Personal selling and the purchasing function: where do we go from here?. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Paesbrugghe, Bert; Sharma, Arun; Rangarajan, Deva; Syam, Niladri
• Is Part Of: Journal of personal selling & sales management. Volume 38:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 123
• Page End: 143
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: purchasing function -- purchasing maturity -- sales strategies; Selling -- Periodicals; Sales management -- Periodicals; 658.81
• DOI: 10.1080/08853134.2018.1425881
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0885-3134

Abstract

Abstract : The business-to-business selling function has changed over the years, with more informed and demanding buyers, prompting firms to move toward a more consultative, solution-selling approach. While these changes have been the focus of extensive research in the personal selling and sales management domain, the customer side of the interaction dyad requires more examination. Even within the context of the customer side, insufficient attention has been paid to the purchasing function in business-to-business (B2B) selling research. Given the increased importance in customer organizations of the purchasing function, this article presents a literature review that highlights the purchasing function's personal selling and sales management needs and argues that, as the purchasing function becomes more important and its needs evolve, personal selling and sales strategies also need to evolve. The article highlights areas for future research in this domain.