Can micromanagement be beneficial for adaptive selling? Role of salesperson creativity and managerial micromanagement during disruption

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management

DOI

10.1080/08853134.2024.2444209

Abstract

Market disruptions can impact how salespeople approach their strategies, adapt their selling techniques, and manage customer relationships. Drawing from Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and Chaos Theory, this research investigates the mechanisms through which market disruption affects adaptive selling. We propose that while market disruption can impact adaptive selling both positively and negatively, salesperson creativity mediates this impact favorably. In addition, we consider the role of micromanagement in boosting the positive association between market disruption and adaptive selling. Analyzing survey data collected from 377 B2B salespeople from multiple industries in the US, we generally find support for our propositions. This study makes important contributions to sales literature by uncovering benefits of micromanagement and answering the call for more research on salesperson reactions to changes brought about by the external environment. For practitioners in B2B settings, this study offers valuable insights on how salespeople and sales managers can deal with disruptive situations effectively.

Keywords

adaptive selling, Chaos Theory, JD-R framework, market disruption, micromanagement, salesperson creativity

Department

Marketing and Business Analytics

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