Resource orchestration and dynamic managerial capabilities: focusing on sales managers as effective resource orchestrators

Resource-based theory (RBT) posits that firms gain competitive advantage through bundles of valuable and rare resources and sustain that advantage over time when such resources are difficult to imitate or nonsubstitutable by competitors. Recent applications of RBT emphasize the role of managers in mobilizing and leveraging organizational resources and capabilities for achieving business objectives. The purpose of this research is to advance the sales literature by applying learning from two specific perspectives based on RBT that focus explicitly on managerial actions pertaining to resources and capabilities: resource orchestration and dynamic managerial capabilities. These perspectives provide insights into the role of sales managers as orchestrators of sales and nonsales resources for achieving sales, organizational, and customer outcomes. Consistent with the stated purpose, this research provides (1) a review of research on resources and capabilities in the sales literature, (2) an overview of resource orchestration and related research, (3) an overview of dynamic managerial capabilities and related research, (4) a research agenda and propositions based on research orchestration and dynamic managerial capabilities for further investigation on the role of sales managers as effective resource orchestrators in sales organizations.