Selling and Sales Management Special Interest Group

The core values of the Sales SIG include knowledge generation, leading-edge research and teaching approaches, integration of academic and practitioner perspectives into research and teaching, continuous quality improvements and faculty development, close collaboration with companies, and the attraction of new Ph.D. students to the sales area.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual who has made meaningful contributions to the academic sales discipline over a long period of time.

Past Winners

2024 – Andrea Dixon, Baylor University
2023 – Dominique Rouzies, HEC Paris
2022 – Dr. Michael Ahearns, University of Houston
2020 – Dr. Sönke Albers, KLU
2019 – Jagdip Singh, Case Western Reserve University
2018 – Greg Marshall, Rollins College
2017 – Rene Darmon, ESSEC
2016 – Eli Jones, Texas A&M University
2015 – Ken Evans, Lamar University
2014 – Jim Boles, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
2013 – Bill Moncrief, Texas Christian University
2012 – Dr. William Cron, Texas Christian University
2011 – Dr. Raymond “Buddy” LaForge
2010 – Dr. Tom Ingram, Colorado State University
2009 – Dr. Larry Chonko, University of Texas at Arlington
2008 – Dr. William D. Perreault, Jr., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2007 – Dr. Rosann L. Spiro, Indiana University
2006 – Dr. Thomas Leigh, University of Georgia
2005 – Dr. Charles M. Futrell, Texas A&M University
2004 – Dr. Thomas Wotruba, San Diego State University
2003 – Dr. Barton A. Weitz , University of Florida
2002 – Dr. David W. Cravens, Texas Christian University
2001 – Dr. Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Neil M. Ford, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Orville C. Walker, Jr., University of Minnesota
2000 – Dr. William J. Stanton, University of Colorado
1999 – Dr. Marvin A. Jolson, University of Maryland

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Award

The Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Competition is sponsored by the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA). This dissertation proposal competition is held annually and recognizes the best doctoral dissertation proposals in the area of selling and sales management. 

Doctoral Dissertation Award Competition

The Doctoral Dissertation Award competition is now sponsored by the Sales Excellence Institute at the University of Houston and the winner will receive a cash award of $1,500. The competition is open to anyone having completed a doctoral degree 2 years. The primary focus of the dissertation must involve professional selling and/or sales management.

Previous Winners

2024 – First Place: Aline Lanzrath
Runner Up: Florian Gasser                         

2023 – First Place: Victoria Kramer
Runner Up: Howard Hao Wang

2022: Dr. Irene Nahm, University of Houston and Dr. Mohsen, Pourmasoudi, University of Houston

2021 First Place: Mohammad Sakif Amin
Runner-Up: Sara Fraccastoro

2020 First Place: Valerie Good
Runner-Up: Dayle Childs

2019 First Place: Raghu Bommaraju
Runner-Up: Rushana Khusainova

2018 First Place: Bert Paesbrugghe
Runner-up: Christopher Nelson

2017 First Place: Maria Rouziou, Vanderbilt University
Runner-up: Wyatt Schrock, West Virginia University

2016 First Place: Sarah Magnotta, Towson State University
Runner-up: Bryan Hochstein, University of Alabama

2015 First Place: Jeffrey P. Boichuk
Runner-up: James “Mick” Andzulis

Excellence in Research Award

The Excellence in Research Award is intended to recognize the author(s) of a professional selling and/or sales management article, published during the previous year that has made a significant contribution to the sales discipline.

Past Winners

2024 – Satornino, Cinthia B., Alexis Allen, Huanhuan Shi, and Willy Bolander. “Understanding the performance effects of “Dark” salesperson traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy.” Journal of Marketing 87, no. 2 (2023): 298-318.

2023 – Nahm, Irene Y., Michael J. Ahearne, Nick Lee, and Seshadri Tirunillai. “Managing positive and negative trends in sales call outcomes: The role of momentum.” Journal of Marketing Research 59, no. 6 (2022): 1120-1140.

2022 – Dr. Justin Lawrence, Dr. Lisa Scheer, Dr. Son Lam, and Dr. Andrew Crecelius for their Journal of Marketing article Lawrence, J. M., Scheer, L. K., Crecelius, A. T., & Lam, S. K. (2021). Salesperson dual agency in price negotiations. Journal of Marketing, 85(2), 89-109.

2021 – Yashar Atefi, Michael Ahearne, Sebastian Hohenberg, Zachary Hall & Florian Zettelmeyer for their JMR article, “Open Negotiation: The Back-End Benefits of Salespeople’s Transparency in the Front End.”

2020 – Drs. Jeffrey Boichuk (University of Virginia), Raghu Bommaraju (Indian School of Business), Michael Ahearne (University of Houston), Florian Kraus (University of Mannheim) and Thomas Steenburgh (University of Virginia) for their article “Managing Laggards: The Importance of a Deep Sales Bench,” Journal of Marketing Research 56, no. 4 (2019): 652-665.

2019 – Atefi, Y., Ahearne, M., Maxham, J. G., Donavan, D. T., & Carlson, B. D. (2018). Does Selective Sales Force Training Work? Journal of Marketing Research, 55(5), 722–737.

2018 – Nikolaos G. Panagopoulos, Adam A. Rapp, and Jessica L. Ogilvie (2017), “Salesperson Solution Involvement and Sales Performance: The Contingent Role of Supplier Firm and Customer–Supplier Relationship Characteristics.” Journal of Marketing, 81(4), 144-164.

2017 – Plouffe, Christopher R., Willy Bolander, Joseph A. Cote, and Bryan Hochstein (2016), “Does the customer matter most? Exploring strategic frontline employees’ influence of customers, the internal business team, and external business partners,” Journal of Marketing, 80 (1), 106-123.

2016 (two winners) – Bolander, Willy, Cinthia Satornino, Doug Hughes, and Gerald Ferris (2015), “Social Networks Within Sales Organizations: Their Development and Importance for Salesperson Performance,” Journal of Marketing 79 (6), 1-16.

2016 (two winners) – Hall, Zachary, Michael Ahearne, and Harish Sujan (2015), “The Importance of Starting Right: The Influence of Accurate Intuition on Performance in Salesperson–Customer Interactions,” Journal of Marketing 79 (2), 91–109.

2015 – Mullins, Ryan, Michael Ahearne, Son K. Lam, Zachary R. Hall, and Jeffrey P. Boichuk (2014), “Know Your Customer: How Salesperson Perceptions of Customer Relationship Quality Form and Influence Account Profitability,” Journal of Marketing, 78(6), 38-58.

2014 – Kishore, Sunil, Raghunath Singh Rao, Om Narasimhan, and George John (2013) Bonuses versus Commissions: A Field Study,” Journal of Marketing Research, 50 (3), 317-333.

2013 – Wieseke, Jan, Florian Kraus, Michael Ahearne, and Sven Mikolon (2012), “Multiple Identification Foci and Their Countervailing Effects on Salespeople’s Negative Headquarters Stereotypes,” Journal of Marketing, 76 (3), 1-20.

2012 – Willem Verbeke, Bart Dietz, and Ernst Verwaal (2011), “Drivers of Sales Performance: A Contemporary Meta-Analysis. Have Salespeople Become Knowledge Brokers?,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39, 407-428.

2011 – Hughes, Doug and Michael Ahearne (2010) “Energizing the Reseller’s Sales Force: The Power of Brand Identification,” Journal of Marketing, 74 (4).

2010 – Rouziès, Dominque, Anne T. Coughlan, Erin Anderson and Dawn Iacobucci (2009) “Determinants of Pay Levels and Structures in Sales Organizations,” Journal of Marketing

2009 – Zoltners, Andris A., Prabhakant Sinha, and Sally E. Lorimer (2008) “Sales Force Effectiveness: A Framework for Researchers and Practitioners,” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 28(2), 115-131.

2008 – Gary K. Hunter, Case Western Reserve University and William D. Perreault, Jr., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Making Sales Technology Effective,” Journal of Marketing, 71 (Issue 1, January 2007), 16-34.

2007 – Franke, George R. and Jeong-Eun Park (2006), “Salesperson Adaptive Selling Behavior and Customer Orientation: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Marketing Research, 43 (November), 693-702.

Sales Teacher of the Year Award

This award recognizes excellence in sales teaching. This competition provides a forum for outstanding teachers to share their classroom excellence with colleagues from around the world.

Previous Winners

2024 – Tim Butler, Southeastern Louisiana University

2023 – Zach Hall, Texas Christian University

2022 – Adam Rapp, Ohio University

2021 – Riley Dugan, The University of Dayton

2020 – Gregory Rich, Bowling Green State University

2019 – Stephanie Mangus, Baylor University

2018 – Chuck Viosca, Florida State University

2017 – Stefanie Boyer, Bryant University

2016 – Joel LeBon, University of Houston

2015 – D. Joel Whalen, DePaul

2014 – Andrea Dixon, Baylor University

2013 – Concha Allen, Central Michigan University

2012 – Charles Futrell, Texas A&M University

2011 – Rob Peterson, Northern Illinois University

2010 – Doug Hughes, Michigan State University

2009 (inaugural year) – Jon Hawes, Indiana State University

Don McBane Special Recognition Award

Donald Angus McBane, PhD, October 1, 1946 – October 15, 2006

Dr. Donald Angus McBane was a professor at Central Michigan University in the Department of Marketing and Hospitality Services Administration. He started at CMU in August 1997 after seven years at Clemson University. He got his PhD from Texas Tech, writing a dissertation titled “Understanding Customer Needs: A Reconceptualization of Empathy and Its Effects on Sales Outcomes.”

Don had extensive “real world” experience in several marketing fields: as a District Executive with the Boy Scouts of America, as a free-lance photographer working out of New York City, and as a manager for Sears, Roebuck & Co. He also served as a sergeant in the United States Army, seeing action in Vietnam and Cambodia.

He taught the sales courses at Central Michigan University: both personal selling and sales management classes. His research appeared in Psychology and Marketing, The Journal of Marketing Education, the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Marketing Education Review, Advances in Health Care Research, the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and various national proceedings, twice being awarded a Best Paper Award at the National Conference in Sales Management and at the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Conference.

Although he undoubtedly touched many students, perhaps Don’s largest contribution to the sales academy was at the intersection of his love for technology, his professional service, and his attitude. He designed and maintained the Web sites for the CMU Department of Marketing, the Sales Special Interest Group (SalesSIG) of the American Marketing Association, the National Conference in Sales Management, the Journal of Personal Selling and Sale Management, and the Southern Marketing Association. He also designed the Web sites for the Clemson University Department of Marketing and the Journal of Advertising.

Previous Winners
2024 – William B. Locander, Louisiana Tech University

2020 – Dr. Murali Mantrala, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri

2017 – Leff Bonney, Florida State University

2014 – Ellen Bolman Pullins, University of Toledo

2011 – Scott Inks, Ball State University

2009 – Jon Hawes, Indiana State University

2007 – Greg W. Marshall, Rollins College and Ronald E. Michaels, University of Central Florida

2006 – Robin Diamond, Academic Program Director, Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF)

2005 – Raymond “Buddy” LaForge, University of Louisville

2004 – Dr. Joe Bellizzi, Arizona State University

2003 – Dr. Donald A. McBane, Central Michigan University

2002 – Dr. Terry W. Loe, Kennesaw State University

Selling and Sales Management Chair
Scott Friend
Miami University
friendsb@miamioh.edu

Selling and Sales Management Chair Elect & Vice Chair
Stephanie Magnus
Baylor University
stephanie_mangus@baylor.edu

Selling and Sales Management Vice Chair of Programming
Huanhuan Shi
Texas A&M University
hshi@mays.tamu.edu

Selling and Sales Management Vice Chair of Programming
Colleen McClure
University of Alabama – Birmingham
cemcclur@uab.edu

Selling and Sales Management Vice Char of Recognition & Awards
Eric Swan
Baylor University
eric_swan@baylor.edu

Selling and Sales Management Vice Chair of Communications
Maria Rouziou
Texas A&M University
maria.rouziou@tamu.edu

Selling and Sales Management Vice Chair of Finance & Development
Ellen Pullins
University of Toledo
ellen.pullins@utoledo.edu

Selling and Sales Management Immediate Past Chair
Cathering (Katy) Johnson
University of Toledo
catherine.johnson3@utoledo.edu