Biography
Dr. Blake A. Runnalls earned his Ph.D. in marketing from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University in 2017. He also received his master of arts in economics from the University of South Florida and his MBA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He spent nearly five years working in the corporate world for companies such as Progressive Insurance, Credit Suisse, and General Electric. His research interests include sales management with a focus on sales training, organizational learning, and the sales-HR interface.
His dissertation is titled “The Impact of Social Networks on Sales Training Transfer and Performance,” which won the 2017 American Marketing Association Sales SIG Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Competition. Runnalls also won the 2017 Organizational Frontlines Research Young Scholar Research Competition.
Research Interests
Marketing Management with a focus on salesperson learning and development, sales management, and the sales-HR interface.
Published In
Personnel Psychology
Journal of International Marketing
Refereed Publications
Dimotakis, N., Fu, S., Boulamatsi, A., Smith, T. A., Runnalls, B., Lambert, L., Tepper, B., Mauer, T. (2023). Gains and Losses: Week-to-Week Changes in Leader-Follower Relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 66(1), 248-275.
Smith, T., Boulamatsi, A., Dimotakis, N., Tepper, B., Runnalls, B. A., Reina, C., Lucianetti, L. (2022). "How Dare You?!": A Self-verification Perspective on How Performance Influences the Effects of Abusive Supervision on Job Embeddedness and Subsequent Turnover. Personnel Psychology, 75(3), 645-674.
Chabowski, B., Kekec, P., Morgan, N. A., Hult, G. Tomas M., Walkowiak, T., Runnalls, B. A. (2018). An Assessment of the Exporting Literature: Using Theory and Data to Identify Future Research Directions. Journal of International Marketing, 26(1), 113-143.
Undergraduate Courses
Sales Practicum I (MRKT 371) - Develop a personal and professional brand, as well as learn effective career strategies in sales. Guest speakers from various companies share key developments in the sales profession, and what they look for in potential hires. Learn to put selling skills into practice to obtain a dream job.
Sales Force Management (MRKT 458) - This course covers issues faced by sales managers in building, directing, and leading a sales force. Topics include sales forecasting, territory structure design, hiring and managing salespeople, and compensation and performance evaluation systems.
Teaching Interests
Sales Force Management
Personal Selling
Pricing (MBA)
Quantitative Business Research Methods
Dissertation Committees
Committee Member
Professional Service
Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Industrial Marketing Management. (2020 - Present)
Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (2016 - Present).
Reviewer/Discussant, Conference Paper, Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Conference. (2013 - Present).
Reviewer/Discussant, Conference Paper, American Marketing Association (AMA) Conferences. (2013 - Present).
Track Organizer, Personal Selling and Sales Management Track Co-Chair, Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Conference, Vancouver. (January 2018 - May 2019).
Session Chair, American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Educators' Conference, New Product Lunch Strategy Track. (2016).
Reviewer/Discussant, Conference Paper, Academy of International Business (AIB) Conference. (2013 - 2016).
Session Chair, Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Conference, Sales Track. (2015).
Department Service
Master's Committee, member. (2023-2026).
Develop relationships with partners of the Center for Sales Excellence and with companies in and around the Lincoln and Omaha area to increase the opportunities for the department to engage in practitioner-based research projects., Center for Sales Excellence Program. (January 2018 - Present).
Coordinator, Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium. (August 2018 - May 2022).
Committee Member, Faculty Search Committee, Assistant Professor of Practice. (January 2021 - May 2021).
Reviewer, Second Year/Comprehensive Exam Paper Review. (August 2020).
Committee Member, Faculty Search Committee, Open Rank. (July 2019 - September 2019).
First-Year Paper Reviewer. (May 2019).
Mentor doctoral students Carissa Harris & Ravi Agarwal, in the areas of teaching and research. (August 2018 - May 2019).
Co-Coordinator, Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium. (August 2018 - May 2019).
Committee Member, Faculty Search Committee, Open Rank. (July 2018 - September 2018).
College Service
Master's Committee, member. (2023-2026).
Interviewer, BSAD 333, College of Business, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (October 2021).
Judge, All-Michigan State University Sales Competition. (2014 - 2017).
Co-Coached the Michigan State University Team at the National Collegiate Sales Competition, hosted by Kennesaw State University. (2016).
Awards
Nominated, 2022-2023 College of Business Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Business. (December 2022).
Faculty Research Award, Department of Marketing, College of Business, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (May 2022).
Nominated, 2021-2022 College of Business Faculty Service Award, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Business (December 2021).
Nominated, 2021-2022 College of Business Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Business. (January 2021).
College Distinguished Teaching Award, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Teaching, University. (April 2019)
College of Business Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Business, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Teaching, College. (April 2019)
Faculty Mentoring Award, Department of Marketing, College of Business, University of Neraska-Lincoln, leadership, Department. (April 2019)
Faculty Teaching Award, Department of Marketing, College of Business, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Teaching. (April 2019)
Recipient, 2019 S. Tamer Cavusgil Award, Journal of International Marketing. (April 2019).
Haring Symposium, Faculty Representative, Indiana University. (April 2018).
Broad College of Business Dissertation Competition, Broad College of Business/Michigan State University. (2017).
Young Scholar Research Competition, Organizational Frontlines Research (OFR). (2017).
Sales SIG Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Competition, American Marketing Association (AMA). (February 2017).
Graduate School Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Michigan State University. (2017).
Grant Competition, Sales Education Foundation (SEF) and Neil Rackham. (2015).
AMA-Sheth Doctoral Consortium Fellow, American Marketing Association (AMA). (July 2015).
Stanley Hollander Award, Michigan State University. (2014, 2015).
Fellow, Institute for the Study of Business Marketing (ISBM) Ph.D. Summer Camp. (2014).
Presenter, 2014 Haring Symposium, Indiana University. (April 2014).
Best Paper Award, Shao Chang Lee Paper Competition presented by the Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University. (2013).