No abstract

PurposeCold calling being one of the most preferred modes of sales strategies in the past, with all digital platforms setting in, is it still the best option a B2B service firm has? To seek answer to this interesting question is the purpose of this paper. The study seeks to understand the contributions of both the sales force and the digital marketing team towards lead conversion. The paper also aims to derive a sense-making model for lead conversion based on a few propositions of the study.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have adopted mixed method approach. The authors have chosen a small enterprise offering B2B services to understand the sales process. The past one-year cold calling data were analyzed. In addition, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted among the managers and the executives of the firm. The study adopts the AIDA model of customer response and the stages of selling process to better map the sales process of the firm. Based on the analysis, a new model is proposed to aid lead conversions.FindingsThe findings suggest that cold calling is not an effective mode of sales strategies in this case as the firm experienced a very low conversion rate. However, with the integration of digital marketing efforts with sales process, the sales team could achieve higher conversion rate.Originality/valueVery few studies in the literature examines the effectiveness of cold calling strategy integrated with digital marketing efforts. This is one of the few studies examining cold calling strategy in B2B service firm in India.

No abstract

Purpose The service effort behavior (SEB) of health professionals may be impeded by many factors. This study aims to draw upon the conservation of resources and stressor–strain–outcome theories to test a moderated mediation model that explores how work–family conflict (WFC) influences SEB. The mediating effect of emotional irritation (EI) and the moderating effect of organizational identification (OI) was also tested. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected over two waves from 524 health professionals working across India and was tested using SPSS PROCESS macros and Amos 24. Findings The results revealed that WFC has a significantly negative relationship with SEB, and EI mediates the relationship between the two variables. The mediation process was further moderated by OI. Originality/value There is an absolute scarcity of evidence that has explored the association of WFC and SEB with the mediating role of EI. Along with offering a nuanced understanding of these relationships, this study also presents some interesting insights to health-care administrators.

PurposeCOVID-19 pandemic has overturned the work and family life challenging the world in unpredictable ways that were previously unimaginable. With universities shutting down and emergence of online classes, this phenomenon is prevalent among academicians as well. With this background, the current study aims to investigate the direct relationships between workplace isolation (WPI) during COVID-19 and work–family conflict (WFC) with psychological stress (PS) mediating and organizational identification (OI) moderating the relationship between the two.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed time lagged survey and collected data at three different time intervals (T1, T2, T3) from 203 academicians working across various universities and colleges in India. The data were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS PROCESS Macro and AMOS.FindingsThe results indicated that WPI during COVID-19 has a significant positive relationship with PS and WFC . It was also found that PS partially mediated the relationship between WPI during COVID-19 and WFC. Further, OI emerged as a potential moderator.Originality/valueBased on the current empirical studies, it remains unclear if WPI during COVID-19 is associated with WFC. Therefore, drawing upon stress–strain–outcome (SSO) model and the conservation of resource theory, this study makes a significant contribution to the existing body of literature by exploring the unexplored associations. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, such an association has not received much scholarly attention before.