Explaining the Sales Transformation through an institutional lens

Abstract

Selling is facing an unprecedented process of change, which has been named the Sales Transformation. Theory is also trying to define this phenomenon, by approaching it mostly from a micro-sales perspective, in a normative approach. Some scholars have recently asserted that a more holistic view of selling is needed, which also includes the role of institutional alignment in the transformation. Furthermore, many studies in this area remain theoretical with limited extensive empirical evidence. In this work, we adopt an S-D Logic lens and define the Sales Transformation as the process of change in institutional alignment that is affecting value co-creation at an ecosystem level. Through the analysis of 138 in-depth interviews across the service ecosystem, we will describe Sales Transformation as the effect of two main higher-level mechanisms: Integration of institutional work-in-space and the Acceleration of institutional work-in-time. Each mechanism contributes to the creation, disruption, and maintenance of cognitive, normative, and regulative institutions, which in turn modify value co-creation processes. Our study also revealed the relevant effects of cognitive institutions in determining institutional alignment as well as the importance of the activity of non-selling actors for Sales Transformation.