Power, Interdependence and Influence in Marketing Manager/Sales Manager Working Relationships

Abstract

Relationships between Marketing Managers and Sales Managers are amongst the most important working relationships within modern firms, though to date, these have received little attention in the literature. Our study adds to knowledge of this working relationship by examining the effects of Sales unit power, total interdependence between Marketing and Sales, and the type and effects of the influence tactics employed by Sales Managers in this important CFR. Our results suggest that not all influence tactics are effective in increasing a Sales Manager’s influence within the firm. Also, our findings provide support for the notion that managers of powerful departments are less likely to spend time and effort using influence tactics to secure peer managers’ cooperation and compliance. Conversely, where peer managers are highly interdependent, they will increase their use of a wide array of influence tactics to secure desired outcomes.