Volume 30 Number 2 Spring 2005

Leadership Edition

Contents
A New Paradigm: Entrepreneurial Leadership
Lloyd W. Fernald, Jr., George T. Solomon, and Ayman Tarabishy...........................1

The Emerging Role of the “Sales Technologist”

David J. Good and Roberta J. Schultz..........................................................................11

Leadership and Upward Influence: A Survey of Business School Deans

J. Michael McDonald and Carl W. Gooding...............................................................21

A Preliminary Model of Abusive Behavior in Organizations

Matthew Valle.................................................................................................................27
 Southern Business Review
Spring 2005Volume 30Number 2

RONALD E. SHIFFLER, DEAN

College of Business Administration, Georgia Southern University

WILLIAM W. MCCARTNEY AND DARRELL F. PARKER, CO-EDITORS

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 A New Paradigm:
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Lloyd W. Fernald, Jr., George T. Solomon, and Ayman Tarabishy
As the 1990’s gave way to
the next millennium, the
current social, economic, and
political environments were
constantly being affected by
the actions of entrepreneurs
and entrepreneurial ventures.
The current literature in
entrepreneurship devotes
considerable discussion to the
role entrepreneurs play within
their businesses and as
opinion leaders in their
markets and the general
economy. Often described as
Lloyd W. Fernald, Jr., D.B.A., is
professor of management,
Management Department,
College of Business
Administration, University of
Central Florida, Orlando, FL
32817.
George T. Solomon, D.B.A., is
associate professor of
entrepreneurship, The George
Washington University,
Washington, DC 20052.
Ayman Tarabishy, is a doctoral
student, The George
Washington University,
Washington, DC 20052.
Perryman, 1982; Peterson &
Horvath, 1982; Sexton,
Southern Business
Review
innovators, paradigm
pioneers, and visionaries,
entrepreneurs are confronted
with the issue of developing
leadership qualities in order to
grow their businesses and to
transform them to a level of
profes- sionalism.
Since the 1980’s, an
increased level of entre-
preneurial activity has
spawned, not only because of
the electronic age but due to a
plethora of new materials,
products, financial networks,
joint venture possibilities, and
paradigmatic changes in
politics, economics, and
societies. It appears a whole
new remodeling of the ways in
which business, communica-
tion, and government are
conducted has emerged. Thus,
it is imperative for anyone
involved in entrepreneurial
ventures, especially the
entrepreneur, to fully
comprehend the impor-tance
of sound leadership practices.
This article attempts to
reveal those characteristics
common to both successful
leaders and entrepreneurs who
operate in dynamic, changing
environments. It also attempts
to show the characteristics
1982). Even now, no
generally accepted
Spring 2005
entrepreneurs use to cope with
their need to excel and explore
new vistas. In essence, it seeks
to demonstrate a new style of
evolving leadership, entrepre-
neurial leadership, which
offers a break from the past
and movement into the future.
Literature Review
Entrepreneurship is a
relatively new, sometimes
controversial, and burgeoning
field of management research.
Leadership has been studied
since around 500 BC. New to
the field is the subject of
entrepreneurial leadership.
Both entrepreneurship and
leadership will be briefly
discussed in turn.
Entrepreneurship
Selection of the
appropriate basis for defining
and understanding entrepre-
neurs created a challenging
problem for entrepreneurial
research. More than ten years
ago, the field of research was
described as young, i.e., in its
formative stage (Paulin,
Coffey, & Spaulding, 1982;
definition of an entrepreneur
exists, and the literature is replete
1
with criteria ranging from
creativity and innovation to
personal traits such as
appearance and style. Models
of the entre- preneur are
almost as plentiful as the
number of researchers
studying entrepreneurs
(Churchill & Lewis, 1986;
Cunningham & Lischeron,
1991).
Krackhardt (1995) stated
that research on entrepre-
neurship has defined
entrepreneurship in two ways,
the entrepreneurial firm and
entrepreneurial people. Entre-
preneurial firms are small
(Aldrich & Austen, 1986), fast-
growing (Drucker, 1985),
organic, and network-based
rather than mechanistic and
bureaucratic (Birley, 1986). In
studying work flow leadership,
a form of firm-level entre-
preneurship, Sayles and
Stewart (1995) defined
entrepreneurship as having
three components:
(1) it is activity that seizes
profit opportunities
without regard to
resources currently
controlled (Stevenson &
Jarillo, 1990);
(2) it expands existing
resources through
enhanced learning,
synergies, or boot-
strapping (Burgelman,
1983; Leibstein, 1968;
Stewart, 1989; Venkatara-
Leadership
Zaleznik (1977) has
2 Spring 2005
man, McMillan &
McGrath, 1992); and
(3) it promotes change and
innovation leading to
new combinations of
resources and new ways
of doing business
(Burgelman, 1983;
Schumpeter, 1943).
Entrepreneurial people take
advantage of opportunities to
acquire added value. This
definition sees entrepreneur-
ship as a behavioral char-
acteristic of employees and
managers in a firm, not as a
characteristic of the firm itself.
Stevenson, Roberts, and
Grousbeck (1989) argued that
entrepreneurship is an
approach to management.
They distinguished between
“promoters,” individuals
whose strategic direction is
driven by the perception of
opportunity, and “trustees,”
who are driven by the
resources they currently
control. One could argue from
this that “promoters” are
actually leaders while
“trustees” are managers.
Others, however, have written
that both management and
leadership skills play
important roles in determining
the growth rate of a small
business. The skills required
include
(1) seeing and clearly
communicating a clear
direction for the future,
(2) leading and
motivating others,
reported that managers
and leaders are different.
They differ in what they
Southern Business Review
(3) recognizing
shortcomings in the team
and supple- menting
those skills, and
(4) having the business
skills from an
educational and
experience viewpoint
(Eggers, Leahy, &
Churchill, 1994).
Over the years, several
schools of thought on entre-
preneurship have been
generated that combine
psychological traits with
management/leadership skills.
With respect to entrepre-
neurial activities, most
important to entrepreneurs are
(1) seeking opportunities,
(2) needing to achieve set
goals,
(3) being independence-
minded,
(4) taking risks, and
(5) innovating (Lepnurm
& Bergh, 1995).
McClelland (1961) believed
that entrepreneurial behavior
was embedded in an indivi-
dual’s personality, the result of
one’s upbringing. Stewart
(1989) documented the “fire in
the belly” of employees who
are always “running hot”
within the firm. Thus, entre-
preneurial behavior appears to
be internal, similar to what is
often described as charact-
eristic of leaders.
attend to and how they think,
work, and interact. Also, managers
and leaders have different
personalities and experience
different developmental paths
from childhood to adulthood.
Further, managers perceive life
as a steady progression of
positive events, resulting in
security at home and at work.
Leaders are “twice born.”
They endure major events that
lead to a sense of separate-
ness, or perhaps estrangement,
from their environments
(James, 1985). As a result,
they turn inward in order to
re-emerge with a created
rather than an inherited sense
of identity. This condition
may be necessary for the
ability to lead. Finally,
managers appear to be
narrowly engaged in main-
taining their identities and
self-esteem through others.
Leaders have self- confidence
growing out of the awareness
of who they are and the
visions that drive them to
achieve (Zaleznik, 1990).
Although research shows
that certain traits alone do not
guarantee leadership success,
evidence that effective leaders
are different from other people
in certain key respects exists.
Key leader characteristics are
(1) drive, which includes
achievement motivation,
ambition, energy, tenacity,
and initiative;
Effective leadership must
solve, or face, problems
quickly and forcefully,
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Review
(2) leadership motivation;
(3) honesty and integrity;
(4) self-confidence;
(5) cognitive ability; and
(6) knowledge of the business.
The key leader characteristics
help the leader acquire
necessary skills, formulate an
organizational vision and an
effective plan for pursuing it,
and take the steps needed to
implement the vision into
reality (Kirkpatrick and Locke,
1991).
It is not necessarily the
individual possessing the most
formal authority who is the
leader in an organization, large
or small. The leader is anyone
who exerts influence over
others. Specific traits,
characteristics, and personal
attributes that will predict
superior performance in any
given role, team, and
organization can be identified
and defined.
Entrepreneurial Leadership
On the surface, one can
associate entrepreneurs with
leadership functions such as
providing vision to the
development of a new
product, service, or organiza-
tion. A leader has to be
entrepreneurial as well. It has
been written that entrepre-
neurial leadership deals with
concepts and ideas, and these
are often related to problems
that are not of an organiza-
regardless of their nature.
Decision making.
Man- agers are more
Spring 2005
tional nature (El-Namaki,
1992). Instead, they tend to
be individual characteristics or
behaviors. These include
vision, problem solving,
decision-making, risk taking,
and strategic initiatives. A
short discussion of each
follows.
Vision. Only in the first
decade of the 20th century has
the role of vision in the strate-
gic management process and
the possible relationship
between vision and creativity,
leadership, and entrepreneur-
ship been given much
attention. A vision is formu-
lated by explicitly identifying a
domain for competitive be-
havior, a set of sources of
competitive strength, and a
profile for resource capability.
A vision implies a capability
construct. This capability
construct is determined by
many factors including
managerial vision, competence
and capacity, logistic and
technological profiles, as well
as the financial resource
access of the firm. A good
vision is realistic and feasible.
It provides a challenge for the
whole organization and
mirrors the goals of its
constituents. Visions may be
killed by fear of mistakes,
inability to tolerate ambiguity,
and lack of challenge.
Problem solving. Task-
oriented leadership gets best
results with purely technical,
fact-based problems. Con-
sideration-oriented leadership
copes more effectively with
emotional, personal, and
interpersonal problems.
likely to seek assistance from
subordin-ates in solving problems
than when making decisions. As a
3
general rule, whether leaders
are directive or supportive,
they know they must make
decisions that commit the
organization to critical actions.
If a leader avoids this respon-
sibility, subordinates will
poorly judge him or her and
the organization will suffer
accordingly.
Risk taking. Balancing
risk is a necessity of leader-
ship. Leaders must weigh the
multitudinous factors
involved, while understanding
that no one can predict the
future with certainty. Inability
to deal with uncertainty pre-
cludes an organization from
achieving its goals.
Strategic initiatives.
Leaders must have a vision
and plan for beyond a year or
two in order to achieve long-
term success (El-Namaki,
1992).
Entrepreneurial leadership
has been coined by those who
realize a change in leadership
style is necessary in order for
America’s businesses, large
and small, to be competitive
with the rest of the world.
Knowdell, Branstead, and
Moravec (1994) have noted
that corporations now undergo
paradigm shifts rather than
linear change. One such
paradigm shift is from a
“producer mentality” that
state of the field can be
4 Spring 2005
seeks instructions to an
“entrepreneurial mentality”
that seeks results. This has
lead to structural changes in
organizations and new ways of
doing business. The develop-
ment of the MacIntosh
computer is, perhaps, the
prime example. Other similar
“skunk works,” or entrepre-
neurial projects, are increasing
in number throughout corpor-
ate America.
One might question
whether entrepreneurial
leadership is truly a new
style of leadership, an escape
from management, or both.
Since the 1980’s, the concern
has been that major business
corporations have lost their
competitiveness through an
emphasis on management
rather than leadership. A
survey of 90 top executives
and entrepreneurs revealed
that the four basic compe-
tencies common to all
leaders are management of
attention, meaning, trust,
and self- esteem (Bennis,
1988).
Bennis’s research indicated
that potential entrepreneurs
are much more likely to have
had business-owning fathers
or relatives and to have owned
their own firms at some stage
of their careers. While no
differences were found
between subgroups in terms of
their needs for achievement or
their locus of control, the
likely entrepreneurs were
found to have a greater need
for autonomy, more creative
tendencies, and a higher
calculated risk-taking
orientation than other
managers. In all, factors in the
attributed primarily to
Southern Business Review
family background or personal
profile of managers that may
attract them to entrepreneur-
ship have some potential for
detecting entrepreneurs among
managers (Cromie &
O’Donaghue, 1992).
It is argued that the
organizational archetype of the
future will be entrepreneurial.
Its leadership, strategies, and
structure will reflect entre-
preneurial thinking with
associated characteristics, e.g.,
a problem-solving and action-
orientation. The characteristics
and behaviors that spell
success in entrepreneurial
firms and small businesses
now are being considered as
vital for success, even for large
transnational corporations.
That even large companies are
interested in this phenomenon
is reflected in the popularity of
what has been coined as
“Intrapreneurship” by Pinchot
(1985). Intrapreneurship is
said to exist in situations in
which individuals utilize
entrepreneurial thinking to
initiate and implement new
ideas within large corporations
(Chittipeddi & Wallet, 1991).
Based on these prescrip-
tions, and a myriad of other
sources too numerous to
mention here, the similarities
between what is known as
leaders and what is known as
entrepreneurs are consider-
able. Regardless of the amount
of study each has been given,
particularly with respect to
leaders, much learning is still
needed. Yukl (1994) reported
that, although the leadership
literature includes more than
5,000 studies, the confused
the sheer volume of publications,
the disparity of approaches,
confusing terms, many trivial
studies, and the preference
for simplistic explanations.
This same charge has been
levied at the research
involving entrepreneurship
(Vesper, 1996; Sexton &
Kasarda, 1992; Zimmerer &
Scar- borough, 1996).
Nevertheless, much is
known about both leaders
and entrepreneurs. As
discussed earlier, both
leaders and entrepreneurs
have been studied relative to
their traits, skills, and
behavioral characteristics.
Numerous studies have been
conducted in an attempt to
define a successful leader or
entrepre- neur (Welsh &
White, 1983). The general
agreement is that a leader
influences others toward the
attainment of a vision and
goals (Zaleznik, 1990; Stoner,
1995). A
successful entrepreneur,
likewise, influences those
who can help achieve a
desired goal or vision,
whether the entrepreneur is a
banker or other financial
lender or those who can help
to manufacture or distribute a
product or service. Many also
agree that leaders are
visionary. They know what
they want and where they
want to go. They have a
vision of their goals (Locke &
Kirkpatrick, 1995; Hajek,
1995). This is best stated in a
quote from Theodore
Hesburgh:
most reliably determined by
an in-depth, structured
interview by an experienced
and trained psychologist.
Nevertheless, the number of
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Review
[t]he very essence of
leadership is that you
have a vision. It’s got
to be a vision you
articulate clearly and
forcefully on every
occasion. You can’t
blow an uncertain
trumpet (Brainyquote
.com, 2005).
Successful entrepreneurs also
envision the need for a
product or service and how
that product or service is to be
provided.
In summary, based on a
review of the literature, both
leaders and entrepreneurs are
successful largely to the extent
that they provide
(1) strategic leadership (vision
and long-term goals);
(2) problem-solving skills;
(3) timely decision-making;
(4) a willingness to accept
risks; and
(5) good negotiating skills.
“Successful” is a key adverb
and a vital factor in this
review. Clearly, many leaders
and entrepreneurs fail.
Whenever possible, the
authors have made an effort to
include only those behavioral
characteristics shared by
leaders and entrepreneurs that
lead to successful attainment
of visions and goals.
times each characteristic
was noted in the review
of litera- ture was used to
compare the
characteristics of leaders
Spring 2005
These characteristics are
intended to provide sufficient
information to support a basis
for the argument that the
behavioral characteristics of
leaders and entrepreneurs are
more similar than different. In
addition, it provides a basis
for viewing entrepreneurial
behavior as another type of
leadership. This is particularly
evident in view of the fact that
changes in the workplace are
demanding a new style of
leadership. A flatter organi-
zational hierarchy with its
shrinking management ranks
and less bureaucracy, coupled
with the push for greater
speed, better customer
responsiveness, and on-going
innovation, will require such.
Every employee will be
required to think and to act
like an owner/entrepreneur
(Turknett, 1995).
Methodology
Characteristics possessed
by both entrepreneurs and
leaders were collected from
various sources such as
journal articles, dissertations
and theses, books, and
magazine articles. These
characteristics were listed and
then compared, resulting in a
list of common characteristics.
No scale was attached to
these characteristics. The
existence of the characteristics
and the degree to which they
exist in any individual can be
and entrepreneurs.
Results
Table 1 identifies char-
5
acteristics that are associated
with successful
entrepreneurs and leaders
and the number of times
those characteristics have
been noted in the literature.
Risk-taker,
achievement-orientated, and
creative are the most highly
cited characteristics among
entrepreneurs whereas
visionary, able to motivate,
charismatic, able to
communicate, honest and
sound, and trustworthy are
the most highly cited char-
acteristics among leaders. By
comparing the characteristics
of entrepreneurs and leaders,
a model can be developed that
specifies the personal char-
acteristics reflected in those
who practice entrepreneurial
leadership.
Characteristics that are
common to both entrepreneurs
and leaders are presented in
Table 2.
Table 2 reveals that the
characteristics common to
both entrepreneurs and
leaders are visionary, risk-
taker, achievement-orientated,
able to motivate, creative,
flexible, persistent, and
patient.
Discussion
Table 1 is the result of a
generally exhaustive search for
entrepreneur and leader
characteristics. Nevertheless,
only 136 sources were
included in this study. The
authors believe that the
numbers associated with each
of the characteristics would

Table 1
Characteristics of Entrepreneurs and Leaders*

Entrepreneurial Characteristics Leadership Characteristics

Able to motivate (3) Able to communicate (12)
Achievement orientated (15) Able to listen (9)
Autonomous (6) Able to motivate (15)
Creative (10) Able to work with others (7)
Flexible (2) Achievement orientated (7)
Highly tolerant of ambiguity (5) Charismatic (13)
Passionate (3) Committed to mission (7)
Patient (1) Creative (5)
Persistent (3) Flexible (6)
Risk-taker (24) Honest and sound (12)
Visionary (6) Patient (3)
Persistent (2)
Risk-taker (6)
Strategic thinker (5)
Trustworthy (12)

Visionary (29)
*Cites for these characteristics may be obtained from the authors.

6 Spring 2005 Southern Business Review

 Table 2
Common Characteristics

Entrepreneur Leader
Able to motivate 3 15
Achievement orientated 15 7
Creative 10 5
Flexible 2 6
Patient 1 3
Persistent 3 2
Risk-taker 24 6
Visionary 6 29

change, perhaps considerably, a remarkably small number of common to entrepreneurs and

if more sources were
included. At the same time,
the authors believe that it is
likely that the same
characteristics found in
Tables 1 and 2 would remain
in a future study.
Some of the characteristics
noted appear consistent with
anecdotal reports. For
example, entrepreneurs are
generally known as risk-
takers, high achievers, and
creative in their abilities to
produce unique goods and
services. Anecdotal evidence
suggests the most successful
leaders are visionaries.
Additionally, they are
charismatic, able to communi-
cate, have reputations of being
honest, and are trusted by
others. Conversely, while
anecdotal evidence suggests
that such characteristics as
autonomous, highly tolerant of
ambiguity, passionate, and
persistent are generally found
in entrepreneurs, the study
data support such, but reflect
these two populations and to
provide a base for further
sources. So as with leaders, it
would appear from anecdotal
evidence that characteristics
such as achievement-oriented,
strategic thinker, and com-
mitted to mission would have
been more evident than the
data found in this study.
A more in-depth study
would likely shed light on this
issue. Nevertheless, the study
results reflect actual citations
in the entrepreneurship and
leadership journals. The data
provided are considered more
valid in describing entrepre-
neurs and leaders than that of
anecdotal evidence.
Table 2 is interesting as
well. Eight common char-
acteristics were found in
entrepreneurs and leaders.
Risk-taker clearly led all other
entrepreneurial characteristics,
and visionary was the
strongest characteristic in
leaders. These findings are
well-supported by anecdotal
evidence. Other characteristics
studies on
entrepreneurial
leaders are not surprising,
with the possible exception
that the numbers were smaller
than the authors anticipated.
Table 2 offers researchers
several questions. When the
number of cites is small, such
as with “Patient,” should it be
discarded as a common
characteristic? Could other
characteristics be added to
this table? Most importantly,
does possessing the common
characteristics found in this
study predict an individual
whose performance would
exhibit entrepreneurial
leadership and successfully
contribute to an organization’s
success?
Conclusions
The findings of this study,
i.e., the common characteris-
tics shared by both
entrepreneurs and leaders,
represent an attempt to both
reveal the commonality of
leadership. The lists shown in
Tables 1 and 2 include those
characteristics often found in
a successful leader or
entrepreneur. This information
may be helpful to individuals
considering the entre-
preneurial life or seeking other
leadership positions.
Clearly, much remains to
be done in clarifying the role
and characteristics of to-
morrow’s leaders. New
organizational designs, new
thinking patterns, and new
information systems will
require new leadership styles.
Entrepreneurial leadership
offers one answer. The
question remains as to
whether entrepreneurial
leadership will consist of the
characteristics found common
to both the successful
entrepreneur and leader in this
study.
Some will argue that
entrepreneurs are not neces-
sarily “good” or successful
leaders. Such doubters can
find support in the literature
for the iconoclastic char-
acteristics found in many
entrepreneurs that are
inconsistent with “good”
leadership characteristics. For
doubters, the term “entrepre-
neurial leadership” is seen as
an oxymoron, a combination
of terms that are contradictory
to what they have been
accustomed in the past.
Successful entrepreneurs,
however, have provided the
risk-taking, achievement
orientation, and creativity that
Research Conference,
have lead to the birth and
growth of numerous major
firms in the U.S. and globally
and continue to do so. Entre-
preneurial thinking is being
increasingly demanded in even
the largest corporations.
More research in this area
is essential. Future studies
may rank preferences of the
characteristics of leaders and
entrepreneurs to permit a rank
order or other statistical
analyses of the characteristics
of leaders and entrepreneurs,
helping to further define the
characteristics needed for
entrepreneurial leadership.
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 The Emerging Role of
the “Sales
Technologist”

David J. Good and Roberta J. Schutlz

Marketers have long a

sought to craft marketplace
opportunities to provide a
differential advantage that is
both significant and
sustainable. Particularly
important in the sales
organization, creating and
maintaining a marketplace
advantage are often the keys
to success or failure. In this
pursuit, a host of strategies,
mechanisms, and processes
have evolved through
marketing departments as
managers constantly seek the
“best” tools for rapidly
changing marketplaces.
Employing considerable
resources to obtain such
marketplace advantages,
management has sought to
integrate many different
David J. Good, Ph.D., is
professor of marketing, Grand
Valley State University, Grand
Rapids, MI 49504.
Roberta J. Schultz, Ph.D., is
associate professor of
marketing, Western Michigan
University, Grand Rapids, MI
49503.
elements into the marketing
domain. One contemporary
effort that has received a great
deal of attention has been the
increased usage of sales force
automation, coupled with the
need to enhance the relation-
ship management of clients
through communications
technology. This effort has
resulted in an escalated need
to determine where and how
technology is being used in
personal selling (Widmier,
Jackson, & McCabe, 2002) to
maximize technological
integration within the sales
organization.
Correspondingly, sellers
have become increasingly
aggressive in recent years as
they seek and implement
constructive assets that
improve their positions and
opportunities for success. For
instance, training has become
a key strategic organizational
tool being visualized as an
important vehicle for success
(e.g., Leach & Liu, 2003).
Spending in some situations
more than $100,000 and two
years in the development of
one salesperson (Johnston &
Marshall, 2003) to cultivate
a competitive advantage in
single territory,
marketers have
demonstrated their
interest and willingness
in acquiring and
deploying assets that
can cultivate a
significant, sustainable
differential advantage
under virtually any
condition.
Actual applications
of sales force
automation indicate a
range of failure that
suggests technology
a positive force in some
situations, as with any tool, its
usage must be balanced
against the value it brings and
the resources required for its
implementation.
Similar advances in other
areas such as hiring practices,
market identification
techniques, strategic develop-
ment, and compensation
systems are but a few of the
elements considered for usage
in contemporary marketplaces
to gain a differential advant-
age by salespeople. The critical
issue as it relates to the sales
force, therefore, is that
marketing managers are
increasingly demonstrating a
willingness to take risks in
discovering tools and
strategies that maximize field
opportunities. In turn, the
failure to maximize situations
as they occur can result in
mixed opportunities.
As the shift toward
relational sales approaches
and emerging technologies
continues to drive the
changing nature of selling, it is
important for the sales
organization to identify,
explore, adjust to, and exploit
cannot be
automatically and
easily intertwined
within the sales force.
One study used
identity theory to
better understand
these failures and
found salespeople
have positive
perceptions of the
technology
immediately after the
training; however, six
months after
implementation, the
the needs of the
marketplace in highly
competitive situations. For
example, the critical role
of marketing
communications as part of
relational strategies
(Andersen, 2001) suggests
B2B sellers are learning to
craft relational selling
strategies in an
environment in which e-
commerce is increasingly
viewed as a critical
marketplace tool. In this
regard, most marketing
tools,
technology had been widely
rejected (Speier & Venkatesh,
2002). To make sales
technology more functionally
valuable, some European
companies have discovered
that technology that dictates
how salespeople behave will
fail while technology that
respects how salespeople
really behave has a better
chance at success (Schrage,
2003). What this suggests is
that, while technology may be
whether implemented by upper
management or by local field managers,
are designed to satisfy the core needs of
the seller (identify, explore, adjust, and
exploit). It is reasonable to anticipate,
therefore, that when new methods,
processes, tools, and strategies are
considered for future implementation,
the criterion for acceptance will rest on
this same ability to meet selling needs.
It is in this spirit of sellers
constantly needing new tools and
strategies that this research examines
the emerging role of the sales
organization becoming oriented toward
the usage of technology. The next
generation of B2B sellers may require a
newer form of specialists to manage this
focus on technology.
Why Combine Sales and
Technology?
Selling is evolving to the point at
which professionals will have two
related, but quite separate skills.
Specifically, successful contemporary B2B
sellers will increasingly need
technological abilities. For example, at
the Aetna Insurance Company, educating
sales professionals about customer-facing
technology has become a high priority
(O’Donnell, 2003).
Facing the need to enhance customer
connections, a new generation of
sales strategies starting to evolve is
of a move toward a “sales
technologist”
the focus on the types of tools
that the ST utilizes.
The sales technologist is
more of an operational title
than a functional title. These
employees may be drawn from
a variety of functional roles in
and out of the traditional sales
function. New to these
positions may be skilled
employees from finance,
logistics, information
technology, and other areas
previously not included in the
selling function. Possible titles
may include customer data
specialist, information
technology analyst, technology
solution advisor, customer
solutions developer, contact
center professional, or
professional services engineer.
(ST). As discussed
in the following
sections, these
employees will
assume a broader
marketing
orientation and will
be less restricted to
specific functional
areas as they
expand the role and
connections of
traditional
salespeople.
What is a “sales
technologist”? The
sales technologist is,
in most contexts, an
employee who
carries many of the
traditional sales
responsibilities (e.g.,
creating revenue),
but utilizes
technology as a
critical sales tool for
strategic and tactical
purposes. The ST is
These sales technologists
will become more skilled
and participative in a
wider array of
organizational levels than
has previously existed for
those who came strictly
from the sales area of the
business.
The inclination of
many managers when
faced with the challenge
of hiring or de- veloping a
sales technologist would
be to employ someone
who is fundamentally
technologically inclined
(e.g., computer analyst)
and, then, attempt to
transform him/her into a
salesperson who
understands technology.
primarily focused on selling
and providing organizationally
required performance output.
As part of his/her performance
guidelines, he/she incorporates
contemporary technologies into
the selling effort. For instance,
STs seek methods in which e-
commerce efforts are
incorporated into relational
and selling efforts. This could
include fostering customer
relationship systems driven
through web order points,
customer records and
inventory management
systems, and automatic
reorder points derived from the
buyer to the seller. The critical
aspect of the sales technologist
is that he/she utilizes
contemporary technologies to
gain and retain competitive
advantages through
technology. Hence, the ST is
not tied to any particular
technology but to technologies
in general. As the technologies
change, so does
A number of years ago, when
selling was not considered to be a
professional skill, sales
organizations routinely found
salespeople internally from a host of
positions throughout the company
(e.g., engineers). Employers found
that simply knowing the product,
under-
standing the employer, and being
willing to hire a technologist is not
the same as meeting the needs of
the buyer in competitive markets.
In today’s business climate,
more of what were previously
considered to be non-boundary
spanning employees are now
boundary- spanning at an
increasingly fast pace. More of the
organization is interfacing with
customers. While these non-
customer contact personnel may
have been socialized in a non-client
orientation, they may be likely
candidates to move into these
positions and receive the additional
training to handle the customer
development/ maintenance and
sales responsibilities. More
individuals are being asked to
wear multiple hats, and, just as
salespeople are also being asked to
provide return on investment and
become finance-savvy employees,
finance people are becoming
increasingly sales- and marketing-
oriented. It is a two-way street.
The wide range of integration
will, in turn, allow B2B sellers to
create more sustainable advantages
in highly competitive markets. As a
result, organizations that cultivate
these STs will prosper over those
organizations that reject their
usage. Changing the very nature of
the marketing organization, this
research proposes that the usage of
the ST will foster an advantageous
atmosphere that will enrich
measure has been evidenced
by sales organizations seeking
various methods to enhance
their effectiveness in their
operational environments. For
example, while the ABC’s of
selling (“always be closing”)
were at one time considered
an effective selling method,
today’s environment relies
increasingly on creating and
the competitive benefit
of B2B marketers.
The Emerging
Environment
The role of the
salesperson has
historically and
consis- tently been
defined in a
reasonably confined
context and
structure. Producing
revenue through
sales activity,
salespeople are
expected in very
basic terms to retain
existing customers,
find new accounts,
sell accounts,
and/or replace
clients when they
depart. While other
general expectations
of salespeople often
exist (training new
salespeople,
servicing complaints
and accounts,
overseeing
territories, etc.), the
main managerial
direction of the
salesperson has been
altered very little in
recent decades.
Salespeople are first
maintaining long-term
relationships between
clients and sellers. Efforts
to improve B2B sales force
productivity have
suggested revisions in the
way most sales divisions
traditionally view
salesperson time. Revenue
per available salesperson
hour is proposed to
and foremost expected to
create and maintain revenue.
Of course, the tactics
underlying this performance
may vary, as sellers utilize a
variety of mechanisms (e.g.,
relational selling, major
accounts, teamwork) to
accomplish performance
objectives.
Therefore, while the specific
content of how one engages
most effectively in selling for
particular markets may have
varied in recent years, the
focus has been on, and
continues to remain on,
revenue performance for the
vast majority of salespeople.
Pursuing increased
revenue as an outcome
integrate the salesperson’s time in
calculations of sales potential and
revenue generation (Siguaw, Kimes,
& Gassenheimer, 2003). As part of
this evolution, it will be important
to examine the effects of technology-
mediated tools upon the important
relationship outcomes such as trust
and future intentions (MacDonald &
Smith, 2004).
The question for sales
organizations, therefore, rests
on the next major evolution in
the sales force. In this vein,
what strategic and operational
adjustments should manage-
ment make to prepare both
salespeople and customers for
the environment of the next
decade? Further, given that
the salesperson will continue
to sell products, how will
sellers be shaped to be able to
meet changing environmental
needs?
To respond to these con-
cerns, it has been proposed
have caused most organiza-
tions to adjust, at least to
industry is on the verge of a
third industrial revolution, in
which issues such as tech-
nology are becoming the
driving force of business
commerce. The rapid and
explosive growth of technology
has cultivated an environment
in which electronic commerce
has been widely adopted to
improve efficiencies in the
marketing of products
(Osmonbekov, Bello, &
Gilliland, 2002). This
environment needs visionaries
who are able to incorporate
increasingly rapid technologi-
cal changes with the needs of
the marketplace. This suggests
that the possibility of recasting
some of the sales force and
employees from other func-
tional areas as STs provides
interesting strategic and
operational opportunities for
B2B sellers.
Technology as an
Emerging Force
Sales organizations
increasingly operate in an
environment in which
participating in risk and
innovation is needed for a
trade-off of gain that would
not be otherwise possible. In
other words, successful sales
organizations are able to
respond to changing
conditions. Organizations that
conduct stagnant operations
and strategic actions in their
markets will eventually be
lead to declining performance
results. Several aspects of
salesperson attitudes
(perceived usefulness, attitude
some degree, how they do
business. These changes in
toward the new system, and
compatibility) about sales
force automation technology
(Jones, Sundaram, & Chin,
2002) are worthy of
examination as they affect the
success of the business.
In an examination of
market conditions, a number
of changes have occurred over
the last several decades,
encouraging and demanding
successful firms to adjust to
environmental fluctuations.
For instance, a growing
diversity in the types,
locations, and nature of
purchases has reformulated
how many sellers are now
addressing their markets.
Changing market conditions
have forced sellers to alter
their methods of business in
order to survive. While other
alterations have occurred
during the past years,
dramatic changes have been
seen in the application, usage,
and management of data and
their transmission via
electronic mail (Bean, Boles, &
Rodriguez Cano, 2003) and
online databases (Wilson,
2003).
Rapid advancements in
computer and related
technologies have changed
how markets operate. For
instance, the rapid exchange
of information between
customers and sellers now
allows buyers to carry minimal
inventory, reduce costs, and
gain selective competitive
advantages. Subsequent
changes in e-commerce and
other related types of
technological progressions
sales approaches and emerging
technologies require sales managers
to examine factors important to
the success of the salespeople
they hire. Skills, content
knowledge, attributes, and
historical indicants of
performance are such factors
to consider (Marshall, Goebel,
& Moncrief, 2003) for incor-
porating technology into the
sales force.
A tidal wave of technologi-
cal advancements has created
a new and very unique differ-
ential advantage among those
marketers able to capitalize on
these advance-ments. Among
the tools of the trade in the
sales arsenal is the irreplace-
able laptop. The ST would find
it difficult to work without the
ability to close sales in the
field. Mobile communication
allows instant contact with
sales staff personnel. Even
more important is the quick
access to clients. A popular
handheld device allows the ST
to receive calls and e-mails
simultaneously, enabling
negotiations of contract
specifications while communi-
cating with customer
employees. Increased coor-
dination and productivity
become the key component.
Even wireless ear pieces made
possible by Bluetooth allow
the ST to press a button to
talk even when the cell phone
is not in reach. Navigation
systems, powerful PDA’s that
quickly sync to office com-
puters, lightweight projectors
adopting STs as part of their
sales structures will syste-
that eliminate compatibility zations that utilize their skills
problems for presentations, and knowledge.
and small storage devices that
allow transfers of large data
Incorporating the
files while at the client’s
Sales Technologist
premise are all tools to
differentiate a great marketing
Sales organizations have
firm from a mediocre firm
historically gone through a
(Cummings, 2003).
number of positional changes
Sales force automation
as market conditions have
systems are electronic
demanded market adjust-
software-based devices that
ments. For instance, a few
enable field salespeople and
years ago many sales
companies to keep detailed
organizations determined that
records of their dealings with
one method of creating greater
customers at all stages of the
connections to major clients
sales cycle, from initial
was to create major accounts
contacts through closing
managers. These individuals
contracts. Companies have
were (and remain in many
found success with incorpora-
sales organizations today)
ting sales and automation
chiefly responsible for crafting
systems. The 60 or so
better relationships with
salespeople at Pegasus
significant accounts that
Airwave, which markets
generated large amounts of
special air mattresses to
revenue. The idea behind the
medical facilities, willingly
concept rested on the notion
accepted a new online system
that better personal relation-
that helped speed up
ships allowed for a stronger
payments. Completely
understanding of the client,
Internet-based systems such as
and, through this
MyNetSales
understanding, the potential
.com propose suitability for
for greater amounts of long-
small businesses. These
term revenue could be
systems have the capability to
generated. As in most
streamline the sales processes
markets, the response of the
in companies with several
sales organization has been to
different offices since
create connections with
individual sites do not need
customers that enhance oppor-
their own servers (Riggs,
tunities for the buyer and
2000). Those sales
seller.
organizations able to construct
The specific type of
and utilize technology in a
technologies utilized by the ST
competitive sense within the
is of little strategic importance
sales field are likely to gain a
from the standpoint of the
sustainable advantage that will
organization. What is most
enhance existing and future
important is that because
buyer-seller connections. STs
technologies have, and always
offer unique opportunities and
will, change, organizations
challenges to the sales organi-
matically ensure that remain current in the needed
these professionals technologies of that time period.
Much like the salesperson of
the 70’s who became more
connected to
telecommunications (e.g.,
programs like “Phone
Power”), a similar type of role
transfor- mation will occur in
the next decade.
The role of this seller will,
in many cases, expand and be
more inclusive and participa-
tive in current technologies.
The move toward the ST is a
more formal recognition that
technologies need to be
increasingly incorporated into
the training and development
of sales organizations. As
such, technologies are not just
idle tools, but, instead, they
offer vibrant opportunities for
sellers to advance their
competitive causes. It is
critical in such environments
that sellers are able to
incorporate a variety of these
changing technologies into
their technological “tool
boxes,” as advancements
rapidly outdate new
innovations.
Of course, not all sales-
people, or their organizations,
will want or need their sellers
to become STs; however, it
appears that this role will
increasingly become merged
with the selling function, and
eventually most salespeople
will incorporate at least some
of the ST skills and
capabilities into their daily
functional responsibilities. In
the short-term, organizations
desiring this type of strategic
advantage will need to make
distinct structural decisions
that incorporate these skills
and knowledge into the selling
function. As such, the ST is a
unique professional offering an
array of qualities and skills.
Implications for Usage
of the Sales
Technologist
A number of implications
can be gathered from the
utilization of an ST. These
implications represent impacts
at the organizational and
managerial levels. These
implications are provided in
Table 1 and are discussed in
more detail following the
table.
As noted in Table 1, a
number of organizational and
managerial implications exist
as they relate to the utilization
of the ST. While these
implications address a number
of issues that are germane to
the selling organization, they
are also implications that
impact top management and

Table 1
Implications of the Sales Technologist

Organizational Implications
Organizational support from upper management needed
Challenges in measuring outcome performance
Managerial blending of technologies with other organizational
tactics and strategies

Managerial Implications
Must continuously educate and re-retrain employees of seller and
buyer in technologies
Impact on traditional monitoring (outcome versus behaviors based)
Inter-departmental educational responsibilities
Ability to move between positions and/or between companies
Technology provides a common connection point and mechanism
for communication within the selling organization and externally
with the buying organization

ultimately customers. As a result, selling organizations need to closely

consider these implications
before determining if the
utilization of a technologist is
in the best interest of the firm.
For the principle of the ST
to succeed, upper management
organizational support of the
concept is strongly needed.
Because sales personnel have
many conflicting responsi-
bilities, it is easy for sales
managers to minimize the
technology aspect of
salespeople. Upper manage-
ment must commit to the
concept of the ST, and this
commitment must be
expressed throughout the
organization to clarify that its
usage and continuance is a
dominant beacon.
One of the chief problems
of using STs remains in that
its usage represents a
“blended strategy” designed to
incur long-term results
through some sort of synergy.
What this suggests is that the
ST is not a stand-alone
strategy or tool but is, instead,
part of a bigger set of organi-
zational issues designed to
work in combination with
other assets. Seldom is
technology able to be a stand-
alone tool in the marketing
organization since it offers no
immediate advantages to
clients unless it is directly
linked with advantages
customers need. As a result,
technologies utilized to
advance selling strategies need
to be aligned with these
strategies, ensuring
consistency in assignments,
critical to provide the highest
degree of professional
principles, objectives, and
resources. For example, if
relational selling is the
selected message a seller
wishes to send buyers, the
usage of technology must be
crafted in such a manner to
ensure clients continue to
connect with the relationship
message. The biggest concern
in this regard is that it is easy
to separate issues and not
utilize technology as the
supporting strategy, but
instead make it the driving
force around which all other
issues revolve. Under such
conditions, the advantage of
technology to construct mean-
ingful support mechanisms
will lose its favor with the
customer.
Foremost, firms deciding
to utilize technology as part of
their selling strategies and
tools must accept the idea
that, from an organizational
perspective, such a decision
can be costly if it is deter-
mined by upper management
to position the sales organiza-
tion at the forefront of
technologies. A firm cannot
take the risk of becoming
committed to technologies as
part of the connection process
with customers and then, a
short period later, change this
decision. The decision to
utilize technology as an
integral aspect of internal
strategies should be viewed as
a long-term commitment.
Alterations in this approach
“mid-stream” will negatively
impact buyer-seller
relationships. Sellers can be
seen as fickle if they change
their positions on the usage of
education for clients,
which is likely, at least in
key buyer interconnection
tools. Similarly to being at the
front of the product life cycle,
the decision to utilize
technology aggressively in the
sales force suggests, from a
firm perspective, that the
seller is attempting to be a
“leader” in technological
advancements. Therefore,
being placed in the leader
category provides risk and
costs as part of the potential
returns to the firm.
Other more managerial
implications exist with the use
of the ST concept. As part of
the internal costs of adoption of
this strategy, and for sellers to
utilize an ST, the selling
organization encumbers
significant development and
related training responsibilities
for field personnel. If the
selling organization employs
personnel who do not have
current technological under-
standing and skills, the firm
has to develop these skills to
an acceptable level.
Correspondingly, if the
organization hires personnel
with these skills, it still incurs
the expensive responsibility of
maintaining this knowledge as
the requirements of technology
change. Further, part of the
advantage is in allowing
customers to benefit from the
usage of technology. This may
include the client actually
participating in the usage of
the technology, suggesting that
critical professional training,
maintenance, and preparations
for the utilization of the
technology will often fall into
the hands of the seller. Under
these circumstances, it is
part, to fall into the responsibility
domain of the seller.
 The measurement of the
STs’ success is one of the
factors that separates them
from other organizational
members. It is not likely,
however, that the issues of
quota and account
productivity will become
unimportant for these indivi-
duals. Instead, much like
account managers have in
many firms been directed
toward longer term outcome
measurement systems (less
immediate sales results
expected), it is possible that, if
a limited number of sales
personnel are designated as
STs, a restructuring of
outcome measurements may
be necessary for firms. For
instance, one of the
responsibilities of the ST
might be to work with other
salespeople implementing new
technologies into the sales
force. As a major objective,
the accomplishment of this
task will need to be measured.
The task should not be mini-
mized if it is to be successful.
The ST is the key for
linking sales and staff
personnel in implementing
new technologies in the field.
The ST should be utilized to
first determine the suitability
and acceptability of new field
technologies. Then, based on
successful field experiences,
he/she should be utilized as
an opinion maker in the
integration of technologies to
Marketing, 18(4-5): 419-
other sales professionals and
inter-departmental colleagues.
Again, such quasi-
management activities suggest
he/she needs to be on a
separate or different control
system.
Employees who represent
STs are individuals who are at
the introduction stage of the
product life cycle in terms of
application and usage of
technologies. These sales-
people will offer flexibility in
moving between positions in
and between business units.
As with the PLC, early stages
are more expensive to
maintain, and replacement can
be costly. Equally, competitive
firms will seek more rapid
remedies of perceived lost
marketplace positioning by
duplicating successful
strategies through the least
expensive manner possible
such as hiring away successful
Sts; however, once a selling
organization has made the
decision to utilize STs,
managers should be reminded
that in many respects
retention of current employees
is less expensive than
retraining and efforts to
maintain these resources
should be made.
Sales Technologists will
have to assume much of the
field training of internal and
external personnel. Forms of e-
learning modules are being
successfully implemented to
help salespeople understand
products at Fifth Third Bank
(Nelson, 2003). This type of
learning tool may be expanded
to assist participants of both
sides of the exchange. The STs
will be expected to enhance
434.
knowledge in the selling
organization as well as that of
customers. As a result, they
must be skilled communicators
who are able to build the
knowledge base of users in a
very non-threatening atmo-
sphere.
One of the real strengths
of STs is that they allow the
sales organization to cross
over to a variety of other
organizational and functional
levels through the language of
technology. Because tech-
nology is the language of the
next decade, it provides a
common connection point and
mechanism for internal
communications that seem to
be becoming prevalent.
Further, as customers become
increasingly more tech-
nologically demanding, the
technologist is able to reach
more of the client’s functional
areas through this common
language. In turn, STs are able
to construct a stronger linkage
with clients via a common
thread of “language.”
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 Leadership and Upward Influence:
A Survey of Business School Deans
J. Michael McDonald and Carl W. Gooding

An empirical study of how

business school deans use
“upward” influence tactics as
a leadership tool to get things
done has never appeared in
the research literature on
management. The purpose of
this study is to examine what
types of influence tactics
business school deans use
with their superiors. The
methodology includes
examining how frequently
deans used various upward
influence tactics and how
effective those tactics were
considered to be.
Additionally, the
researchers seek to compare the
tactics used by business school
deans to those used by
managers in general. Do
business school deans use the
same upward
J. Michael McDonald, Ph.D., is
director of Graduate Studies,
College of Business
Administration, Georgia Southern
University, Statesboro, GA
30460-8050.
Carl W. Gooding, Ph.D., is
professor of management,
College of Business, Jacksonville
State University, Anniston, AL,
36205.
person’s attitude, values,
influence tactics as other
managers? Are those tactics
used as frequently by deans as
by other managers? Are the
tactics used by deans viewed
as effective for managers?
While some might argue
business school deans are no
different than other managers
in terms of their leadership
styles and patterns of
behavior, the researchers
hypothesize otherwise.
Business managers generally
have clearly defined goals to
work toward such as
profitability, return on
investment, cost reduction,
productivity, and quality
improvements. Academic
deans, however, work in
environments in which the
goals are less clearly defined
and much more subject to
budgetary constraints and
philosophical differences.
Business school deans, in
particular, often report to
superiors whose backgrounds
are not in business. Those
superiors frequently do not
share the same goals, values,
points of view, or needs (e.g.,
AACSB accreditation) as
business deans. Hence, it is
incumbent upon the business
dean to learn how to lead
beliefs, or behaviors
“upward.” In a very real
sense, the business school
dean is leading upward as
resources are negotiated. To
be effective, the dean of
business must understand that
upward power (and influence)
is partly based on the ability
and willingness to use
influence tactics. To negotiate
for limited resources, an
effective dean will, by
necessity, have to appreciate
the upward influence nature of
leadership.
Literature Review
Power and Upward Influence
Leadership, influence, and
power are inextricably
linked. In fact, some scholars
think that understanding
power and the use of
influence might be the most
important concepts in all of
leadership (Burns, 1978;
Gardner, 1990; Hinkin &
Schriesheim, 1989). While the
concepts “power” and
“influence” are often used
synonymously, for this study,
power is defined as the
capacity to cause change.
Influence is the degree of
actual change in a target
(Hughes, Gannett, & Curphy,
2002). In one sense, power is
the potential that a leader has
to influence others. The
leader then uses influence
tactics, methods, and actual
behaviors to affect change in
others.
Several authors note that
successful managers expand
their power by learning how
“to influence someone higher
in the formal hierarchy of
authority in the organization”
(Kanter, 1983; Yukl & Falbe,
1990; Kotter, 1985; 1990).
Early research (Pelz, 1959)
suggests that upward influence
is a key factor in the effective-
ness of managers. Others
observe that the ability to
influence superiors can be
“acquired, enhanced, or
reduced” by a manager’s
behavior (Case, Dosier,
Murkison, & Keys, 1988;
Bartolome & Laurent, 1986).
Research has demon-
strated that leaders’
effectiveness with subordin-
ates depends heavily on their
abilities to develop upward
influence with superiors (Pelz,
1959; Bartolume & Laurent,
1986). Likewise, influence
with superiors depends on
the ability of a leader to
accom- plish things through
subordinates (Uyterhoeven,
1972; Ruello, 1973).
Consequently, the more the
leader enters into a set of
reciprocal relationships, the
more a resulting cycle
develops. As the leader
becomes more effective in
influencing the superior,
he/she will become more
effective with subordinates.
The reverse is equally true; as
the leader gains influence with
subordinates, influence will be
enhanced with the superior.
In terms of using
upward influence tactics
effectively, several empirical
studies offer strong support
for the idea that the most
effective leaders in
organizations understand
the nature of influence,
understand what influence
tactics are available to them,
and know “how” and
“when” to use those tactics
(Case et al., 1988; Kaplan,
1986; Kipnis & Schmidt,
1988; Mowday, 1978; Schilit
& Locke, 1982; Yukl & Falbe,
1990).
It is difficult to find
empirical data supporting
these conclusions. Numerous
articles have been published
in trade-oriented publications
like the Chronicle of Higher
Education, Selections (Gradu-
ate Management Admissions
Council–GMAC), and various
AACSB publications such as
Biz Ed. While these articles do
provide guidance and
interesting, anecdotal, case-
oriented advice, none has an
empirical, research-oriented
focus (Tyson, 2003; Bijoux,
2003; Schmotter, 1998).
One empirical study
found in the literature that
examined leadership among
business deans basically
examined clique formation
(Hartman, Lundberg, & Lee,
1997). In this study of 18
deans at AACSB schools, the
predictability in what causes
deans to form
communication cliques was
very limited. This
study attempted to identify
which factors might cause
business deans to form
informal networks. The
primary focus of this study
was how business school
deans form communication
cliques as a way of dealing
with changes in AACSB
guidelines. Location (i.e.,
proximity to another college)
and opinion similarity on
AACSB issues were the most
important factors related to
clique formation.
Research Methods
Based on the work of Keys
and Case (1990), ten upward
influence tactics identified in
similar surveys were used.
Preliminary field interviews
conducted among several
business deans (or retired
deans), yielded two additional
upward influence tactics.
These two tactics (“developing
and showing support of other
people” and “showing confid-
ence and support for my boss”)
were added to the survey.
Then a survey identifying
the twelve upward influence
methods (i.e., tactics) was
designed. The actual ordering
of these methods was random
to avoid affecting the resulting
rankings.
The surveys were admini-
stered to a group of business
school deans attending a meet-
ing of the Southern Business
Administrators Association.
This group meets semi-
annually to discuss issues of
importance to business school
leaders. While most of the
deans present were from
AACSB schools, not all of
them were. The deans repre-
sented a cross-section of
schools from large to small,
from private to public, and
mostly from the Southeastern
U.S. A 100 percent response
rate was obtained from the 53
deans participating in the
conference.
The survey asked the
deans to rank twelve influence
methods (tactics) from one to
twelve in terms of frequency
of use. For example, if a dean
used the tactic of “presenting
a rational explanation” with
his/her boss more than he/she
used any other tactic, he/she
was to rank that tactic as
number one. Then, the dean
was asked to identify the
second most frequently used
tactic. These rankings of
“frequencies of use” were
summed and divided by the
total number of deans res-
ponding. The result of this
was a rank ordering that could
be compared to the Case et al.
(1988) study of managers.
This same ranking proce-
dure was used to identify how
effective the deans found each
influence tactic. Similar proce-
dures were used to sum the
individual rankings and a
mean response was calculated.
The resulting sum totals and
mean rankings are shown in
Table 1.
Survey Results
As the results show in
Table 2, the most frequently
used tactic for deans influ-
encing their own bosses was to
“present a rational explana-
tion” for what was needed.
This is consistent with
research with other types of
leaders and in other types of
settings, be it in the not-for-
profit or for-profit sectors. In
fact, most of the influence
literature suggests that direct,
simple, rational, logical
explanation for why something
is needed tends to be the most
effective tactic with any
“direction” of influence, i.e.,
with subordinates, peers,
customers, etc.
The next most frequently
used tactic was, surprisingly,
to “tell, argue, or talk without
support.” The ranking of this
tactic was surprising since it
was assumed that the deans
as a group would be less
likely to be this forceful so
quickly without exhausting
other tactics; however, in
defense of deans, other
surveys suggest that
managers in general tend to
quickly move into the
“telling-arguing” tactic if
their first tactic does not
achieve results (Case et al.,
1988). As seen in Table 1, the
third most frequently used
tactic was to “use other
people as a plat- form to
present ideas.” This tactic,
while used more frequently
by the deans, is the sixth
most used tactic by managers
in general (Case et al., 1988).
Since the third, fourth, and
fifth most frequently used
tactics by the deans also
involved people issues, it
might be that business deans
place a much greater
emphasis on human relations
and collegial behavior than
do managers in other
settings. The deans in
this study ranked “threatening”
the boss as the least frequently
used tactic. This is consistent
with other studies of upward
influence. The dean in an
academic environment has
learned to be “collegial” (if
nothing else) with his/her
superior, even when the
dean’s requests are turned
down.
One particularly
interesting result from this
survey of deans is that all 53
ranked “threatening the
boss” as the least used of any
of the tactics. This does
suggest that business deans
are slightly different from the
managers in the Case et al.
(1988) study. (Their study
found that “offering to trade
favors or concessions” with
their bosses was the least
used upward influence
tactic.)
The effectiveness of the
influence methods/tactics are
shown in Table 2 as well.
Consistent with other surveys,
the deans ranked “presenting
a rational explanation” to your
boss as the most effective
tactic; however, after this
tactic, the effectiveness
rankings do not match the
frequency rankings on items
“b” through “h.” For example,
while the deans ranked
“telling, arguing, or talking
without support” as their
second most frequently used
tactic, they ranked it fifth in
terms of effectiveness. Like-
wise, “presenting a complete
plan to your boss” was
seventh in frequency, yet
second in terms of effective-
ness.
Discussion
The biggest difference
between deans and executives
appears to be the time devoted
to “presenting complete
plans.” Industry managers
ranked “presenting a complete
plan” as their third most used
tactic, while deans ranked it
seventh. Industry managers
ranked “presenting an
example of parallel situations”
as the fourth most frequently
used, while deans ranked it
eighth. Clearly, the deans in
this study do differ from other
leaders in terms of their
frequency of presenting
complete plans and examples
from parallel situations. This
may be an area in which deans
could become more effective
as leaders.
For example, a surprising
finding in this survey was
learning how quickly business
deans shift to a tactic of
“telling, arguing, or talking
without support.” Since the
researchers were able to
summarize the data from the
surveys and feed it back to the
deans before they adjourned
Table 1
Influence Methods*
from their meeting, it was
interesting to hear one dean’s
explanation: “I suppose we all
know what we ought to be
doing, but sometimes we’re
only human and fail to do it.”
These survey results
suggest that most deans of
business schools are like their
counterparts in industry.
Clearly, followup research
needs to be done with a larger
sample. An interesting
possibility would be to
compare deans of business
schools to their peer deans in

To Influence your boss … How frequently How effective is

do you use this this tactic?
tactic?

Sum Mean Sum Mean

Total Ranking Total Ranking

a. Presenting a rational explanation 84 1.6 64 1.2

b. Telling, arguing, or talking without support 117 2.2 296 5.6

c. Using other people as a platform 137 2.6 202 3.8

d. Developing and showing support of other people (e.g., 219 4.1 370 6.9
employees, staff, faculty, alumni, etc.)

e. Showing confidence and support for my boss 286 5.4 425 8.0

f. Using persistence and repetition 347 6.5 219 4.1

g. Presenting a complete plan 391 7.4 150 2.8

h. Presenting an example of parallel situation 455 8.6 213 4.0

i. Listening, offering advice, or soliciting advice 463 8.7 447 8.4

j. Offering to trade favors or concessions 478 9.0 569 10.7

k. Using manipulative techniques 552 10.4 544 10.3

l. Threatening 636 12.0 625 11.8

* The “Sum Total” was calculated by adding all individual rankings of the 53 deans. The “Mean” was
calculated by dividing the “Sum Total” by the number of deans responding (N = 53).
 Table 2
Influence Methods

To Influence your boss … How frequently do How effective is

you use this tactic? this tactic?

Deans Managers* Deans Managers*

a. Presenting a rational explanation 1 1 1 1

b. Telling, arguing, or talking without support 2 2 5 2

c. Using other people as a platform 3 6 3 6

d. Developing and showing support of other people (e.g., 4 7 7 7

employees, staff, faculty, alumni, etc.)

e. Showing confidence and support for my boss 5 N/A+ 8 N/A+

f. Using persistence and repetition 6 5 6 5

g. Presenting a complete plan 7 3 2 3

h. Presenting an example of parallel situation 8 4 4 4

i. Listening, offering advice, or soliciting advice 9 N/A+ 9 N/A+

j. Offering to trade favors or concessions 10 10 11 10

k. Using manipulative techniques 11 8 10 9

l. Threatening 12 9 12 8

* Case et al., 1988

+
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to the deans survey because in this study’s field interviews, several deans mentioned that “showing confidence
and support for my boss” and “listening and offering advice” were important methods. These tactics were not
used in the Case et al. study.

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