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The selling entrepreneur in transition: towards a conceptual model of liminality

This article responds to the call of scholars for more research on psychological phenomena in entrepreneurship and especially business transfers. The complexity represented in business transfers has attracted a substantial interest of a wide variety of disciplines in the last 30 years. Despite this attention failure rates remain constantly high. This might be because the subject is approached with a financial, legal or economic point of view. Recent research suggests that the psychological side of business transfer might account for a large portion for the failure rate. The article proposes to look at the process of business transfer through the eyes of the transition model by Noble and Walker. As the company goes through various stages in its development in its lifecycle, the incumbent follows a similar path. The model suggests 3 stages which the incumbent goes though; from a trigger event into a separation phase, a liminal phase and finally an incorporation phase where psychological benefits can be harvested. Support is explored in the threshold theory where it is assumed psychological costs and income might lead to the respective stages

Telling the truth or selling an image

Telling the truth or selling an image?

Selling to the multi-channel consumer

Het ontwikkelen van een goede multichannel strategie is één van de belangrijkste uitdagingen waar retailers vandaag de dag voor staan. Een toenemend aantal ‘traditionele’ retailers ziet het opzetten van een webshop als een belangrijke aanvulling op hun fysieke winkels en probeert te profiteren van de groeiende e-commerce markt. Om retailers te helpen bij de uitdagingen die het combineren van een webshop met fysieke winkels met zich mee brengen, hebben PwC en de Hogeschool van Amsterdam een verkennend onderzoek uitgevoerd. Het doel van het onderzoek is om in kaart te brengen hoe multichannel retailers hun bedrijf optimaliseren. In het bijzonder wordt gekeken naar de strategische en operationele uitdagingen waar multichannel retailers voor staan en de manieren waarop zij deze aanpakken. De resultaten zijn gebaseerd op interviews en een online enquête onder 41 multichannel retailers in Nederland.

How ineffective entrepreneurial selling contributes to business failure: an explorative study on business owners of small and medium enterprises in The Netherlands

Only recently have scholars begun to explore the cross-section connection of entrepreneurship and personal selling and introduced the notion of entrepreneurial selling. This study contributes to the emerging debate by addressing the personal selling role of business owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the business-to-business (B-to-B) market in the context of failure. It examines how business owners make sense of their entrepreneurial selling activities and how underperformance in this role contributes to failure. Based on a literature review and interviews, the paper concludes that entrepreneurial selling is a crucial activity for preventing business failure and one that business owners recognize. Reasons for underperformance include business owners spending too little time on selling, their lack of personal selling skills, and procrastinating their selling activities. Answering the “bird-in-the-hand sales means” questions can produce either success or failure. Future research avenues are then suggested.

Entrepreneurial Selling

Purpose: Preventing business failure remains a significant challenge for small businesses in the Netherlands. Given their importance for the Dutch economy, understanding the causes of business failure and equipping business owners with strategies for resilience is imperative. This dissertation seeks to address this challenge by examining the sales role of business owners, referred to as ‘Entrepreneurial Selling,’ within the context of small-scale Dutch businesses. The goal is to identify how business owners can develop effective sales behaviors to mitigate the risk of failure and enhance the long-term viability of their businesses. The research into Entrepreneurial Selling is rising, yet further advancements, including this dissertation, are required to better support business owners in their continuous sales responsibilities. The main research question, therefore, is: How do small-scale business owners in the Netherlands behave in their Entrepreneurial Selling role and how can they become more effective in their sales behavior? Methods: To address the research question, a multimethod research approach is utilized. The research design comprises a literature review, three progressively linked studies, and practical applications. The first study (Chapter 4) involves a content re-analysis of 55 interviews to underscore the pivotal nature of Entrepreneurial Selling in preventing business failure. The second study (Chapter 5) conducts 12 semi-structured interviews, employing thematic analysis to categorize business owners' sales behaviors based on their entrepreneurial motivations. In the third study (Chapter 6), quantitative methods are employed (N=276) to explore the relationship between Entrepreneurial Selling Role Orientation (ESRO) and effective sales behavior. These studies provide the foundation for the practical applications developed in collaboration with practitioners (Chapter 7).Findings: The first study found that Entrepreneurial Selling is a crucial activity for preventing business failure and one that business owners recognize. Reasons for underperformance can include business owners allocating inadequate time to selling, deficient sales skills, and procrastination of sales activities. The subsequent studies build on this foundation. The second study introduces an Entrepreneurial Selling typology, linking business owners' motivations with their sales role strategies, offering insights into how motivations influence sales behavior. The third study introduces the concept of ESRO and substantiates its impact on sales behavior. Furthermore, a positive connection is identified between sales training and effective sales practices. The findings of the studies are individually applied to Sarasvathy’s Bird-in-Hand principle of Effectuation theory and are synthesized within the Entrepreneurial Selling Matrix. Originality/Value: This dissertation contributes to the Entrepreneurial Selling field by advancing our understanding of the business owners’ sales role in enhancing business resilience. It underscores the connection between ineffective sales practices and business failure and delves deeper by investigating the interplay between entrepreneurial motives and ESRO on sales behavior. Additionally, this study bridges the gap between entrepreneurship- and sales research by applying the Bird-in-Hand principle to business owners' sales behavior. In practical terms, the research's outcomes are twofold. First, it refines the Entrepreneurial Selling Matrix, providing a pragmatic typology that aids sales training practitioners in guiding business owners toward aligning sales behaviors with entrepreneurial goals. Second, it introduces an Entrepreneurial Selling Training Program, accompanied by tools, facilitating sales trainers in evaluating and improving current and desired sales behaviors. This practical approach contributes directly to nurturing resilient and thriving businesses.