Abstract
Industrial selling processes are complex phenomena. The involvement of diverse persons and the prevalence of service elements in integrated sales offerings have meant that collaboration and dialogue are now essential aspects of any successful selling process. The present study is based on the premise that these essential aspects of contemporary industrial selling processes have not been sufficiently conceptualised in the extant literature and that new concepts are therefore required. In particular, relevant new concepts that are based on the personal experiences of the actors involved in the selling process are urgently needed. Grounded-theory methodology was chosen for this inductive study because this approach is especially suitable for the development of empirically based concepts derived from the real-life experiences of involved actors who are addressing their issues of concern. The substantive theory that is subsequently produced by this grounded-theory approach posits a core category of ‘business manoeuvring’ as the basic social process whereby the involved actors resolve their main concern-which is the conduct of effective business. This resolution is achieved within the core category of ‘business manoeuvring’ by the judicious management of mutually dependent and complementary activities, which are reflected in the other categories of the substantive theory-(i) ‘business standardisation’; (ii) ‘business fraternisation’; (iii) ‘personalisation’; and (iv) ‘probationary business rationalisation’. A comparison of the present study’s substantive theory with alternative models in the literature reveals that the broader scope and integration of the proposed substantive theory provides it with greater explanatory power than extant models; however, it is acknowledged that the proposed theory lacks the detailed depth of other models. The successful development of a substantive theory that grasps the main concern of the involved actors and adequately describes its continuous resolution means that this study has achieved its primary purpose of developing empirically based, actor-related concepts that provide an enhanced understanding of the theory and practice of complex selling processes in contemporary industrial markets.