Political Skill of B to B Sales Team as a Dynamic Capability: A Strategic Resource Perspective

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To identify the key internal and external collective conditions and determinants for sales managers in the B to B context, which would allow the articulation of Team Political Skill as a firm’s dynamic capability at organizational and strategical level.

Methodology/approach

This study employs qualitative methods based on grounded theory, with an exploratory discovery, which jointly used in-depth interviews and online focus groups targeting sales management positions (Sales managers, sales supervisors) and CEOs of 24 B to B different firms in Chile and Peru.

Findings

The study reports that the political skill of B to B sales teams is articulated as a dynamic capacity when it is capable of generating organizational co-creation routines and an identification culture based on innovation, which translates into intrafirm collaborative organizational learning, strengthening its strategic intelligence, customer orientation and providing a distinctive and differentiating seal in the market at organizational level.

Research implications

This research suggests from the perspective of resource-based theory that B to B salespeople team political skills not only is a tactical resource to achieve sales results but also becomes an active differentiator of high strategic value for B to B firms in their organizational performance. Therefore, the sales team acts as a key predictor of higher social effectiveness and work performance. Additionally, this study highlights the pivotal role of the sales supervision role and competitive environment in the evolution of individual salespersons’ political skills toward group consolidation.

Practical implications

The current work offers initial strategies regarding for B to B sales managers can establish political skill development plans in their salespeople and to incorporate innovative supervision and supporting mechanisms that bolster the B to B sales team as a strategic resource in an ever-increasing competitive and complex environment, as seen in the recent post pandemic environment.

Originality/value/contribution of the paper

To identify unexplored dimensions and collaborative processes in B to B salespersons’ individual and collective team political skills and how these potentially consolidate themselves as a distinctive firm’s dynamic capability in their sales performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Team political skills
• dynamic capabilities
• sales performance
• Business to Business (B to B)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical statement

Ethical review and approval of this study was waived because express consent was obtained from the participants and approval was obtained from the collaborating universities in this study. Respondents are aware that the data is used exclusively for academic purposes. In turn, each participant had to read the reason for this research and then confirm their participation and consent.

Notes

1. We thank an anonymous reviewer for this insight.

Additional information

Funding

There is no specific funding that has been attributed to this research.