Antecedents and Consequences of Three Selling Strategies in Social Enterprises.
| Autor | Cavazos-Arroyo, Judith |
1 Introduction
Social impact is a relevant research topic because companies seek to be socially responsible and sustainable (Hazenberg & Paterson-Young, 2022; Siemieniako et al., 2022). Also, more and more consumers expect the companies they buy from to make a social or environmental impact (Hosta & Zabkar, 2021), and in collaboration with governments, companies and non-governmental organizations better address the challenges of local society and the planet (Siemieniako et al., 2022). Similarly, hybrid social enterprises are expected to generate economic benefits and produce a notable social impact (Nascimento & Salazar, 2020).
Although hybrid social enterprises exist in several sectors and vary in their approaches and structures, they have in common their dual mission (economic-social) and the reinvestment of most of their profits in the social or environmental cause they focus on (Barraket & Loosemore, 2018). While research has advanced in understanding social impact (Block et al., 2021), there is still a need to explore the strategic antecedents that lead to a positive social impact in social enterprises (Bryson et al., 2022; Nascimento & Salazar, 2020).
Also, organizations need to decide whether they will adopt a long-term or short-term strategic orientation with their customers, as not all customers value the long-term approach in their exchange processes (Viio & Gronroos 2016). However, a long-term strategic orientation has been found to be consistent with value creation efforts over time (Agnihotri et al., 2019). Therefore, this research focuses on analyzing the effect of a long-term strategic orientation and selling capability on three selling strategies, and their effect on the social impact of hybrid social enterprises. Our research contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field of social enterprise management as it deepens the understanding of the long-term strategic orientation and the role of capabilities and strategies, particularly three selling strategies supported by different marketing paradigms (adaptive marketing/adaptive selling, market orientation/customer orientation, and relationship marketing/ relational selling), as key aspects for the generation of a social impact. Thus, it responds to the need to deepen the understanding of research on the impact and growth of social enterprises (Ge et al., 2019), and it responds to the need for an empirical application of advances in the understanding of the marketing capabilities of social enterprises (Cavazos-Arroyo & Puente-Diaz, 2019).
2 Literature review
Since Teece et al. (1997) introduced the concept of capabilities in the firm, there has been a constant interest in studying both operational and dynamic capabilities, as they contribute to aspects such as performance and the generation and maintenance of competitive advantage (Laaksonen & Peltoniemi, 2018). Operational capabilities can improve effectiveness, while dynamic capabilities facilitate anticipation of an adaptation to changes in the environment (Teece, 2016), through the exploitation of business opportunities for the generation of new strategies (Teece, 2007; Vogel & Guttel, 2013). Thus, from the perspective of the theory of dynamic capabilities, it is possible to deepen the understanding of how social enterprises face the challenges of the environment.
Dynamic capabilities include dynamic marketing capabilities, which contribute to the organization achieving sustainable competitive advantage through the renewal and reconfiguration of its organizational processes and functional marketing activities as the environment changes and the customer's needs are met (Badrinarayanan et al., 2019; Fang & Zou, 2009). In social enterprises, dynamic marketing capabilities are based on marketing activities that create unique value for customers through variables such as pricing, selling, product, channel management, and market communication (Liu et al., 2015).
The temporal orientation is usually classified into short and long term. The short-term orientation focuses on efficiency, while the long-term orientation focuses on effectiveness, thus the organization's strategic priorities are different depending on the approach (Wang & Bansal, 2012). Capabilities are usually built and accumulated over time; thus, a long-term orientation is required so that, based on the position of current resources and capabilities, a firm can adopt strategies that will lead to a better competitive position (Wang & Ahmed, 2007). Therefore, this research studies the long-term strategic orientation. This refers to the tendency of a company to give importance to optimizing the use of resources over time and to focus on long-term decisions, objectives and results to obtain the desired results (Guenzi et al., 2011). Thus, this type of company will seek to build a position in the market by adopting a business approach that does not generate immediate returns (Didonet et al., 2020). Regarding social enterprises, it also implies that the evidence and results of the social impact take time (Maas & Liket, 2011).
Sales strategy refers to the set of processes and techniques that companies use to sell their products or services (Abed & Haghighi, 2009). One of these strategies is adaptive selling, which is understood as "the altering of sales behaviors during a customer interaction or across customer interactions based on perceived information about the nature of the selling situation" (Weitz et al., 1986, p.175). Weitz et al. (1986) built the foundation of adaptive selling theory based on the modification of salespeople's behaviors during interactions with customer, based on perceived information and its contextualized implementation. Also, adaptive selling theory can be applied at the macro level or at the micro level (Spiro & Weitz, 1990). At the macro level, the perspective focuses on the adaptive selling level of the firm or salespeople and is analyzed through a single construct; whereas at the micro level, selling is organized and evaluated through a process that has a series of steps (McFarland, 2019).
Within the framework of adaptive selling theory, salespeople need to develop key skills that require knowledge about customers, products or services, as well as about the environments, encounters and behaviors associated with selling (Weitz et al., 1986). Thus, it is expected that, based on this knowledge, needs, which are characterized into typologies, can be identified and then the sales strategy is adjusted to each of them (Roman & Iacobucci, 2010; Yurova et al., 2017). Empirical work has identified that this strategy improves sales performance especially in environments facing uncertainty (Arli et al., 2018).
The adaptive strategy uses a flexible selling approach that relies on gathering information about customers prior to and during the selling event in order to design and deliver an appropriate and effective sales message for each customer (Boorom et al., 1998). This type of salesperson requires adjustment or customization of the offer (Singh et al., 2017), sufficient listening and communication skills to understand the needs of each customer, a variety of sales presentations, and adjustment or adaption to the customer's requests (Abed & Haghighi, 2009). Because of its nature, this selling strategy can offer novel solutions to customers, but it can be costly, risky, and require organizational support to be successful (Shafique et al., 2022).
One relevant example of combining a longterm orientation with values with implications for social enterprises occurs in Asia. Specifically, Asian companies that develop a long-term orientation based on values of empathy, trust and fairness tend to develop an internal marketing that influences the behavior of their salespeople, regardless of the sales strategy they use, with positive results in terms of purchase intent, positive word of mouth and continuity of the customer relationship (Yi & Nataraajan, 2018). Long-term strategic thinking is likely to influence the adaptive selling strategy in social enterprises. Research involving the use of CRM tools with a long-term orientation found that this approach positively influenced adaptive selling behaviors (Rapp et al., 2008). Also, when the long-term approach permeates the sales department, its employees tend to think more proactively, and if an adaptive selling strategy is used, salespeople tend to improve their customer bonding capabilities and job performance (Jaramillo et al., 2007).
The customer-oriented selling strategy refers to "the degree to which salespeople practice the marketing concept by trying to help their customers make purchase decisions that will satisfy their needs" (Saxe & Weitz, 1982, p. 344). Customer-oriented selling is based on market orientation theory, which involves the generation and dissemination of market intelligence in the firm, as well as the responsiveness of its members (Kohli & Jaworski, 1990). One of the core components of a market orientation is a customer orientation (Ingenbleek et al., 2013; Kohli & Jaworski, 1990). This is based on understanding buyers through the use of market intelligence aimed at creating value for the customer (Narver & Slater, 1990).
The theory sustains that transformation to a customer-oriented culture implies moving from a traditional, reactive, high-pressure, customer-focused sales approach with low concern for long-term customer satisfaction to establishing a bond with the market (Kennedy et al., 2003; Leeflang, 2011), where the long-term focus of the customer orientation can lead to the use of a more proactive style of responding to customer demands and needs (Boles et al., 2001). Customer-oriented behaviors among salespeople are expected to ensure an appropriate strategic response by offering alternative solutions, establishing cooperative interactions, and generating loyalty (Baber et al., 2020; Flaherty, 1999;). Several previous studies...
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