B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Vomberg, A., Friess, M., Alavi, S., Maag, V., & Wieseke, J. (2026). Journal of Marketing Research, 63(1), 47–70.
Plain-English take: Higher personal-sales spending shares were associated with stronger performance in earlier startup stages but weaker performance later. For your marketing: This is rare direct evidence on startup budget allocation: consider customer education and founder-led sales early, then build broader media as the company matures.
Question: How should B2B high-tech startups allocate resources between mass-media marketing and personal sales as they mature?
Design: Longitudinal multi-source survey study. Founders or senior executives of German B2B high-tech startups; up to 598 startup-wave observations, with different final samples by outcome.
Higher personal-sales spending shares were associated with stronger performance in earlier startup stages but weaker performance later. Higher mass-media marketing shares showed the reverse stage pattern, with stronger outcomes later and weaker outcomes earlier.
Journal of Marketing Research · 202610.1177/00222437251367766Publisher abstract and article page; access may vary
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Terho, H., Mero, J., Siutla, L., & Jaakkola, E. (2022). Industrial Marketing Management, 105, 294–310.
Plain-English take: The authors organize the work into journey intelligence, a portfolio of valuable content, and timely sharing matched to buyer needs. For your marketing: This is an operational map for B2B content: understand buying jobs, build problem-framing and problem-solving assets, and distribute them when buyers need them.
Question: What activities support customer-centric digital content marketing in B2B markets, and what conditions shape performance?
Design: Qualitative theory-building study with manager interviews. 56 interviews with managers at 36 B2B companies that had invested heavily in digital content marketing.
The authors organize the work into journey intelligence, a portfolio of valuable content, and timely sharing matched to buyer needs. They propose contingencies involving marketing agility, sales alignment, technical systems, targeting, and brand position.
Industrial Marketing Management · 202210.1016/j.indmarman.2022.06.006Publisher abstract and article page; access may vary
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Purmonen, A., Jaakkola, E., & Terho, H. (2023). Industrial Marketing Management, 113, 74–87.
Plain-English take: Defines B2B journeys as intertwined, goal-oriented paths through both purchase and use, involving multiple buying- and usage-center members, direct and indirect touchpoints, and relational context. For your marketing: This is a useful map for planning acquisition content and post-sale education together.
Question: How should the B2B customer journey be conceptualized across buying and usage stages, decision makers, and touchpoints?
Design: Conceptual synthesis and framework. Theory paper without primary empirical data.
Defines B2B journeys as intertwined, goal-oriented paths through both purchase and use, involving multiple buying- and usage-center members, direct and indirect touchpoints, and relational context. Usage and reassessment can trigger a new journey.
Industrial Marketing Management · 202310.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.020Publisher abstract and full article page; access may vary
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Lundin, L., & Kindström, D. (2023). Journal of Business Research, 157, 113639.
Plain-English take: The study identifies changes to digital touchpoints, customer and supplier roles, and the journey process. For your marketing: This is a reminder to design digital touchpoints for the full B2B relationship, including customer use and service.
Question: How does digitalization change touchpoints, participant roles, and the overall B2B customer journey?
Design: Qualitative case study. A Swedish manufacturer of complex capital-intensive products and four business customers; 29 interviews across supplier and customer organizations.
The study identifies changes to digital touchpoints, customer and supplier roles, and the journey process. Digitalization can extend early discovery, activate customers, support later service interactions, and improve continuity across stages.
Journal of Business Research · 202310.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113639Publisher abstract and article page; access may vary
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Mintz, O., & Lilien, G. L. (2024). Industrial Marketing Management, 117, 220–237.
Plain-English take: Systematic marketing investment was associated with higher valuation for early-stage B2B startups, while effects varied by customer type and development stage. For your marketing: This is one of the few studies directly about B2B startups.
Question: How does systematic marketing relate to startup valuation across B2B versus B2C firms and early versus later development stages?
Design: Empirical study combining secondary firm data and startup survey data. Main study of 202 startups with firm, financial, and industry data; validation study of 377 startups.
Systematic marketing investment was associated with higher valuation for early-stage B2B startups, while effects varied by customer type and development stage. The authors report that more than half of early-stage B2B startups in their data did not invest in systematic marketing.
Industrial Marketing Management · 202410.1016/j.indmarman.2024.01.003Publisher abstract; full text may require access
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Leroy Robinson, Greg W. Marshall, Miriam B. Stamps (2005). An empirical investigation of technology acceptance in a field sales force setting. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.019.
Plain-English take: Tests technology-acceptance antecedents for sales-force technology use; the publisher page labels it an empirical investigation. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Which factors explain field salespeople’s acceptance of sales-force technology?
Design: Technology acceptance survey/model testing of field salespeople. Field sales force; technology acceptance and use context
Tests technology-acceptance antecedents for sales-force technology use; the publisher page labels it an empirical investigation.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200510.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.019Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Adam Rapp (2009). Outsourcing the sales process: Hiring a mercenary sales force. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2009.03.006.
Plain-English take: Examines conditions under which firms outsource sales processes; results distinguish outsourcing effects from internal sales-force governance. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: When and why do firms outsource the sales process?
Design: Empirical study/model testing of sales-process outsourcing decisions. Business-to-business sales organizations considering outsourced/mercenary sales forces
Examines conditions under which firms outsource sales processes; results distinguish outsourcing effects from internal sales-force governance.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200910.1016/j.indmarman.2009.03.006Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Stephan F. Gohmann, Jian Guan, Robert M. Barker, David J. Faulds (2005). Perceptions of sales force automation: Differences between sales force and management. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.014.
Plain-English take: Documents differences between sales-force and management perceptions of SFA; the title and publisher record explicitly identify the comparative empirical focus. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How do salespeople’s and managers’ perceptions of SFA differ?
Design: Comparative empirical survey of salespeople and managers. Sales-force and management respondents evaluating sales-force automation
Documents differences between sales-force and management perceptions of SFA; the title and publisher record explicitly identify the comparative empirical focus.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200510.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.014Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
George J. Avlonitis, Nikolaos G. Panagopoulos (2005). Antecedents and consequences of CRM technology acceptance in the sales force. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.021.
Plain-English take: Tests antecedents and consequences of CRM acceptance in the sales force, linking acceptance with downstream sales-force outcomes. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: What drives CRM acceptance among salespeople and what follows from acceptance?
Design: Empirical survey and structural model of CRM technology acceptance. Sales force using CRM technology in a business-selling context
Tests antecedents and consequences of CRM acceptance in the sales force, linking acceptance with downstream sales-force outcomes.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200510.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.021Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
E JONES (2004). Sales force obsolescence: Perceptions from sales and marketing executives of individual, organizational, and environmental factors. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0019-8501(03)00115-9.
Plain-English take: Identifies individual, organizational, and environmental factors executives associate with sales-force obsolescence. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Which factors do executives perceive as driving sales-force obsolescence?
Design: Empirical executive survey. Sales and marketing executives assessing sales-force obsolescence
Identifies individual, organizational, and environmental factors executives associate with sales-force obsolescence.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200410.1016/s0019-8501(03)00115-9Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Ken Grant, David W. Cravens (1996). Examining sales force performance in organizations that use behavior-based sales management processes. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-8501(96)00038-7.
Plain-English take: Examines sales-force performance under behavior-based sales management, providing evidence on management-process/performance association. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How is sales performance related to behavior-based sales management?
Design: Empirical organizational survey/model test. Organizations using behavior-based sales-management processes
Examines sales-force performance under behavior-based sales management, providing evidence on management-process/performance association.
Industrial Marketing Management · 199610.1016/0019-8501(96)00038-7Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Amy J. Morgan, Scott A. Inks (2001). Technology and the Sales Force. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0019-8501(99)00115-7.
Plain-English take: Provides empirical evidence on technology’s role in the sales force and implications for managing technology use. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How does technology affect sales-force work and management?
Design: Empirical study of sales-technology use. Industrial/business sales force and sales-technology management context
Provides empirical evidence on technology’s role in the sales force and implications for managing technology use.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200110.1016/s0019-8501(99)00115-7Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Judy A Siguaw, Sheryl E Kimes, Jule B Gassenheimer (2003). B2B sales force productivity: applications of revenue management strategies to sales management. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0019-8501(02)00278-x.
Plain-English take: Evaluates how revenue-management ideas can be applied to improve B2B sales-force productivity. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Can revenue-management principles improve B2B sales-force productivity?
Design: Empirical application/analysis of revenue-management strategies. B2B sales-force productivity and sales-management decisions
Evaluates how revenue-management ideas can be applied to improve B2B sales-force productivity.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200310.1016/s0019-8501(02)00278-xPublisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Robert Cascio, Babu John Mariadoss, Nacef Mouri (2010). The impact of management commitment alignment on salespersons' adoption of sales force automation technologies: An empirical investigation. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2009.12.010.
Plain-English take: Tests whether aligned management commitment affects salesperson adoption of SFA. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Does alignment of management commitment influence salesperson SFA adoption?
Design: Empirical survey/model test of SFA adoption. Salespeople and management in organizations adopting SFA
Tests whether aligned management commitment affects salesperson adoption of SFA.
Industrial Marketing Management · 201010.1016/j.indmarman.2009.12.010Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Jeong Eun Park, Juyoung Kim, Alan J. Dubinsky, Hyunju Lee (2010). How does sales force automation influence relationship quality and performance? The mediating roles of learning and selling behaviors. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2009.11.003.
Plain-English take: Tests whether SFA relates to relationship quality and performance through learning and selling behaviors. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Through what learning and selling behaviors does SFA affect relationship quality and performance?
Design: Empirical survey/mediation model. Salespeople using sales-force automation in buyer–seller relationships
Tests whether SFA relates to relationship quality and performance through learning and selling behaviors.
Industrial Marketing Management · 201010.1016/j.indmarman.2009.11.003Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Valerie Good, Roger J. Calantone (2019). When to outsource the sales force for new products. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.02.010.
Plain-English take: Identifies contingencies under which outsourcing the sales force for new products is advantageous. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Under what conditions should firms outsource new-product sales?
Design: Empirical model/analysis of new-product sales-force outsourcing. Firms launching new products and choosing internal versus outsourced sales forces
Identifies contingencies under which outsourcing the sales force for new products is advantageous.
Industrial Marketing Management · 201910.1016/j.indmarman.2019.02.010Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Michael Ahearne, Ronald Jelinek, Adam Rapp (2005). Moving beyond the direct effect of SFA adoption on salesperson performance: training and support as key moderating factors. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.020.
Plain-English take: Tests training and support as moderators of the SFA-adoption/performance relationship rather than assuming a direct effect. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: When do training and support strengthen SFA’s effect on salesperson performance?
Design: Empirical survey/moderation model. Salespeople adopting sales-force automation
Tests training and support as moderators of the SFA-adoption/performance relationship rather than assuming a direct effect.
Industrial Marketing Management · 200510.1016/j.indmarman.2004.09.020Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 4.5/5
Daniel Lee, Kartik Hosanagar (2019). How Do Recommender Systems Affect Sales Diversity? A Cross-Category Investigation via Randomized Field Experiment. Information Systems Research. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0800.
Plain-English take: Traditional collaborative filtering reduced aggregate sales diversity; purchase-based CF had larger effects than view-based; niche items gained absolutely but lost share. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How do collaborative recommenders affect aggregate and individual sales diversity?
Design: Randomized field experiment comparing collaborative-filter recommendations with no recommendations; product/category analyses.. Top North American retailer; 82,290 products and 1,138,238 users.
Traditional collaborative filtering reduced aggregate sales diversity; purchase-based CF had larger effects than view-based; niche items gained absolutely but lost share.
Information Systems Research · 201910.1287/isre.2018.0800Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3.5/5
Johannes Habel, Sascha Alavi, Nicolas Heinitz (2023). Effective Implementation of Predictive Sales Analytics. Journal of Marketing Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437221151039.
Plain-English take: Publisher abstract reports development of a predictive churn model and implementation in a field experiment; the study evaluates implementation effectiveness, not merely predictive accuracy. For your marketing: Use as a mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your own deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How can predictive sales analytics be effectively implemented to improve customer outcomes?
Design: Predictive churn model built on transaction histories and implemented/tested in a field experiment.. 9.7 million transactions from a B2B company; salespeople/customers in predictive-sales-analytics implementation.
Publisher abstract reports development of a predictive churn model and implementation in a field experiment; the study evaluates implementation effectiveness, not merely predictive accuracy.
Journal of Marketing Research · 202310.1177/00222437221151039Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Andrew T. Stephen, Jeff Galak (2012). The Effects of Traditional and Social Earned Media on Sales: A Study of a Microlending Marketplace. Journal of Marketing Research. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.09.0401.
Plain-English take: Both traditional and social earned media affect marketplace activity; social earned media’s greater frequency can make its cumulative effect important despite smaller reach per event. For your marketing: Use it as a sales-process or B2B mechanism reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How do traditional versus social earned media affect sales/activity in a marketplace?
Design: Longitudinal time-series analysis of earned-media events and transaction activity, estimating dynamic effects.. A microlending marketplace; traditional press mentions and social media/blog/community activity linked to lending transactions.
Both traditional and social earned media affect marketplace activity; social earned media’s greater frequency can make its cumulative effect important despite smaller reach per event.
Journal of Marketing Research · 201210.1509/jmr.09.0401Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Geng Cui, Hon-Kwong Lui, Xiaoning Guo (2012). The Effect of Online Consumer Reviews on New Product Sales. International Journal of Electronic Commerce. https://doi.org/10.2753/JEC1086-4415170102.
Plain-English take: Review quantity, rating, and review content are empirically related to new-product sales; the paper analyzes both numerical ratings and textual review effects. For your marketing: Use it as a sales-process or B2B mechanism reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How do online consumer reviews affect sales of new products, and do numerical and textual review features matter?
Design: Nine-month product-level panel-data analysis with review ratings, review text/topics, and sales outcomes.. 332 new products on Amazon.com observed for nine months.
Review quantity, rating, and review content are empirically related to new-product sales; the paper analyzes both numerical ratings and textual review effects.
International Journal of Electronic Commerce · 201210.2753/JEC1086-4415170102Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text may require access.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Munyaradzi W. Nyadzayo, Riza Casidy, Park Thaichon (2020). B2B purchase engagement: Examining the key drivers and outcomes in professional services. Industrial Marketing Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.11.007.
Plain-English take: Customization and loyalty to the account manager are salient drivers of purchase engagement. Engagement predicts consideration-set size, dependence and willingness to pay a premium; dependence mediates effects on consideration-set size and premium willingness to pay. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: What drives purchase engagement in B2B professional services, and what transactional and relational outcomes does it produce?
Design: Cross-sectional survey analyzed with structural equation modeling.. CEOs and/or owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia, in a B2B professional-services context; the publisher’s data-collection section says 4,000 CEO/owner-manager email addresses were sourced from a professional database.
Customization and loyalty to the account manager are salient drivers of purchase engagement. Engagement predicts consideration-set size, dependence and willingness to pay a premium; dependence mediates effects on consideration-set size and premium willingness to pay.
Industrial Marketing Management · 202010.1016/j.indmarman.2019.11.007Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Sara Fraccastoro, Mika Gabrielsson, Ellen Bolman Pullins (2021). The integrated use of social media, digital, and traditional communication tools in the B2B sales process of international SMEs. International Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101776.
Plain-English take: Social media and digital tools are used jointly with traditional sales communication, blending the traditional selling steps into three main phases: identifying new opportunities, persuasion and relationship management; follow-up interviews reported increased social-media use. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How do international B2B SMEs use social media, digital and traditional communication tools across the sales process, and how do these tools affect that process over time?
Design: Exploratory longitudinal, multi-country qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable informants, follow-up interviews and secondary-data triangulation; grounded-theory analysis.. International SMEs in service industries across Finland, Italy, Poland, Brazil and the United States; interviews involved sales directors, marketing managers, CEOs or the most knowledgeable available employee.
Social media and digital tools are used jointly with traditional sales communication, blending the traditional selling steps into three main phases: identifying new opportunities, persuasion and relationship management; follow-up interviews reported increased social-media use.
International Business Review · 202110.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101776Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3.5/5
Zhuoxin Li, Gang Wang (2024). On-Demand Delivery Platforms and Restaurant Sales. Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.01010.
Plain-English take: Restaurants overall benefit: delivery platforms increase total takeout sales and create positive spillovers to dine-in visits. Effects are heterogeneous: the overall positive effect for fast-food chains is four times that for independent restaurants; platforms substitute for independent restaurants' own takeout but complement chain takeout, while increasing dine-in visits for both. The paper also reports evidence that platform price comparison intensifies competition and reduces independent restaurants' ability to differentiate through premium service/dine-in experience. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Do on-demand delivery platforms substitute for or complement restaurants' own takeout and dine-in channels, and what is their net effect on restaurant demand and revenue?
Design: Observational restaurant-panel study using linear regressions with fixed effects and matched treatment/control samples; the publisher page also reports instrumental-variables/two-stage least-squares analyses, a platform policy-change analysis, count-. Chicago metropolitan area (17 counties across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin): 19,117 restaurants, about 48% on at least one of DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats by the end of 2019. The panel combines Yelp/YellowPages restaurant characteristics, platform-partnership data, SafeGraph weekly foot-traffic data, and anonymized aggregate bank-card transactions; reported main specifications include 603,244 observations.
Restaurants overall benefit: delivery platforms increase total takeout sales and create positive spillovers to dine-in visits. Effects are heterogeneous: the overall positive effect for fast-food chains is four times that for independent restaurants; platforms substitute for independent restaurants' own takeout but complement chain takeout, while increasing dine-in visits for both. The paper also reports evidence that platform price comparison intensifies competition and reduces independent restaurants' ability to differentiate through premium service/dine-in experience.
Management Science · 202410.1287/mnsc.2021.01010Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
M. Serkan Akturk, Haileab Hilafu, Paolo Letizia (2026). Linking Firm-Generated Social Media Content to Sales and Returns. Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01432.
Plain-English take: ISP posts are associated with increases in sales and returns, whereas ICP posts are associated with decreases in both. ISP associations with sales and returns are weaker when persuasive content accompanies them; persuasive content attenuates the ICP relationship with returns but not the ICP relationship with sales. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How does firm-generated Facebook content, particularly informative content about standard versus customizable product features and persuasive content, relate to product sales and returns?
Design: Empirical observational analysis linking transaction data to the firm's Facebook posts; posts are classified as informative or persuasive, with informative posts split into standard-product-feature (ISP) and customizable-product-feature (ICP) posts. . Online-channel transaction data from a luxury fashion accessory manufacturer, augmented with that firm's Facebook posts and product-feature/content classifications.
ISP posts are associated with increases in sales and returns, whereas ICP posts are associated with decreases in both. ISP associations with sales and returns are weaker when persuasive content accompanies them; persuasive content attenuates the ICP relationship with returns but not the ICP relationship with sales.
Management Science · 202610.1287/mnsc.2023.01432Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Prabuddha De, Yu (Jeffrey) Hu, Mohammad S. Rahman (2010). Technology Usage and Online Sales: An Empirical Study. Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1100.1233.
Plain-English take: Information-technology usage significantly affects sales, but effects differ by technology and product. Directed search increases sales of promoted products but decreases sales of nonpromoted products; recommendation-system use increases sales of both; nondirected search has an insignificant effect on online sales. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: How do online consumers use search and recommendation technologies, and how does that usage affect online sales and purchasing patterns?
Design: Empirical analysis of website server-log data matched to sales data, controlling for consumers' historical purchasing behavior. The design compares directed search, nondirected search, and recommendation-system usage and estimates their relationships. An online-shopping website's consumers and product transactions; the publisher page identifies a unique server-log/sales dataset but does not report the number of consumers or observations in the abstract/page metadata fetched.
Information-technology usage significantly affects sales, but effects differ by technology and product. Directed search increases sales of promoted products but decreases sales of nonpromoted products; recommendation-system use increases sales of both; nondirected search has an insignificant effect on online sales.
Management Science · 201010.1287/mnsc.1100.1233Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Stephan Curiskis, Xiaojing Dong, Fan Jiang, Mark Scarr (2023). A novel approach to predicting customer lifetime value in B2B SaaS companies. Journal of Marketing Analytics. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-023-00234-6.
Plain-English take: The publisher reports that the hierarchical ensemble improves practical CLV prediction over simpler heuristics and traditional CLV approaches, and that the predictions can be used to optimize marketing spend and ROI and generate managerial insights. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Can a hierarchical, ensembled machine-learning framework improve customer-lifetime-value prediction and marketing resource allocation in the heterogeneous, temporally constrained B2B SaaS setting?
Design: Empirical machine-learning study implementing a hierarchical ensembled customer-lifetime-value model; supervised models are compared with simpler heuristics, traditional CLV approaches, and time-series methods using a random 70% training/30% test spl. Data from a major B2B SaaS provider: customers with active licenses on 1 January 2021, using revenue/MRR, product-license, product-usage, and firmographic features. The two-year CLV label covers 2021–2022 and the longer-horizon model uses a five-year window ending 2022.
The publisher reports that the hierarchical ensemble improves practical CLV prediction over simpler heuristics and traditional CLV approaches, and that the predictions can be used to optimize marketing spend and ROI and generate managerial insights.
Journal of Marketing Analytics · 202310.1057/s41270-023-00234-6Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3.5/5
Vamsi K. Kanuri, Johannes Habel, Nawar N. Chaker, Deva Rangarajan, Paolo Guenzi (2022). B2B online sales pushes: Whether, when, and why they enhance sales performance. Production and Operations Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13927.
Plain-English take: Salespeople generally comply with online sales pushes because online adoption frees time for new selling opportunities; post-push effort reflects customers' prior online proclivity and potential, varies over time and by channel, and produces asymmetric carryover, cross-channel and synergistic effects on sales performance. For your marketing: Use it as a B2B mechanism or sales-process design reference. Validate the relationship in your deal size, buying committee and sales cycle.
Question: Whether, when and why do B2B online sales pushes change salesperson effort and improve sales performance during hybrid-channel adoption?
Design: Mixed empirical design combining transactional/field data from a B2B seller with a scenario-based experiment.. A B2B seller transitioning from an in-person field force to a direct online channel; the study examines salesperson communication effort, customer online proclivity and potential, and sales performance.
Salespeople generally comply with online sales pushes because online adoption frees time for new selling opportunities; post-push effort reflects customers' prior online proclivity and potential, varies over time and by channel, and produces asymmetric carryover, cross-channel and synergistic effects on sales performance.
Production and Operations Management · 202210.1111/poms.13927Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Wagner Junior Ladeira, Syed Hasan Jafar, Fernando de Oliveira Santini (2025). International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Plain-English take: Risk perception negatively influences financial-services technology adoption; economic performance, business efficiency, and globalization amplify that effect. Older and more educated individuals are more risk-sensitive. Trust positively influences adoption, with government efficiency, infrastructure, and AI-driven solutions strengthening its influence; cultural dimensions and perceived control also shape trust effects. Heterogeneity varies across economic, technological, and methodological contexts. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: What are the overall effects of perceived risk and trust on technological adoption of financial services, and which contextual, practical, and methodological moderators shape those effects?
Design: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis. 55 studies and 2,104 effect sizes concerning risk perception, trust, and technological adoption across financial-services/banking contexts; the publisher abstract does not list the individual countries, technologies, or inclusion dates.
Risk perception negatively influences financial-services technology adoption; economic performance, business efficiency, and globalization amplify that effect. Older and more educated individuals are more risk-sensitive. Trust positively influences adoption, with government efficiency, infrastructure, and AI-driven solutions strengthening its influence; cultural dimensions and perceived control also shape trust effects. Heterogeneity varies across economic, technological, and methodological contexts.
International Journal of Bank Marketing · 202510.1108/IJBM-02-2025-0156Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Pia Hautamäki, Minna Heikinheimo (2025). Journal of Business Research.
Plain-English take: The study links AI exploitation to three managerial capabilities: data-based human capital, social capital for a knowledge-sharing culture, and a transformative AI-positive mindset. These foster AI-integrated knowledge processes at individual, team, and organizational levels. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How do sales managers support B2B sales teams in adopting and exploiting AI through managerial capabilities and organizational knowledge processes?
Design: Grounded-theory qualitative empirical study. 32 top-level managers in B2B sales organizations; organizational/geographic composition is not specified in the publisher abstract.
The study links AI exploitation to three managerial capabilities: data-based human capital, social capital for a knowledge-sharing culture, and a transformative AI-positive mindset. These foster AI-integrated knowledge processes at individual, team, and organizational levels.
Journal of Business Research · 202510.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115396Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3.5/5
Fabio Oliveira, Maksim Belitski, Rodrigo Perez-Vega (2025). Technological Forecasting and Social Change.
Plain-English take: The paper identifies four pathways: digital skill endowment, marketing ownership of the sales process, strategic implications, and value creation. SEPs improve intra-firm collaboration and customer insight, reduce costs, increase flexibility, and align sales, marketing, and management. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How does adoption of sales enablement platforms influence stages of the B2B sales process and firm performance in medium-sized companies?
Design: Qualitative empirical study combining interviews and multiple case studies. 27 chief executive officers and sales directors plus three European medium-sized firms; case appendices cover Cynergy Bank, Kooth, and Optomed.
The paper identifies four pathways: digital skill endowment, marketing ownership of the sales process, strategic implications, and value creation. SEPs improve intra-firm collaboration and customer insight, reduce costs, increase flexibility, and align sales, marketing, and management.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change · 202510.1016/j.techfore.2025.124172Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Silvio Cardinali, Piyush Sharma, Elena Cedrola, Marta Giovannetti, Kishore Gopalakrishna Pillai (2024). Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
Plain-English take: Collaboration and exchange among buying-center members are more effective than competition/power struggles. Virtual/hybrid relations require greater intra-group cooperation; diverse backgrounds and collaboration support flexibility and performance. Technology increases certainty and automation but can create overload and biases, requiring analytical ability and clear decision responsibility. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How do emerging developments, including virtual/hybrid relations and technology, shape interactions, flexibility, and performance in SME buying centers?
Design: Qualitative multiple-case study. Five Italian manufacturing companies/SMEs and their buying-center stakeholders.
Collaboration and exchange among buying-center members are more effective than competition/power struggles. Virtual/hybrid relations require greater intra-group cooperation; diverse backgrounds and collaboration support flexibility and performance. Technology increases certainty and automation but can create overload and biases, requiring analytical ability and clear decision responsibility.
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing · 202410.1108/JBIM-03-2023-0157Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Ilaria Mancuso, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli, Umberto Panniello (2024). Industrial Marketing Management.
Plain-English take: Clients, providers, and enablers relate through data acquisition and manipulation. Governance mechanisms and boundary resources (including APIs, SDKs, connectivity devices, interfaces, rulesets and data-sharing agreements) support transactions, complementary applications, data-driven matching/network effects, new data-enabled business models, and faster/better decisions. The model distinguishes transactional and innovation behaviors and mechanisms of value creation. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: Who manages data in data-centric B2B platforms, what data-acquisition/manipulation activities do they perform, and how are those relationships governed to create value?
Design: Qualitative multiple-case study. Three industrial B2B platforms: Siemens MindSphere, Airbus Skywise, and Eni Open-es. The source specifies three cases but does not report a respondent sample size.
Clients, providers, and enablers relate through data acquisition and manipulation. Governance mechanisms and boundary resources (including APIs, SDKs, connectivity devices, interfaces, rulesets and data-sharing agreements) support transactions, complementary applications, data-driven matching/network effects, new data-enabled business models, and faster/better decisions. The model distinguishes transactional and innovation behaviors and mechanisms of value creation.
Industrial Marketing Management · 202410.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.001Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3.5/5
Muhammad Sabbir Rahman, Surajit Bag, Shivam Gupta, Uthayasankar Sivarajah (2023). Journal of Business Research.
Plain-English take: Technology readiness positively relates to ICT and AI-CRM capability; ICT capability positively relates to AI-CRM capability; relationship performance positively relates to social-sustainability performance. ICT capability mediates the technology-readiness/AI-CRM link, and industry dynamism moderates the ICT-capability/AI-CRM link. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How does B2B-firm technology readiness relate to ICT capability, AI-based CRM capability, relationship performance, and social-sustainability performance, and do mediation/moderation mechanisms apply?
Design: Empirical quantitative research article. 217 B2B-firm samples; the publisher abstract does not provide country, respondent role, sampling frame, or industry breakdown.
Technology readiness positively relates to ICT and AI-CRM capability; ICT capability positively relates to AI-CRM capability; relationship performance positively relates to social-sustainability performance. ICT capability mediates the technology-readiness/AI-CRM link, and industry dynamism moderates the ICT-capability/AI-CRM link.
Journal of Business Research · 202310.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113525Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3.5/5
Hea Sun Lee, Margaret Jekanyika Matanda (2026). Industrial Marketing Management.
Plain-English take: US providers benefited directly from both exploration and exploitation and indirectly through website interactivity; Asia-Pacific providers benefited solely through the indirect website-interactivity path. Higher technological turbulence intensified the positive mediation effect. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How do exploration and exploitation capabilities, AI-enabled website interactivity and technological turbulence affect B2B SaaS performance across US and Asia-Pacific markets?
Design: Full-text open-access quantitative empirical study. 362 B2B SaaS providers in the United States and Asia Pacific.
US providers benefited directly from both exploration and exploitation and indirectly through website interactivity; Asia-Pacific providers benefited solely through the indirect website-interactivity path. Higher technological turbulence intensified the positive mediation effect.
Industrial Marketing Management · 202610.1016/j.indmarman.2026.03.019Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Jochen Wirtz, Christian Kowalkowski, Elina Jaakkola, Maria Holmlund, Wolfgang Ulaga, Tanvir Ahmed (2024). Journal of Business Research.
Plain-English take: Defines Relieving, Enabling and Enriching CX value propositions and four archetypical CXM strategies: Champion, Cherry Picker, Minimalist and Fashionista; supplies a four-step managerial guide. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: What customer goals and value propositions should guide B2B customer-experience management instead of a one-size-fits-all “more is better” approach?
Design: Full-text open-access conceptual research article. No original respondent sample reported; B2B customer-experience management literature and business-market contexts.
Defines Relieving, Enabling and Enriching CX value propositions and four archetypical CXM strategies: Champion, Cherry Picker, Minimalist and Fashionista; supplies a four-step managerial guide.
Journal of Business Research · 202410.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115165Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Hea Sun Lee, Margaret Jekanyika Matanda (2026). Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
Plain-English take: Seven determinants were identified: marketing activities and website functionality/interactivity support sensing; customized innovation, security certifications, B2B partnerships and information sharing support seizing; the paper maps further determinants to transforming. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: Which organizational determinants align with sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities to explain SaaS-provider performance?
Design: Full-text open-access exploratory qualitative case study. Ten small and medium-sized SaaS providers headquartered in South Korea.
Seven determinants were identified: marketing activities and website functionality/interactivity support sensing; customized innovation, security certifications, B2B partnerships and information sharing support seizing; the paper maps further determinants to transforming.
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing · 202610.1108/JBIM-10-2024-0751Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Daniel Fehrenbach, Carlos Herrando (2026). Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
Plain-English take: Buyer engagement depends on supplier-selection criteria, buyer role/readiness and project-specific factors; positive prior attitudes, perceived value and willingness predict co-creation intention. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How can co-creation be integrated into the B2B AI sales funnel, and what makes industrial buyers willing to co-create?
Design: Abstract-supported mixed-method empirical study. Industrial buyers involved with a manufacturing startup; the accessible abstract does not give the quantitative-stage n.
Buyer engagement depends on supplier-selection criteria, buyer role/readiness and project-specific factors; positive prior attitudes, perceived value and willingness predict co-creation intention.
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing · 202610.1108/JBIM-04-2025-0303Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
Bruno S. D. Santos, Luiz G. R. Antunes, Rafael F. Falcão, Luiz F. Lugoboni (2026). Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies.
Plain-English take: Startups did not follow a linear PMS trajectory; they reactively adjusted measurement systems around market expansion, product development and fundraising. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How do SaaS startups structure and evolve performance-measurement systems across stages of venture funding?
Design: Abstract-supported qualitative empirical study. Nine SaaS startups at different stages of venture funding; founders and CEOs were interviewed.
Startups did not follow a linear PMS trajectory; they reactively adjusted measurement systems around market expansion, product development and fundraising.
Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies · 202610.1108/JEEE-06-2025-0319Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
Luana Ladu, Claudia Koch, Parsa Asna Ashari, Knut Blind, Pavel Castka (2024). Technology in Society.
Plain-English take: Develops an industry-specific maturity model and examines links between digital maturity and technology adoption in a globally regulated industry. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How should digital maturity be designed for the conformity-assessment industry, and how is maturity associated with technology adoption?
Design: Full-text open-access mixed qualitative/quantitative empirical study. Conformity-assessment industry across an international sample; the accessible excerpt does not expose the quantitative n.
Develops an industry-specific maturity model and examines links between digital maturity and technology adoption in a globally regulated industry.
Technology in Society · 202410.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102564Full text retrieved from publisher or linked open repository
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 2.5/5
H. Fatorachian, B. Mitchell, P. Boland, C. Petty, Z. Mughal, J. MCcoubrie (2025). SAM Advanced Management Journal.
Plain-English take: Social media and a strong online presence were reported to improve brand visibility, client engagement and sales; themes included digital presence and relationship building. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How do social-media use and brand awareness influence sales for B2B consultancy firms in hospitality?
Design: Abstract-supported mixed-method empirical study. Five hospitality businesses in a B2B consultancy context.
Social media and a strong online presence were reported to improve brand visibility, client engagement and sales; themes included digital presence and relationship building.
SAM Advanced Management Journal · 202510.1108/SAMAMJ-06-2024-0028Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 3/5
V. Srivastava, R. Kumar (2026). Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
Plain-English take: Job-related social-media use improved in-role performance, with online social capital strengthening the effect; its sales-performance effect was indirect through in-role performance. Personal-branding use improved customer-relationship performance. For a founder, use this as a question to test in your own context, not a universal playbook.
Question: How do job-related and personal-branding social-media use affect salesperson in-role performance, customer-relationship performance and sales outcomes?
Design: Abstract-supported quantitative empirical study. 276 valid salesperson responses across sectors, collected using snowball and purposive sampling.
Job-related social-media use improved in-role performance, with online social capital strengthening the effect; its sales-performance effect was indirect through in-role performance. Personal-branding use improved customer-relationship performance.
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing · 202610.1108/JBIM-09-2024-0732Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text not reviewed
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 4.0/5
Benzell, S. G., Hersh, J., & Alstyne, M. (2023). How APIs Create Growth by Inverting the Firm. Management Science.
Plain-English take: In this study, Public API adopters grew an additional 38.7% over 16 years relative to similar nonadopters; growth was stronger with more complementors and network centrality. Internal-only API use had no significant effect, while public APIs increased breach risk. Founder use: Treat an API as an ecosystem product: measure active complementors, connected apps, centrality, and partner value—not only API calls—and budget for security controls.
Question: Do public APIs create firm growth by enabling third-party complementors, and what are the security trade-offs?
Design: Difference-in-differences, synthetic control, instrumental variables using API-network variation, and private API data.. Public firms adopting public APIs, API-network data from 2005 onward, and a private API development firm's data.
Public API adopters grew an additional 38.7% over 16 years relative to similar nonadopters; growth was stronger with more complementors and network centrality. Internal-only API use had no significant effect, while public APIs increased breach risk.
Management Science · 202310.1287/mnsc.2023.4968Open full text captured directly
B2B growth and salesEvidence check: 4.5/5
Bommaraju, R. & Hohenberg, S. (2018). Self-Selected Sales Incentives: Evidence of their Effectiveness, Persistence, Durability, and Underlying Mechanisms. Journal of Marketing.
Plain-English take: Compared with equivalent quota systems, allowing employees to select a goal–reward combination increased sales performance substantially. Effects were larger for employees with highly variable past performance and lower past performance; effects persisted when the scheme was discontinued and were durable when offered again. For a SaaS founder: A founder could cautiously pilot employee-selected quota/reward menus in a randomized or phased rollout, tracking revenue quality and retention as well as bookings. Do not assume the observed effects transfer across roles or that self-selection is always superior to a well-designed fixed plan.
Question: What happens when sales employees choose their own goal–reward incentive combination?
Design: Two field experiments at Fortune 500 companies, plus two online experiments testing mechanisms.. Sales employees at two Fortune 500 companies; the publisher page does not state the field-experiment sample sizes in the fetched abstract.
Compared with equivalent quota systems, allowing employees to select a goal–reward combination increased sales performance substantially. Effects were larger for employees with highly variable past performance and lower past performance; effects persisted when the scheme was discontinued and were durable when offered again.
Journal of Marketing · 201810.1509/jm.17.0002Publisher abstract directly retrieved; full-text access not established