Michael Ahearne

Michael Ahearne is a Professor of Marketing and C.T. Bauer Chair in Marketing at the University of Houston. He is also the Research Director of the Stagner Sales Excellence Institute.

Mike's research has primarily focused on improving the performance of salespeople and sales organizations. He has published over 50 articles in leading journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. The American Marketing Association has recognized Mike as one of the most research-productive scholars in the field of marketing. His research has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Business 2.0, Business Investors Daily, Forbes, Fortune, INC Magazine, and many other news outlets.

Mike's book Selling Today: Partnering to Create Customer Value is the highest-grossing professional-selling textbook in the world, with copies being distributed in over forty countries. Paired with the many teaching awards he has won at the MBA and undergraduate levels in Sales, Sales Management, and Key Account Management, Mike has a proven track record of excellence when it comes to disseminating knowledge in his field.

He has consulted with over 200 companies in industries such as insurance, health care, consumer packaged goods, technology, and transportation. Mike was recently honored as the inaugural winner of the Sales Education Foundation Research Dissemination Award for the impact of his research on business practice.

Before entering academia, Mike played professional baseball for the Montreal Expos and worked in marketing research and sales operations for Eli Lilly and PCS Healthcare. He was also a partner at ZS Associates, the largest global sales and marketing consulting firm.

Education

• INDIANA UNIVERSITY
  PhD - Marketing/Decision Sciences
  MS - Marketing/Decision Sciences
• WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
  MBA - Operations Management
  BS - Mathematics with Distinction

Research Interests

• Sales Force Effectiveness
• Sales Management
• Internal Marketing
• Relationship Marketing
• Innovation
• Incentives and Motivation

Courses

• Professional Selling
• Sales Management
• Key Account Selling
• Negotiation
• Research Methods
• Market Research

Selected Publications

• SELECTED PUBLICATIONS FROM LAST 10 YEARS - FOR DOWNLOADABLE VERSIONS OF ALL OF DR. AHEARNE'S PUBLICATIONS GO TO: http://ssrn.com/author=1437140
• Nahm, Irene, Michael Ahearne, Nick Lee, and Seshadri Tirunillai (2022), "Managing Positive and Negative Trends in Sales Call Outcomes: The Role of Momentum" Journal of Marketing Research,59(6),1120–1140.
• Wiseman, Philip, Michael Ahearne, Zachary Hall, and Seshadri Tirunillai (2022), "Onboarding Salespeople: Socialization Approaches" Journal of Marketing, 86(6), 13–31.
• Ahearne, Michael, Yashar Atefi, Son Lam and Mohsen Pourmasoudi (2021), "The Future of Buyer-Seller Interactions: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50 (1), 22-45.
• Vaid, Shashank, Michael Ahearne, and Ryan Krause, (2021) "Operations-Related Structural Flux: Firm Performance Effects of Executives' Appointments and Exits" Production and Operations Management, 30(7), 2188-2210.
• Atefi, Yashar, Michael Ahearne, Zach Hall, Sebastian Hohenberg, and Florian Zettelmeyer, (2020), "Open Negotiation: The Backend Benefits of Salespeople's Transparency in The Frontend," Journal of Marketing Research, 57(6), 1076-1094.
• Boichuk, Jeffrey, Raghu Bommaraju, Michael Ahearne, Florian Kraus, and Thomas Steenburgh, (2019), "Motivating Laggards: The Importance of a Deep Sales Bench" Journal of Marketing Research, 56(4), 652-655.
• Bommaraju Raghu, Michael Ahearne, Ryan Kraus, and Seshadri Tirunillai (2019), "Does a Customer on the Board of Directors Affect Business-to-Business Firm Performance?" Journal of Marketing, 83(1) 8-23.
• Thomas Steenburgh and Michael Ahearne (2018), "How to Sell New Products," Harvard Business Review, November/December, 92-101.
• Atefi, Yashar, Michael Ahearne, James Maxham, Todd Donavan and Brad Carlson (2018), "Does Selective Sales Force Training Work?," Journal of Marketing Research, 55(5), 722-737.
• Bommaraju, Raghuram, Michael Ahearne, Zachary Hall, and Seshadri Tirunillai (2018), "The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Sales Force," Journal of Marketing Research, 55 (2), 254-264.
• Hayati, Babak, Yashar Atefi and Michael Ahearne (2018), "Sales Force Leadership During Strategy Implementation: A Social Network Perspective," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46 (6), 612-631.
• Ahearne, Michael (2017), "Research centers, business schools, and the world of sales," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45 (2), 461-464.
• Ahearne, Michael, Jeff Boichuk, Craig Chapman, and Tom Steenburgh (2016), "Real Earnings Management in Sales," Journal of Accounting Research, 54(5), 1233-1266.
• Ahearne, Michael, Kraus, Florian, Til Haumann, and Jan Weiseke (2015), "When Sales Managers and Salespeople Disagree in the Appreciation for their Firm: The Phenomenon of Organizational Identification Tension," Journal of Retailing, 91 (3), 486-515.
• Hall, Zachary R., Michael Ahearne, and Harish Sujan (2015), "The Importance of Starting Right: The Influence of Accurate Intuition on Performance in Salesperson-Customer Interactions," Journal of Marketing, 79 (3), 91-109.
• Mullins, Ryan, Michael Ahearne, Son Lam, Zach Hall and Jeff Boichuk (2014), "Know Your Customer: How Salesperson Perceptions of Customer Relationship Quality Form and Influence Account Profitability," Journal of Marketing, 78 (6), 38-58.
• Ahearne, Michael, Florian Kraus and Son Lam (2014), "Performance Impact of Middle Managers' Adaptive Strategy Implementation: the Role of Social Capital," Strategic Management Journal, 35 (1), 68-87.
• Boichuk, Jeff, Willy Bolander, Zachary R. Hall, Michael Ahearne, William Zahn, and Melissa Nieves (2014), "Learned Helplessness among Newly Hired Salespeople and the Influence of Leadership," Journal of Marketing, 78(1), 95-111.
• Ahearne, Michael, Til Haumann, Florian Kraus, and Jan Wieseke (2013), "It's a Matter of Congruence: How Interpersonal Identification between Sales Managers and Salespersons Shapes Sales Success," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41 (6), 625-648.
• Ahearne, Michael, Son Lam, Babak Hayati, and Florian Kraus (2013), "Intrafunctional Competitive Intelligence and Sales Performance: A Social Network Perspective," Journal of Marketing, 77(6), 37-56.
• Lam, Son K., Michael Ahearne, Ryan Mullins, Babak Hayati, and Niels Schillewaert (2013), "Exploring the Dynamics of Antecedents to Customer-Brand Identification with a New Brand,"Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science., 41(2), 234-252.
• Wieseke, Jan, Florian Kraus, Michael Ahearne, and Sven Mikolon (2012), "Multiple Identification Foci and Their Countervailing Effects on Salespeople's Negative Headquarters Stereotypes," Journal of Marketing, 76(3), 1-20.
• Steenburgh, Thomas and Michael Ahearne (2012), "Motivating Salespeople: What Really Works," Harvard Business Review, July/August 2012.
• Ahearne, Michael, Florian Kraus, Son Lam, and Jan Wieseke (2012) "Toward a Contingency Framework of Interpersonal Influence in Organizational Identification Diffusion," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 118(2), 162-178.
• Lam, Son, Michael Ahearne, and Schillewaert (2012), "A multinational examination of the symbolic–instrumental framework of consumer-brand identification," Journal of International Business Studies, 43(2), 306-331.

Books

• Sales Force Performance, with Molly Ahearne and Son Lam, in Elgar/ISBM Business-to-Business Marketing Handbook, Gary L. Lilien and Rajdeep Grewal, eds. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 496–520.
• Selling Today: Partnering to Create Customer Value, with Jerry Manning and Barry Reece, 14th Edition, Pearson, Publication Date: 2018
• Selling Today in Canada, with Jerry Manning, Barry Reece and H.F. Mackenzie, 7th Edition, Prentice Hall, Publication Date: March 2015