Abstract

This study aims to offer novel means for rethinking contemporary business-to-business (B2B) sales operations and the assumptions that underlie them in the digital era. This rethinking relates especially to sales managers’ efforts to facilitate cognitive unlearning in B2B sales management during the ongoing digital transformation taking place in enterprises. Unlearning—the process of purposely reflecting on and discarding old ways of knowing and doing—is crucial to prevent outdated organizational knowledge and routines from becoming a barrier to change. Before adopting new sales practices, sales organizations must first discard old ways of knowing and doing. Drawing insights from unlearning and B2B sales management literature and conducting empirical qualitative research on 31 executives and senior managers operating in various industries, the study outlines a four-phase process for unlearning as well as several key themes within each phase. The findings emphasize how top management facilitates cognitive unlearning regarding digital business transformation in the B2B sales context. The study contributes to sales management literature by introducing cognitive unlearning as a new theoretical angle on the issue of digital transformation. It also offers insights for sales managers on how to elevate and leverage the unlearning of salespeople.

摘要

本研究旨在为重新思考当代企业对企业 (B2B) 销售运营以及在数字时代作为其基础的假设提供新的方法。这种重新思考尤其与销售经理在企业正在进行的数字化转型过程中为促进 B2B 销售管理中的认知忘却所做的努力有关。忘却——有意识地反思和摒弃旧的认识和做事方式的过程——对于防止过时的组织知识和惯例成为变革的障碍至关重要。在采用新的销售实践之前，销售组织必须首先摒弃旧的知行方式。从忘却和 B2B 销售管理文献中汲取见解，并对 31 位在不同行业运营的高管和高级管理人员进行实证定性研究，该研究概述了忘记学习的四个阶段过程以及每个阶段中的几个关键主题。调查结果强调了高层管理人员如何促进对 B2B 销售环境中数字业务转型的认知忘却。该研究通过将认知遗忘作为数字化转型问题的新理论视角，为销售管理文献做出了贡献。它还为销售经理提供了有关如何提升和利用销售人员忘却学习的见解。该研究通过将认知遗忘作为数字化转型问题的新理论视角，为销售管理文献做出了贡献。它还为销售经理提供了有关如何提升和利用销售人员忘却学习的见解。该研究通过将认知遗忘作为数字化转型问题的新理论视角，为销售管理文献做出了贡献。它还为销售经理提供了有关如何提升和利用销售人员忘却学习的见解。