School of Business Administration

The Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management (JPSSM), esteemed globally for its scholarly publications on selling and sales management, recently recognized the outstanding contributions of faculty members from the University of Dayton's School of Business Administration (SBA). The 2023 JPSSM  awards saw SBA faculty members securing three prestigious accolades, underscoring their exceptional research and impact in the field.

James Comer Award for Best Contribution to Sales Theory

Winner: Riley Dugan, alongside Valentina Ortiz Ubal and Maura L. Scott, earned this accolade for their paper titled, "Sales well-being: A salesperson-focused framework for individual, organizational, and societal well-being" (Dugan, Ortiz Ubal, & Scott, 2023). This work presents a comprehensive framework addressing the well-being of salespeople, emphasizing its importance at various levels.

Marvin Jolson Award for Best Contribution to Sales Practice

Winner: Scott Friend, with co-authors Peter Nguyen, Kevin Chase, and Jeff Johnson, were honored for their paper, "Analyzing sales proposal rejections via machine learning" (Nguyen, Friend, Chase, & Johnson, 2023). This research leverages machine learning to dissect the reasons behind sales proposal rejections, providing practical insights for sales managers.

USCA/JPSSM Award for Best Conceptual Paper

Runner-up: Riley Dugan, together with Nawar N. Chaker, Edward Nowlin, Dawn Deeter-Schmelz, Deva Rangarajan, Raj Agnihotri, and Omar S. Itani, was recognized for their paper, "Preparing for, withstanding, and learning from sales crises: Implications and a future research agenda" (Dugan et al., 2023). This paper outlines strategies for managing and learning from sales crises, setting the stage for future research in this domain. Additionally, It was featured in the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Research Database.

Runner-up: Another paper co-authored by Riley Dugan, titled "Sales technology research: a review and future research agenda" (Agnihotri et al., 2023), also secured the runner-up position. Co-authored with Raj Agnihotri, Nawar N. Chaker, John M. Galvan, and Edward Nowlin, this work provides a thorough review and a forward-looking agenda for research on sales technology.

Faculty Highlights

Dr. Scott B. Friend holds the Lucille M. Schaefer and Norman M. Schaefer Endowed Chair in Marketing at the University of Dayton. His research is guided by helping organizations improve sales team performance. Specific topics of interest include value co-creation in buyer-seller relationships, intra-organizational relationships, sales failure analysis, and key account management.

Dr. Riley Dugan is Professor and Chairperson for the Department of Management and Marketing at the School of Business Administration. His research interests span sales well-being, sales crises management, and sales technology, reflecting his significant contributions to the field through both theory and practice.

The University of Dayton's School of Business Administration continues to make significant strides in the realm of sales and sales management research, as demonstrated by the recent achievements of its faculty members in the JPSSM awards. Their innovative work not only advances academic knowledge but also provides valuable insights for practitioners in the field.

“I love conducting research that has practical application both for students and real-world sales professionals. Bridging the gap between theory and practice is very important to me, and I am appreciative that I work at a University that emphasizes this.” - Dr. Riley Dugan

Congratulations to Riley Dugan, Scott Friend, and their collaborators for their exceptional contributions and well-deserved recognition!