Design of an integrated marketing and sales approach for the B2B industry - using an integration model

The doctoral thesis investigated the collaboration between the functional units of Marketing and Sales because this subject is highly relvant for academic research as well for professional practice. In case the Marketing-Sales interface has dysfunctional conflicts, e. g. in cross-functional communication or coordination of tasks and processes, it creates problems and this could cause a negative impact on business results of the company. Therefore, the aim of the research study was to explore the Marketing-Sales Interface and to derive conclusions in order to improve the collaboration. The empirical research study investigated the Marketing-Sales interface in B2B companies of different sizes and from various industry sectors. The research setting comprised the Managers from Marketing and Sales and their subordinates. The thesis identified a set of Integration Mechanisms and Integration Factors which were found to improve Marketing-Sales integration. More over, an Integration Model was developed and validated to measure the collaboration between Marketing and Sales and to visualize the level of Marketing-Sales Integration. These findings can be considered as contribution to academic theory and to professional practice.