Our research professor, Walter Palomino, member of the Marketing academic area, is one of the 23 prominent academics who carried out a global study on the responses of sales managers to the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The research EXPRESS: Global Events Demand Global Data: COVID-19 Crisis Responses and the Future of Selling and Sales Management around the Globe was published in September of this year in the prestigious Journal of International Marketing.
Importance of research
Walter explains that this research offers a global analysis of organizational responses and their expectations regarding the post-pandemic scenario, by collecting data from 76 sales executives from 27 countries. “We have validated emerging concepts such as customer success management and bricolage on a global scale. Likewise, we have introduced an innovative method for information collection, through global data coalition.”
Inductive research revealed the process organizations followed to introduce new norms, maintain current ones, and mix old and new to respond effectively to the crisis. The results gave rise to several ideas that had not been detailed in existing studies until then, such as localization, cultural shame, etc. Likewise, light was shed on the problems facing sales practice in the world.
General recommendations
The research advises sales managers to foster organizational adaptability, as well as promote agility and bricolage to face the crisis efficiently. It also suggests promoting digital transformation, by investing in tools and platforms that allow virtual sales and online communications, and maintaining a balance between digital and in-person interactions, since the latter are still essential in certain contexts.
Our leading research faculty also believes it is crucial to prioritize talent development and ensure sales teams acquire analytical and technological skills. In this sense, it is key to implement effective training strategies in virtual environments. Finally, he recommends that managers adopt a global vision with local sensitivity and, above all, promote transformational leadership that inspires and motivates teams during times of uncertainty.
Participating institutions
In addition to ESAN Graduate School of Business, the research included the participation of Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile), Insper (Brazil), Texas A&M University (United States), Iowa State University (United States), and Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada ). Likewise, European institutions such as IESEG School of Management (France), University of Strasbourg (France), Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), Università Bocconi (Italy), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland) and Cranfield University (United Kingdom) contributed.
Sobre el Journal of International Marketing
It is an international journal dedicated to promoting the practice, research and theory of international marketing. In that sense, it collects academic and management articles on international marketing. It is aimed at international marketing and business academics and marketing professionals in mid- and senior-level international positions. The objective of the publication is to bridge the gap between theory and practice in international marketing.
Currently, the journal occupies the following positions in the main databases:
- WoS: Q1
- Scopus: Q1
- AJG: category 3
- CNRS: category 2
- ABDC: category A
