How to sell in diverse markets? A two-level approach to industry factors and selling factors for explaining firm profitability

Literature reveals continuous interest in explanations for differences in firm performance. This article aims to contribute to the existing body of literature by adopting a two-level perspective of industry and firm factors as causal conditions to explain firm profitability. This article illustrates a two-step fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and shows how certain proximate conditions (i.e., selling approaches) can bring about an outcome (i.e., profitability) in a given context of remote conditions (i.e., industry factors). The findings of the two-step fsQCA point to alternative profitability-enhancing industry contexts. In addition, the findings of this study indicate combinations of selling approaches within these contexts that jointly lead to profitability. Knowledge about these configurations contributes to a deeper understanding of context-dependency and helps managers develop selling strategies to increase profitability in diverse settings. From a methodological point of view, the stepwise fsQCA helps address limited diversity which presents a major challenge in many QCA studies.