Industrial sales responding to environmental sustainability regulations: A role theory perspective
基于对四家全球运营的斯堪的纳维亚公司的定性多案例研究，分析了环境法规如何重塑和扩展B2B销售人员的角色，为销售管理和可持续性文献提供新见解。
Environmental sustainability regulations are transforming industrial markets; however, their impact on the business-to-business (B2B) sales role remains underexplored. This study examines how regulatory pressure shapes the role of industrial B2B salespeople. Based on a qualitative multiple-case study of four Scandinavian-based companies with global operations, we analyzed insights from 22 sales team members and their managers. Integrating sales system perspectives with role theory, our findings show that environmental regulations function as a transformative force, reshaping and expanding the boundaries of the B2B sales role. We conceptualize environmental regulations as mandatory institutional forces within the sales system that are translated into evolving sales role expectations. Our study contributes to the B2B sales and environmental sustainability literature by advancing the understanding of how macro-level regulatory pressures are interpreted and enacted at the individual salesperson level, thereby explaining the expansion of the B2B sales role under mandatory environmental regulatory conditions. We also offer managerial implications and outline avenues for future research. • Empirically shows how environmental regulations transform the B2B sales role • Draws on a multiple-case study and integrates sales system and role theory • Conceptualizes regulation as an indirect buyer-mediated role-sending mechanism • Identifies role stressors from regulatory-driven role expectations • Introduces organizational sales role enablement for role adaptation and support