Monday, September 30th, 2024

Artificial intelligence in Sales: two scenarios

Salespeople have a role to play irrespective of whether AI is a positive or negative influence. Sales organisations will play a key role as AI is deployed and extended into relationship development and business models. Let’s explore two key scenarios: 1) When AI is used in “nefarious” ways and 2) when it is “advantageous” to the client. 1 Nefarious WHEN… 

Monday, April 22nd, 2024

Leap of faith

B2B trust research: what’s next? Abstract New academic research on trust will build on insights generated through Mark Hollyoake’s 2020 doctoral thesis (see previous article). They aim to dig deeper into the role of the “Boundary Spanner in relational trust development”, based on eight years of academic research through the University of Southampton. The original research Boundary spanners: What are… 

Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

The Trust Dividend

The strategic implications of trust building in B2B client relationships and the way towards enhancing them to create mutual economic value. Abstract There is a noticeable lack of clarity around the construct of trust in the business to business (B2B) context. The thesis on which this article is based considers how trust building antecedents operate dynamically within a B2B relationship,… 

Thursday, January 28th, 2016

Is conflict within a relationship a bad thing?

Is conflict within a business-to-business (B2B) relationship a bad thing? Gargiulo & Ertug (2006) argue that hostility and bitterness resulting from disagreements not being resolved amicably can lead to almost pathological consequences such as relationship dissolution. However, when disputes are resolved amicably, such disagreements can be referred to as functional conflict, because they prevent stagnation, stimulate interest and create curiosity,…