Value-based selling: An organizational capability perspective

Creating superior customer value is central to a company's success in competitive markets. In their quest to increase customer-perceived value, many industrial companies are moving toward customer value-focused sales management. Research-based knowledge of how to manage customer value-based sales operations remains sparse, however, with most of the customer value literature focusing on concepts of value, not their application. By exploring the emerging practices of value-based selling and linking the findings to the body of knowledge on value creation and capture, this study investigates organizational capabilities that contribute longitudinally and relationally to increased customer-perceived value in sales management practice. Our empirical investigation employs nine globally operating industrial companies in an exploratory multiple case study setting. The data collection methods consist of interviews, practice benchmarking workshops, focus groups, and reviews of value assessment tools. The findings of our abductive research process improve the theoretical understanding of organizational capabilities required to improve customer perceived value in business-to-business (B2B) exchange, based on a wider conceptualization of the operational, strategic, symbolic, and social dimensions of customer value. For managers, our study identifies the essential capabilities required for value-based selling, illustrates managerial practices to implement those capabilities, and provides guidance on value proposition design, value quantification, and value communication.