Congratulations to Stefan Hartmann, Prof. Robin-Christopher Ruhnau and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christian Homburg who just recently published their study in the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, titled “𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙨’ 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠-𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨”. 
The study explores how firm’s strategic risk-taking affects the day-to-day actions of salespeople, particularly in price negotiations — a crucial aspect of business performance. Our findings highlight a surprising outcome: when firms adopt a risk-oriented strategy, salespeople often defend their position less vigorously in negotiations, which can negatively impact performance. 
The research has shown that outcome-based compensation, especially profit-based, can help align salespeople’s actions with company goals. Furter, delegating pricing authority paired with outcome-based compensation can motivate salespeople to defend offers more effectively.

For firms engaging in strategic risk-taking, our findings offer a valuable guide to better manage sales force behavior in line with the company’s broader objectives.

Read the full paper https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08853134.2024.2386946

For more information on the study, please contact Stefan Hartmann.