The second of a two‐part study, this article focuses on motivational theories and how they relate to the specific concerns of sales management. The categories of theory considered are: need, value and reinforcement; and then three further approaches are covered: attribution theory,...

Purchasing decisions for “aids to daily living” (ADL) by the disabled and elderly tend to be commodity based to which value cannot be added through sales propositions. This paper reports research that investigated disparate customer segments in the “grey” sector. Quantitative research...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest a framework for competing theories of entrepreneurship but to argue for transparency in one's attempts to understand this phenomenon. Then to argue that, when matching small business advisers to small business, one should consider their...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest a framework for sales forecasting more suitable for smaller firms. The authors examine the sales forecasting practices of small firms and then proceed to discuss the application of Bayesian decision theory in the production of sales forecasts,...

The notion of what is meant by “value” is explored and summarised in terms of its involvement in delivering the product/service attributes, considered necessary to create customer satisfaction. Investigates the business system in relation to the value chain, as well as citing the conflicting...

Examines the concepts of value and information in terms of management. Although changes in information technology are the major themes, changes in the marketplace and the challenges facing marketing are also discussed. Examines value‐based marketing and its usefulness to customers, as well as...

Proposes the idea that as the Internet is a new channel for commerce, a structured approach is necessary in order to identify opportunities and threats. Looks at the ways in which value can be added throughout the process, from product development to every part of the value chain. Examines the...

This article is a corollary to three articles published earlier in Management Decision . More precise definitions of a modern value chain are proposed, in terms of it being a business system that creates end‐user satisfaction and realises the objectives of other member stakeholders....

This article considers that one way to help the small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) to survive is to offer it a robust but simple monitoring and control technique that would help it manage the business effectively and this, in turn, should help to increase its chances of survival. This...

Field sales people have an unusual position in organisations in that they must be highly self‐motivated and self‐reliant, are largely unsupervised, but are often the major conduit for income into a firm. This article explores some theories of motivation in terms of sales staff, some sales...