A1 - Customer Value Opportunity Recognition in Value-Creating Sales

以价值为中心的商业模式的核心目标是使客户的使用价值最大化。为了实现这一目标，作为关键的、不可或缺的第一步，工业供应商需要为客户确定创造价值的潜力。在本研究项目中，我们将工业供应商在客户流程中识别价值创造潜力的关键能力称为价值机会识别(VOR)。作为公司面向客户的主要边界扳手和面孔，销售人员肩负着对工业客户进行准确、深入了解的根本责任。因此，VOR代表了销售队伍在创造价值的销售中的核心任务，也是以价值为中心的商业模式销售过程中的第一个重要步骤。尽管VOR与商业市场相关，但到目前为止，在市场营销和销售研究方面，VOR还没有得到充分的理解。虽然在企业对消费者的背景下确定价值潜力通常得到了很好的探索，但销售人员对以价值为中心的商业模式的VOR还没有得到充分的研究。这种研究状态确定了A1项目的起点，该项目展示了三个目标。在目标1中，该项目努力为创造价值的销售中的VOR过程和VOR过程的结构质量制定一个概念。目标2旨在检查在以价值为中心的商业模式中，影响销售人员VOR质量的销售队伍因素。最终，目标3旨在探索不同市场和组织情况下销售人员VOR质量的后果。为了实现这些目标，项目A1在三年的时间里包括五个工作模块。在模块1，针对目标1，我们试图通过全面的文献概述和与实践者的专家访谈，为项目A1建立坚实的概念基础。模块2全面准备定量实地研究，以探索目标2和3中描述的VOR质量的驱动因素和后果。为此，模块2包括以下步骤：确定实地研究的设计(可能是多来源的调查研究)，制定测量量表，特别是VOR过程的质量，以及创建调查。模块3侧重于规划和执行前一模块中构思的量化研究。具体地说，我们将收购参与公司，准备研究，并最终执行研究。模块4包括对收集的数据进行验证和分析，以验证我们在模块3中提出的假设。为此，在本模块中，我们将编辑数据、分析数据并报告结果。最后，在模块5中，我们将与科学界讨论我们的分析并发布结果。

The core goal of value-centred business models is to maximize value in use for customers. To achieve this goal, as a critical, indispensable first step, industrial suppliers need to identify value creation potentials for customers. In this research project, we refer to this crucial capability of industrial suppliers to identify value creation potentials in customers´ processes as value opportunity recognition (VOR). As the primary boundary spanner and face of the company to the customer, the sales force bears fundamental responsibility for acquiring a precise, sophisticated understanding of industrial customers. Consequently, VOR represents a core task of the sales force in value-creating sales and a first important step in selling processes of value-centred business models. Despite its relevance in business markets, to date, in marketing and sales research VOR is not adequately understood. While the identification of value potentials in business-to-consumer contexts is generally well explored, VOR by the sales force for value-centred business models has not been sufficiently examined. This state of research sets the starting point of project A1, which exhibits three goals. In Goal 1, this project strives to develop a concept for the VOR process in value-creating sales and for the construct quality of the VOR process. Goal 2 seeks to examine sales force factors that are affecting salespeople’s quality of VOR in value-centred business models. Eventually, Goal 3 aims at exploring consequences of quality of salespeople’s VOR in different market and organizational situations.To achieve these goals, project A1 comprises five work modules over a period of three years. In Module 1, addressing Goal 1, we seek to build a solid conceptual basis for the project A1 through a comprehensive literature overview and expert interviews with practitioners.Module 2 comprehensively prepares the quantitative field study to explore drivers and consequences of quality of VOR delineated in Goal 2 and 3. For this purpose, Module 2 comprises the steps of determining the design of the field study (likely a multi-source survey study), developing measurement scales, especially, quality of the VOR process, and creating the surveys.Module 3 focuses on planning and executing the quantitative studies conceptualised in the previous module. Specifically, we will acquire participating companies, prepare the study, and ultimately execute the study.Module 4 comprises the validation and analysis of the collected data to test our hypotheses developed in module 3. To this end, in this module we will edit the data, analyse the data, and report the results.Eventually, in Module 5, we will discuss our analyses with the scientific community and publish the results.