Aaron D. Arndt

Selling in an asymmetric retail world: perspectives from India, Russia, and the US on buyer–seller information differential, perceived adaptive selling, and purchase intention

The current research aimed to contribute to our understanding of (a) how adaptive selling is perceived by retail consumers in different types of economies when they have differing levels of buyer–seller information differential and (b) how this phenomenon influences their purchase intention. The focal countries were the US (a developed economy) and India and Russia (both developing economies). These three were selected owing to their disparate economic and cultural contexts. This investigation used a relatively new construct: perceived adaptive selling (PAS). PAS refers to the degree to which the buyer perceives that the salesperson is adapting. The study examined whether the impact of PAS was a function of a country’s level of development and whether such perceptions were influenced by the level of buyer–seller information differential in the retail transaction. The findings suggested that buyers in Russia and India PAS and were influenced by it differently from their US counterparts. This work provided a general framework for understanding tactical implementation of the salesperson’s PAS behavior.

Consumers as employees: the impact of social responsibility on quality of work life among Australian engineers

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate whether consumer values influence work-related attitudes. Employees often feel conflict among different aspects of their lives. Although most extant research has focused on the effect of family values on work attitudes, we investigate whether a fit between employees’ socially responsible consumption orientation (SRCO) and firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences employee higher-order quality of work life. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from 112 members of an engineering association in Australia. Findings – The results show that employees’ consumer life roles can influence their work-related perceptions. However, contrary to expectations, the positive influence of CSR on higher-order quality of work life is weaker for employees who are more socially responsible consumers. Research limitations/implications – Further research should examine other industry contexts and cultures. Also, because the SRCO construct is very broad, further re...

Can Agents Influence Property Perceptions Through Their Appearance and Use of Pathos

This study takes 1594 potential homebuyers on a Web-based audio/visual tour of a typically priced home in their area. Using a voice-altering software as well as before and after extreme makeover photos, we are able to isolate the effect of real estate agent characteristics—attractiveness, gender, and pathos—on their ability to change the opinions of potential homebuyers. We find that attractive female agents who employ pathos are significantly able to alter the impression of the property in the minds of respondents. Furthermore, agents using pathos are not viewed as less trustworthy than agents not using pathos.

Does the performance of other functions in the frontline influence salesperson conflict

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of servicer and cross‐seller functional performance on salesperson perception of cross‐functional conflict.Design/methodology/approach – Frontline employees often specialize in selling, servicing, or cross‐selling to customers. Two studies separately examine the effect of servicer and cross‐seller functional performance on salesperson perception of cross‐functional conflict.Findings – In Study 1, salesperson conflict with frontline specialists who do not directly sell, called servicers, is examined and it is found that salespeople perceive less cross‐functional conflict when servicers perform well. Group cohesion decreases conflict directly. The effect of servicer performance on conflict is less pronounced as cross‐functional training increases. In Study 2, salesperson conflict with employees who cross‐sell additional goods and/or services to customers, called cross‐sellers, is evaluated and it is found that salespeople perceive more cross‐functiona...

A framework for configuring sales support structure

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine when it is appropriate to provide dedicated support for a sales activity, and in cases where support is desirable, to explore the choice between core team support and external support.Design/methodology/approach – Sales transactions typically require a diverse range of sales activities, including customer contact, scheduling appointments, internal meetings, processing orders, and preparing financing applications. This research develops a framework for understanding how to structure sales support for specific sales activities.Findings – Each sales activity has four dimensions, i.e. workload, customization, complexity, and prequalification risk. Support structure (self‐support, core team support, and external support) moderates the influence of the four sales activity dimensions on sales activity performance and salesperson role stress. These, in turn, impact overall sales performance.Research limitations/implications – This research presents a broad conceptual ...

How Angry Customer Complaints Influence Salesperson Commitment to Service Quality

The conventional advice for salespeople facing angry customer complaints is to remain calm and provide high-quality service. Yet salespeople’s willingness and ability to do so depends on whether they believe the customer is justified in complaining with an angry tone. Using an experimental design with salespeople as participants, this study shows that salespeople experience greater anger when they blame someone other than themselves for causing the service failure. Furthermore, when customers complain in an angry tone and salespeople believe others are responsible for the service failure, salespeople feel greater anger, perceive more emotional labor, develop stronger revenge intentions, and express less commitment to serving customers. Although organizations sometimes consider customer complaints beneficial, the current study shows that when customers complain in an angry tone, salespeople often feel like providing poorer service, both to that customer and to others.

“I am so Embarrassed!” - How Personal and Empathic Embarrassment in Personal Product Purchasing Impacts Sales Clerk Choice

As people tend to avoid embarrassing situations (Verbeke and Bagozzi 2003), consumer embarrassment when purchasing personal products is an important concern for retailers. Customers who are embarrassed often avoid making purchases they would have otherwise made (Lau-Gesk and Drolet 2008), for example condoms. Even though people are very supportive of condom usage for safety and health related reasons, consumers may still feel embarrassed buying them. Yet, while there is a growing body of literature about embarrassment and embarrassing situations in daily life, not much is known in embarrassment in sales interaction (Verbeke and Bagozzi 2003). Customers are likely to feel more embarrassed buying from some sales clerks than others. We contend that gender and age difference between the sales clerk and the customer might create powerful embarrassment for many consumers when buying a personal product. To address this research gap, this study explores whether customers prefer to buy from salespeople who are of the same gender and age.

Do Charities Benefit from a Top-Dog or Underdog Positioning Strategy? An Abstract

This paper explores how the perception of a charity as a top dog or an underdog impacts beliefs about the charity, attitudes toward it, and intention to donate to it. The top-dog concept is prevalent in the business literature such as when there is overwhelming support for breast cancer charities. Yet, being top dog can cause problems. The term underdog has been defined numerous ways including not being well known and lacking financial backing to not being able to succeed.

Why Are Health Care Managers Biased Against Hiring Service Providers With Tattoos

ABSTRACT Although health care managers often prefer to hire employees without tattoos, the source of this bias is unclear. One explanation is that tattoos are associated with being less responsible. An alternative explanation is that managers are concerned tattoos will hurt their organizations image. A sample of 187 dentists were shown a picture of a dental hygienist either with no tattoo, a small tattoo, or a large tattoo, and then asked about the hygienist. Results show that dentists do not associate tattoos with irresponsibility but are concerned about the fit of tattoos with the image of the practice. This means that dentists make hiring decisions based on stereotypes about customer stereotypes.

Linguistic Stereotyping in Call Centers

The accent of service providers in call centers may positively or negatively bias customer perception of service quality. Among American consumers, the Indian accent may have a negative bias while the British accent may have a positive bias. An experiment was conducted using a sample of 176 students.