Abstract
Although the roles of exploratory and exploitative learning as alternative sales skills have been documented, there is not yet a clear consensus, and empirical evidence in the online sales context is lacking. In addition, existing studies have tended to examine the two activities in parallel, without looking into the dyadic situation of balanced or imbalanced exploratory-exploitative learning. Grounded in the WeChat business context, this study explores how online sales agents’ balanced and imbalanced ambidextrous learning influence customers’ e-loyalty and, in turn, their patronage intention and behavior. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis are performed on 226 dyads, and the results support the hypothesized balance effect. Further, asymmetrical imbalance effects are identified, with customers exhibiting higher e-loyalty and better patronage outcomes when online sales agents adopt more exploitative learning than exploratory learning. This study helps improve understanding of the efficiency of personal selling in a virtual context.
Highlights
Galvanized by the thriving popularity of social networking, companies are increasingly relying on social media tools to sell products and services (Yang et al, 2016)
The online salespersons were first asked via phone whether they wanted to participate in the survey
H2 predicted that customers’ e-loyalty is greater when exploratory and exploitative learning are balanced at a high level than when they are balanced at a low level
Summary
Galvanized by the thriving popularity of social networking, companies are increasingly relying on social media tools to sell products and services (Yang et al, 2016). The roles of salesperson exploitative and exploratory learning in triggering sales performance have been documented (e.g., Katsikeas et al, 2018), a still-unanswered question that has great relevance to WeChat business providers is how the influence of salesperson self-regulation on customers’ patronage differs when the salesperson is online vs offline. Salesperson exploratory learning involves “searching for, experimenting with, and discovering new selling techniques and skill sets that help improve sales performance” A salesperson engaging in exploitative learning “adheres to proven existing selling techniques and skill sets that leverage known knowledge and capabilities to enhance performance”
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