INTEREST CATEGORY: SELLING AND SALES MAN, INTERORGANIZATIONAL
POSTING TYPE: Calls: Journals

Author: Nwamaka Anaza

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Call for Papers

Relational Disruptions in Sales and Sales Management

Guest Editors:

Brian N. Rutherford. Kennesaw State University
Nwamaka A. Anaza. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Nathaniel Hartmann. University of South Florida
Scott C. Ambrose. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Purpose of the Issue

This Call for Papers invites submissions for a Special Issue of the JBIM on “Relational Disruptions in Sales and Sales Management.”

We seek contributions to advance the understanding of disruptions and disruptive events on B2B buyer-seller relationships. Disruptions and disruptive events can include pandemics, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, large scale armed conflicts, new suppliers entering the market, new disruptive products being launched, suppliers being unable to deliver raw materials, war disrupting the shipment of products, labor strikes, conflict, etc. Further, circumstances can involve death, employee turnover, or significant changes in communication structures, and even travel patterns that have long-term implications for buyer-seller relationships.

While disruptions and disruptive events have periodically received attention within the B2B literature, disruptions and disruptive events are currently receiving substantial attention because of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Cortez and Johnston, 2020; Habel et al., 2020; Hartmann and Lussier, 2020). Collectively, this literature suggests that disruptions and disruptive events have important consequences for B2B buyer-seller relationships and their firms. While the extant literature has made important contributions regarding advancing research and practical understanding of disruptions and disruptive events on B2B buyer-seller relationships, this literature is still in its infancy. There is a need for additional research that examines consequences of disruptions and disruptive events on B2B buyer-seller relationships, as well as how salespeople and individuals that interact with salespeople have responded to disruptions and disruptive events to maximize value creation (minimize value destruction). This Special Issue responds to this need.

Potential topics

Example of possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Changes to the sales and/or purchasing process when disruptions and disruptive events occur
• Effectively managing the sales force during disruptions and disruptive events
• Impact of changes to travel and usage of communication modalities (e.g., videoconferencing) when disruptions and disruptive events occur
• Changes to communications during disruptions and disruptive events
• Changes to value propositions during disruptions and disruptive events
• Technology advancing or hindering relationship development during disruptions or disruptive events
• Technology creating disruptions and disruptive events
• The relationship of salespeople with other stakeholders that aid them during disruptions and disruptive events
• Salesperson or sales manager knowledge, skills, and abilities that aid them during disruptions and disruptive events
• Emotional, physical, and performance outcomes resulting from disruptions and disruptive events

This special issue seeks to address some of these research questions and welcomes high quality submissions. We invite conceptual and empirical papers, and both qualitative and quantitative methodologies are admissible. Attention to practitioner issues and implications are important, as the Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing enjoys readership from both practitioner and academic audiences alike.

Successful manuscripts will expand and add to both scholarly and practitioner understanding of disruptions and disruptive events regarding B2B buyer-seller relationships. While scholars may use specific disruptions and disruptive events as a context for their research, it is important that they also discuss or examine whether and when their findings/observations are likely to generalize to other disruptions and disruptive events.

Important Note: This Special Issue will include some of the best papers in B2B marketing presented at the CBIM 2022 International Conference (June 21-23, 2022).

Submission Process

All papers should be submitted through the Journal’s submission process, i.e., ScholarOne Manuscript Central online submission system. For details on how to submit using Manuscript Central, please see the (JBIM) author guidelines.

Important Dates

Submission of papers: December 31, 2022. Publication: TBD

Submission Instructions

Submissions (6000-8000 words) will be handled through the Journal’s online and peer review manuscript submission system, ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at

http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jbim.

When submitting your manuscript, you will be asked to specify whether the manuscript is for a regular issue of the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing or for this special issue. Please, make sure that you select the special issue option, “Relational Disruptions in Sales and Sales Management.” Papers must not have been previously published, accepted for publication, or presently be under consideration for publication elsewhere. A standard double-blind review process will be used to select papers for the special issue.

For any queries, please, contact:

Dr. Brian N. Rutherford, Kennesaw State University

Direct Lines: (470) 578-7708. Email: bruther1@kennesaw.edu

References

Cortez, R. M., & Johnston, W. J. (2020). The Coronavirus crisis in B2B settings: Crisis uniqueness and managerial implications based on social exchange theory. Industrial Marketing Management, 88(July), 125-135.

Hartmann, N. N., & Lussier, B. (2020). Managing the sales force through the unexpected exogenous COVID-19 crisis. Industrial Marketing Management, 88(July), 101-111.

Habel, J., Jarotschkin, V., Schmitz, B., Eggert, A., & Plötner, O. (2020). Industrial buying during the coronavirus pandemic: A cross-cultural study. Industrial Marketing Management, 88(July), 195-205.