This study sets out to assess the effects of sales-related capabilities of personal selling organizations on individual sales capabilities, sales behaviors, and sales performance in cosmetics personal selling channels. Data are collected from 151 salespeople, their sales organizations, and their visiting customers (151) in South Korea. The proposed hypotheses are tested through the structural equation modelling technique. The study finds that both types of sales-related capabilities (salesforce management capabilities and personal selling capabilities) have significant positive effects on the individual sales capabilities, respectively. Further, the individual sales capability of salespeople has a stronger impact on customer-oriented sales behavior than on selling-oriented sales behavior. Similarly, selling-oriented sales behavior has a negative effect on customer satisfaction while customer-oriented sales behavior has a positive effect. The study further finds that customer-oriented sales behavior has a positive effect, while selling-oriented sales behavior has no statistically significant effect on sales performance. The relationship length, the study finds, moderates the relationship between customer-oriented sales behavior and customer satisfaction. The study offers practical and theoretical insights into understanding the nuances of sales-related capabilities of sales organizations and how they affect the individual selling capabilities of salespeople, their selling behaviors and sales performance. The results also have crucial consequences for sales organizations, as they can help sales managers design strategies and develop a culture that focuses on building and enhancing the selling capabilities of the firm and the salesforce. The present study demonstrates how the selling capabilities of the personal selling organization can influence the individual selling capabilities of the salesperson and how these could engender positive selling behaviors and sales performance.

PurposeThe current study aims to empirically examine the impact of formal salesforce control systems on salespeople and customer behavior.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from 704 salespeople and their respective visiting customers (704) in Ghana. The suggested hypotheses are tested through the structural equation (SEM) modeling technique.FindingsThe study results show that all three formal control mechanisms have positive and significant effects on customer-directed problem-solving and adaptive selling behaviors. Similarly, the study finds that salespeople's customer-directed problem-solving behavior increases, respectively, customer-directed opportunism and relationship continuity. Adaptive selling behavior also has significant positive effects on both customer-directed opportunism and relationship continuity, respectively.Practical implicationsThe study offers practical and theoretical insights into understanding salesforce control dynamics, customer-directed opportunism, adaptive selling behavior, customer-directed problem-solving behavior and continuity of relationships. The results also have significant consequences for sales organizations as they can help sales managers decide on the best form of salesforce control systems to deploy.Originality/valueThe current research demonstrates how control mechanisms can influence both adaptive selling and customer-directed problem-solving behaviors and how these could generate both customer-directed opportunism and relationship continuity.

This study aims to empirically test the effect of brand trust on brand commitment and brand loyalty while examining the mediating and moderating roles of brand commitment and brand reputation respectively. To achieve this aim, data is collected from 412 smartphone users in South Korea. The hypotheses advanced to achieve this aim are tested through the structural equations modeling technique. The results of the study reveal that brand trust and brand commitment positively and significantly influence brand loyalty. The study further finds that brand trust is positively and significantly related to brand commitment, while the latter mediates the relationship between brand trust and brand loyalty. Equally, the study finds support for the moderating role of brand reputation on the relationship between brand trust and brand commitment. The study provides managerial and theoretical illuminations into comprehending brand trust, brand commitment, brand reputation, and brand loyalty.

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PurposeThis paper examines the antecedents of adaptive selling behavior empirically from the salespeople's, customers', and firms' perspectives.Design/methodology/approachSurvey design was used for this study. Data from 219 salespeople and their visiting customers in selected cosmetics companies in Korea are used to test the conceptual model using structural equation modeling.FindingsFindings show that intrinsic motivation, empathy, and product knowledge are germane to adaptive selling behavior among salesperson-level factors. Similarly, among the customer-level factors, the length of the relationship between salespeople and customers positively affects adaptive selling behavior. Also, while supervisory empowerment among the organizational-level factors significantly predicts adaptive selling behavior, supervisory control has a negative effect on adaptive selling behavior. The study finds that emotional intelligence and customer value demandingness do not significantly affect adaptive selling behavior.Originality/valueEven though there is extant research on adaptive selling behavior, our research differs from previous research because our research focuses on door-to-door personal selling channels. Furthermore, this study departs from previous research because it uses customer-reporting of the salespeople and salespeople's self-reporting responses.