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The value of the sales function: A multilevel examination of the effect of strategic marketing ambidexterity and industry contingencies

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  • Keshavarz, Ali Reza
  • Gölgeci, Ismail

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of firm strategic marketing ambidexterity (SMA) and industry contingencies on the sales function’s relative compensation level within organizations. It draws on longitudinal secondary panel data from two different sources, based on a sample of all business-to-business manufacturing firms with more than 100 salespeople in France across several years, and perform a hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis. The model, tested on multilevel data, shows that SMA and its interaction with industry munificence and dynamism are significant determinants of the relative compensation of the sales function (RCSF). Results show that innovativeness and marketing resource endowment (two dimensions of SMA) have opposite effects on RCSF. Additionally, different industry contingencies—industry munificence, dynamism, and competitiveness—interact differently with SMA when explaining RCSF. This study highlights the relevance of the sales function in firms’ pay practices and advances the understanding of variations in RCSF.

Suggested Citation

  • Keshavarz, Ali Reza & Gölgeci, Ismail, 2023. "The value of the sales function: A multilevel examination of the effect of strategic marketing ambidexterity and industry contingencies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:156:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322010104
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113545
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