Practical implications Our action agenda addresses: why there is an urgent need to make pricing decisions strategically, particularly as economic recovery occurs, with important insights coming from innovative pricing models designed to deliver superior customer value; the role of price in strategic positioning – key management considerations are whether price is to play an active or passive role in marketing the product or service, and whether price is high or low compared to alternatives; the challenges of raising prices in recession and recovery conditions, where analysis underlines the importance of considering product differentiation from a customer perspective and comparing this with how strongly the customer needs the product; and the need to design a value‐based pricing strategy which integrates the conclusions reached about the strategic role of price. Originality/value Viewing pricing as a “quick fix” and the only route to maintaining sales or protecting market share underplays the strategic importance of pricing and its long‐term strategic implications. We propose a management action agenda for making pricing decisions strategically.

The economic recession of the late-2000s has radically changed the business and market landscape. As economic recovery reaches different companies at different times, there is an urgent need to realign marketing strategies with a "new normal". Economic recovery will bring new opportunities but also risks and challenges which demand new strategies. The new market situation is characterised as the "age of thrift" which has radically changed customer purchase behaviour, and provides an environment dominated by public scepticism and lack of trust in business and in marketing offers. The competitive structures of markets have been redrawn by the effects of economic downturn, creating new situations for suppliers. International growth options in recovery will be circumscribed by reduced availability of finance and growing international protectionism. We propose an action agenda for executives to address in preparing their businesses for the challenges of economic recovery. Our agenda is concerned with: overcoming resistance to change; reinventing marketing strategy for a new market environment; prioritising market sensing; innovating radically in product strategy; re-thinking marketing communications; developing value-based competitive advantage; and, repairing damaged value chain relationships. The challenge for executives is to prepare for the post-recession environment by re-examining the fundamentals of their business models and core capabilities to deliver the superior value which will be demanded by post-recession customers.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has impacted on the policies and behaviours of companies throughout the world. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to the link between CSR and strategic marketing. The impact of CSR initiatives on customer and other stakeholder relationships is key to performance improvement. It is also important to recognise that CSR initiatives may achieve undesirable effects and that barriers exist to their effective implementation. We provide a framework examining the degree and type of corporate response to CSR imperatives and the moderating effects of employee/manager perceptions, other stakeholder perceptions, and the company's social credibility. We examine the impact of CSR on customer value, and importantly the need for a resonating value proposition that underlines how a supplier's CSR adds value for the customer. We conclude with a new management agenda for marketing strategy that examines CSR opportunities and risks.

This paper sets out to provide a managerial framework into which new research findings and company characteristics can be fitted for executives implementing the changes that will develop a strategic sales organization. We propose a framework to identify the important though inter-related issues to be considered by executives in managing the sales organization transformation process. This framework examines two sets of issues: immediate managerial concerns in the strategizing process, and broader organizational consequences. Managerial concerns close to the strategizing process include: involvement in business and marketing strategy decisions; intelligence as a basis for added value; integration of cross-functional contributions to customer value; internal marketing of customer priorities to internal departments and employees; and building the new types of sales organization infrastructure that will support a new strategic role. Broader organizational consequences to consider include: inspiration or leadership at several levels; influence over important issues of strategic direction; integrity in ethical standards and corporate social responsibility initiatives; and, an international perspective on managing sales and customers.