Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Management

Program Name/Specialization

Marketing

Faculty/School

Lazaridis School of Business and Economics

First Advisor

Dr. Nicole Coviello

Advisor Role

Supervisor

Abstract

Enduring commercial success of entrepreneurial ventures is often associated with effective selling and an ability to navigate dynamic environments. However, two challenges stand out: 1) effectively managing cross-functional integration of sales with other value-creating organizational functions, given that selling in the contemporary organization is a multi-actor, strategic effort, and 2) being resilient to environmental disruptions, given the increasing frequency of their occurrence. I take a sales enablement perspective to focus on themes which are essential to optimizing sales performance in entrepreneurial ventures. The first theme focuses on internal social capital embedded in the cross-functional relationships of the sales, marketing, and R&D, functions. The second addresses resilience at the organizational and individual levels.

These themes are explored across two essays. The first essay views organizational resilience of entrepreneurial ventures as a resource-based capability. I examine psychological capital (individual resilience of members of top management) and internal social capital (inter-functional coordination among sales, marketing, and R&D) as drivers of organizational resilience. I also study the influence of organizational resilience on the sales performance of entrepreneurial ventures amidst an adverse external disruption.

Cross-functional integration is central to the sales enablement perspective. Therefore, the second essay builds on the findings from the first to conduct an extensive analysis of internal social capital among sales, marketing, and R&D. Across two interrelated studies, this essay draws on the social capital and social identity theories to show how the structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of social capital are linked with employees’ organizational identification.

Across four chapters, I discuss the theoretical and managerial contributions derived from the findings of this dissertation and outline the resultant opportunities for future research.

Convocation Year

2023

Convocation Season

Fall

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Available for download on Tuesday, July 01, 2025

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