Jessie Pallud, full professor at EM Strasbourg, published an article in Journal of International Marketing.
The article, entitled "An Inquiry into Effective Salesperson Social Media Use in Multinational vs. Local Firms" was written in collaboration with Laurianne Schmitt (University of Strasbourg), Rhett Epler (Old Dominion University), and Eric Casenave (University of Strasbourg).
Abstract:
Salespeople are increasingly required to navigate an international environment—having international customers or international peers. However, much remains to be learned about how salespeople are utilizing social media in an international context. This multimethod, multistudy design contributes to international sales research by showing how business-to-business (B2B) salespeople use social media whether they are in a multinational or local firm. With a social capital lens, the authors explore the importance of social media with regard to strengthening salespeople's internal and external connections in an international context. In Study 1, 131 B2B salespeople use social media to develop customer relations (i.e., external connections) to engage in positive publicity and social media advocacy, ultimately leading to better sales performance. Specifically, social media advocacy enhances sales performance only for salespeople in multinationals. In Study 2, with 23 qualitative interviews, the authors contextualize the findings of Study 1 by comparing social media use among salespeople in multinational and local firms. The basis of the exploration involves internal and external connections with the three dimensions of social capital: structural, relational, and cognitive. The authors demonstrate that internal connections with peers on social media allows for increased knowledge transfer and other benefits.
- - -
Journal of International Marketing is an international, peer-reviewed journal that is dedicated to advancing international marketing practice, research, and theory. Contributions addressing any aspect of international marketing are welcome. The journal presents scholarly and managerially relevant articles on international marketing. Aimed at both international marketing/business scholars and practitioners at senior- and mid-level international marketing positions, the journal's prime objective is to bridge the gap between theory and practice in international marketing.