Harnessing Internal Support to Enhance Customer Relationships: The Role of Networking, Helping, and Allocentrism

This research uses social problem theory to examine how salespeople obtain the internal support to address the needs of customers. We propose effectiveness in coordinating internal resources is related to customer relationship quality and subsequent performance. Salespeople can enhance their internal support by engaging in internal networking and helping behaviors. We also introduce allocentrism, a relatively stable, trait-like predisposition to value relationships with others. Allocentrism of salespeople is related to salespeople's tendency to engage in internal networking and helping behaviors as well as external customer-oriented selling behaviors. The proposed relationships are supported by data collected from surveys of 326 salespeople.