KAREN FLAHERTY

School of Marketing & International Business
William S. Spears Chair in Business Administration

471 BUSINESS BUILDING
STILLWATER, OK 74078-4011
Phone: 405-744-8611

karen.flaherty@okstate.edu

Biography

Karen E. Flaherty (Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst) is a Professor of Marketing in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include the study of sales force leadership, control systems, motivation, and performance. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Industrial Marketing Management, among others. She is the author of a book chapter on Strategic Leadership in Sales for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Sales Management and Sales Strategy. Karen is an active member of AMA and has served as Vice-Chair of Communications and Membership for the AMA Sales SIG. She currently teaches Principles of Marketing and Sales Management.

Education

• BS, Providence College, Marketing,
• MBA, Suffolk University, Marketing,
• Ph D, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Marketing, 2000

Publications

• Karen Flaherty and Curtis S Schroeder. (2025). "Salesperson Intra-Career Mobility Perceptions: Exploring the Role of Professional versus Organizational Identities". Journal of Business Research. (186), January, 114996.
• Son K. Lam, Jeff Johnson, Andrea L. Dixon, and Karen Flaherty. (2024). "Managers of Selling and Buying Organizations as Engineers of Employees' Networks". Industrial Marketing Management. (123), November, 201-221.
• Hillary Wiener, Karen Flaherty, and Josh L. Wiener. (2022). "Making a Positive (or Negative) First Impression with Small Talk". European Journal of Marketing. (56), 12, 3516-3544.
• Karen Flaherty and Curtis S. Schroeder. (2022). "An Institutional Logics Perspective on Salesperson Responses to Environmental Disruptions". Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. (42), 4, 377-391.
• Hillary Wiener, Karen Flaherty, and Josh L. Wiener. (2022). "Starting Conversations with New Customers: A Research Note on The Moderating Effect of Experience on Responses to Small Talk". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. 1-12.
• Julia Kirkland, Bryan Edwards, and Karen Flaherty. (2021). "The Effect of Honest and Humble Leadership on Salesperson Customer Orientation". Amsterdam: Journal of Business Research. (130), June, 49-58. 0148-2963.
• Lee Allison and Karen Flaherty. (2020). "Investigating Firm-level Drivers of Salesperson Brand Identification". Amsterdam: Journal of Business Research. (121), December, 154-169.
• Jagdip Singh, Karen Flaherty, Ravipreet Sohi, Dawn Deeter-Schmeltz, Johannes Habel, Avinash Malshe, Ryan Mullins, Kenneth Le Meunier-FitzHugh, and Vincent Onyemah. (2019). "Sales profession and professionals in the age of digitization and artificial intelligence technologies: concepts, priorities, and questions". Philadelphia, PA: Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (39), 1, 21.
• Karen Flaherty, Felicia Lassk, Nick Lee, William Moncrief, and Ellen Bolman Pullins. (2018). "Sales scholarship: honoring the past and defining the future". Philadelphia, PA: Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (38), 4, 413-421.
• Adam A. Rapp, Damoe G. Bachrach, Karen Flaherty, Douglas E. Hughes, Arun Sharma, and Clay M. Voorhees. (2017). "The Role of the Sales-Service Interface and Ambidexterity in the Evolving Organization: A Multi-level Research Agenda". Journal of Service Research. (20), 1, 59-75.
• Lee Allison, Karen Flaherty, Jin Ho Jung, and Isaac Washburn. (2016). "Salesperson brand attachment: A job demands-resources theory perspective". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (36), 1, 3-18.
• David Gilliam and Karen Flaherty. (2015). "Storytelling by the sales force and its effect on buyer-seller exchange". Industrial Marketing Management. (46), 132.
• David A. Gilliam, Karen Flaherty, and Steven W. Rayburn. (2014). "The dimensions of storytelling by retail salespeople". International Review of Retail, Distribution, and Consumer Research. (24), 2,
• Karen Flaherty, Jaewon Yoo, and Gary Frankwick. (2014). "The effect of communication practice on deviance among Korean salespeople: The mediating role of intrinsic motivation". Journal of Business Research. (67), 9, 1991-1999.
• Karen Flaherty, James Pappas, and Lee Allison. (2014). "The Influence of an Optimal Control System on Salesperson Performance". Industrial Marketing Management. (43), 2, 304-311.
• Binh Hoa Nguyen, Gary Frankwick, and Karen Flaherty. (2013). "Improving Inter-firm Knowledge Sharing Effectiveness through Adaptation Ambidexterity". Academy of Marketing Science 16th Biennial World Marketing Congress .
• Karen Flaherty, Son K. Lam, Nick Lee, Jay Prakash Mulki, and Andrea L. Dixon. (2012). "Social Network Theory and the Sales Manager Role". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (32), 1, 29-40.
• Karen Flaherty and James Pappas. (2012). "Control Mechanisms, Idea Transfer, and Performance in Sales Organizations". Industrial Marketing Management. (41(5)),
• Karen Flaherty. (2011). "Strategic Leadership in Sales". The Oxford Handbook of Sales Management and Sales Strategy .
• Karen Flaherty and Gary Frankwick. (2010). "Winners of the Mary Kay Doctoral Dissertation Competition Receive Awards in Portland". Academy of Marketing Science Quarterly. (11), 1,
• Karen Flaherty and John Mowen. (2010). ""The Role of Schemas in Consumer Behavior Research" in R. Bagozzi (ed.), Encyclopedia of Consumer Behavior". Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing (Forthcoming).
• James Pappas and Karen Flaherty. (2009). "Expanding the Sales Professional’s Role: A Strategic Re-orientation?". Industrial Marketing Management.
• Karen Flaherty, John Mowen, Tom J. Brown, and G.W. Marshall. (2009). "Leadership Propensity and Sales Performance among Sales Personnel and Managers in a Specialty Retail Store Setting". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (29), Winter, 43-59.
• Todd Arnold, Karen Flaherty, Kevin Voss, and John Mowen. (2009). "Role Stressors and Retail Performance: TOn the Moderating Role of Organizational Competitive Climate". Journal of Retailing. (85), 2, 194-205. 0022-4359.
• B.V. Larson, Karen Flaherty, Alex Zablah, Tom J. Brown, and Josh Wiener. (2008). "Linking Cause-Related Marketing to Sales Force Responses and Behavioral Performance". Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. (36), 2, 271-277.
• James Pappas and Karen Flaherty. (2008). "The Effect of Trust on Customer Contact Person Strategic Behavior and Supervisor-Rated Sales Performance in a Service Environment". Journal of Business Research. (61), 9, 894-902.
• C.S. Hunt, Gary Frankwick, Karen Flaherty, and Alex Zablah. (2008). "The Influence of Organizational Identification on the Relationship Between Formal Sales Management Control and Salesperson Performance". Proceedings of the NCSM.
• James Pappas, Karen Flaherty, and S. Hunt. (2007). "The Joint Influence of Control Strategies and Market Turbulence on Strategic Performance in Sales-Driven Organizations". Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management.
• Karen Flaherty, Todd Arnold, and S. Hunt. (2007). "The Influence of an Ideal Control System on Boundary-Spanner Performance and Championing". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (27), 3, 221-234.
• James Pappas and Karen Flaherty. (2005). ""Informal Controls at Work: Affecting Behavior Amidst Uncertainty,” in Floyd et al (eds.), Innovating Strategy Process, part of the Strategic Management Society Handbook Series". London: Blackwell Publishers.
• Tim Degroot, James Pappas, Karen Flaherty, and D, Kern. (2005). "A Meta-Analysis to Review the Effects of Organizational Control". Proceedings of the Academy of Management.
• D. Kern, James Pappas, Tim Degroot, and Karen Flaherty. (2005). "A Meta-Analytic Review of Formal Operational Control Systems". Proceedings of the Academy of Management Annual Conference.
• James Pappas, J. Gooty, and Karen Flaherty. (2005). "A Multilevel Test of Managerial Trustworthiness: Antecedents and Consequences". Proceedings of the Academy of Management Annual Conference.
• James Pappas and Karen Flaherty. (2005). "The Moderating Role of Individual-Difference Variables in Compensation Research". Journal of Managerial Psychology. (21), 1, 19-35.
• Karen Flaherty and James Pappas. (2004). "Job Selection among Salespeople: A Bounded Reality Perspective". Industrial Marketing Management. (33), 4, 325-332.
• James Pappas, B. Wooldridge, and Karen Flaherty. (2004). "Knowledge, Social Structure, and Strategic Activities". Healthcare Management Review. (29), 1, 8-16.
• James Pappas, Karen Flaherty, and B. Wooldridge. (2004). "Tapping into Hospital Champions – Strategic Middle Managers". Health Care Management Review.
• Karen Flaherty, M. Weinberger, and C. Gulas. (2004). "The Impact of Incongruity Resolution versus Incongruity Humor". Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. (26), 1, 25-36.
• James Pappas and Karen Flaherty. (2003). "Achieving Strategic Consensus in the Hospital Setting: A Middle Management Perspective". Hospital Topics. (81), Winter, 15-22.
• A. Sallee and Karen Flaherty. (2003). "Enhancing Salesperson Trust: An Examination of Managerial Values, Empowerment, and the Moderating Influence of SBU Strategy". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (23), 4, 299-310.
• Karen Flaherty and A. Sallee. (2003). "Matching Sales Managment Practices to Business Strategy: A Social Exchange Perspective". Proceedings of the American Marketing Association Summer Educators Conference.
• Karen Flaherty, James Pappas, and A. Sallee. (2003). "Social Networks and Strategic Knowledge: A Study of the Strategic Activities of Frontline Employees". American Marketing Association Winter Educators Conference Proceedings.
• James Pappas and Karen Flaherty. (2003). "The Impact of Control Systems on Role Conflict and Management Behavior: Moving Toward a Theory of Strategic Renewal". Proceedings of the Strategic Management Society Mini Conference.
• James Pappas, B. Wooldridge, and Karen Flaherty. (2002). "How Middle Managers Help Build New Capabilities: Lessons Learned Using Social Network Analysis". Proceedings of the Southern Management Association.
• Karen Flaherty and James Pappas. (2002). "The Influence of Career Stage on Job Attitudes". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. (22), Summer, 135-143.
• Karen Flaherty and James Pappas. (2002). "Using Career Stage Theory to Predict Turnover Intentions Among Salespeople". Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. (10), Summer, 48-57.