Abstract
Although the effects of salesperson social media use have recently received significant scholarly attention, there remains critical research gaps that, if addressed, can further broaden our understanding of the impact of salesperson social media use in business-to-business settings. Grounded in construal level theory and the related psychological distance framework, we suggest that salesperson social media use increases salesperson inclusion-of-the-customer-in-the-self by reducing the psychological distance between the salesperson and their respective customers. More so, we posit that this relationship is positively moderated by salesperson moral identity, such that the relationship is strengthened at higher levels of moral identity. Furthermore, we identify a potential three-way interaction by considering the role of salesperson gender in driving this interactive relationship. Our results, based on survey responses from 158 business-to-business salespeople, lend support to our theoretical model and shows that the moderating effect of salesperson moral identity on the relationship between salesperson social media use and salesperson inclusion-of-customer-in-the-self is stronger for females than it is for males. Additionally, we find that salesperson inclusion-of-customer-in-the-self is related to higher salesperson customer knowledge, which, ultimately, improves salesperson performance. In the light of our findings, we discuss subsequent managerial and theoretical implications.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.