Economic crisis and sales management : proposal for a conceptual framework
Résumé
The aim of this study is to determine the impact of the economic crisis on commercial organizations and the ways they have adapted to it. We carried out two qualitative studies with 58 salespeople. The results of these studies show that the salespeople perceive an increase in the day-to-day pressure by the management in firms and a strengthening of sales force control. On the basis of the findings of these studies, we propose a conceptual framework adapted from Jaworski (1988) that analyzes the company's external environment, changes in customer behavior and their consequences on the sales force and sales management.