A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Outward-looking and future-oriented customer value potential management: The sales force value appropriation role
Authors: Balboni B, Terho H
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
Publication year: 2016
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Journal name in source: INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Journal acronym: IND MARKET MANAG
Volume: 53
First page : 181
Last page: 193
Number of pages: 13
ISSN: 0019-8501
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.05.022
The management of customer relationships based on customers' value to the selling firm has been a central topic in marketing research for decades. Yet, extant research has devoted only scant attention to the management of customer future value potential, focusing mostly on advanced statistical modeling based on firm-internal and historical data, which often lacks relevance in B-to-B settings. We employ a longitudinal intervention study, rooted in a constructive research approach, to assess the relevance of a novel customer value potential management model in business markets. The results, based on realized sales and customer portfolio dynamics, demonstrate that a firm can effectively manage customer value potential by adopting a non-statistical, sales force-driven analysis perspective. Further, the study presents evidence for the effectiveness of combinative outward-looking and future-oriented value potential criteria in value potential analysis. Finally, the findings demonstrate how a supplier can proactively manage customer portfolio dynamics in the long run by systematically enhancing its competitive position and capitalizing on customers' organic growth at individual customer account level, through the interplay of organizational value management and sales force value appropriation efforts. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.