Examining the consequences of adaptive selling behavior by door-to-door salespeople in the Korean cosmetic industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortune Edem Amenuvor ◽  
Ho-Taek Yi ◽  
Henry Boateng

PurposeThis paper aims to assess the effect of adaptive selling behavior on customer outcomes, mutual outcomes and salesperson outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe respondents were salespeople and customers in selected door-to-door cosmetics companies in South Korea. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data in this study.FindingsFindings show that adaptive selling behavior positively affects customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, sales performance, job satisfaction and relationship quality. These findings suggest that adaptive selling is crucial for the firm's survival depending on the industry and the product. Additionally, unlike previous studies, the authors use salespeople's self-reporting responses and customer-reporting of salespeople, which further enhances the richness and uniqueness of the results.Originality/valueStudies investigating mutual outcomes of adaptive selling behavior are scarce. The study also emphasizes that adaptive selling behavior enhances salesperson outcomes and customer outcomes and primarily uses dyadic data between door-to-door salespeople and their customers, which is not very common.

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariya Anatolievna Molodchik ◽  
Elena Anatolievna Shakina ◽  
Angel Barajas

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the plausibility of six elements of IC and justify the measurement ability of a set of indicators based on publicly available data for each of the proposed element in order to provide tools to managers for their decision-making process in knowledge management (KM). Design/methodology/approach – Core company's intangibles are combined into six intellectual capital (IC) elements that appear after the division of each of the traditional components (human, structural and relational capital (RC)). The human capital includes management and human resources capabilities (HRC). Structural capital is divided into innovation and internal process capabilities (IPC). RC contains networking capabilities and customer loyalty. In drawing on the relevant literature each element is described through a set of indicators collected from publicly available data. The validity of proposed IC model is justified through structural equation modeling. Each element is tested on a sample of more than 1,650 listed European companies over the period of 2004-2011. Findings – The study gives empirical support of three component IC structure and its decomposition into second level. The findings reveal that implementation of KM plays a significant role for HRC as well as for IPC. Research limitations/implications – The analysis was conducted for a particular sample that may restrict the conclusions. Practical implications – The proposed measurements for intangibles can be applied by any company for benchmarking and comparative analysis in KM. Originality/value – The study provides empirical justification of metrics for intangibles allowing a better route in an economy driven by knowledge.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1724-1735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harindranath R.M. ◽  
Bharadhwaj Sivakumaran ◽  
Jayanth Jacob

Purpose The principal purpose of this study is to examine the moderating influence of selling experience on the following two relationships – adaptive selling and job satisfaction and customer orientation and job satisfaction – using unionized salespeople as respondents. It also tests for the mediating role of adaptive selling in the customer orientation–job satisfaction relationship. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses data from a survey conducted on 208 pharmaceutical unionized salespeople from 46 pharmaceutical firms in India. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. Moderation hypotheses were estimated using process macro and the Johnson–Neyman technique. Findings The data fitted the model well. This research found that customer orientation drove adaptive selling behavior and job satisfaction, and that adaptive selling influenced job satisfaction (all positively); it was found that adaptive selling partially mediated the relationship between customer orientation and job satisfaction. Results revealed that job experience negatively moderated the adaptive selling behavior–job satisfaction and customer orientation–job satisfaction relationships. Practical implications The results show that pharma firms may hire young recruits and, importantly, measure their customer orientation and adaptive selling levels. For the purposes of training to enhance customer orientation and adaptive selling, pharma firms may send only their less experienced salespersons. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this study could be the first to examine the interaction of job experience and customer-directed selling behaviors such as adaptive selling and customer orientation on job satisfaction. Moreover, this is possibly the only study in this domain that uses unionized salespeople in an emerging market (India).


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 722-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Smith ◽  
Cindy B. Rippé ◽  
Alan J. Dubinsky

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social loneliness, emotional loneliness and social isolation relate to Indian consumers’ enjoyment of social interaction with an in-store salesperson. Design/methodology/approach Over 300 Indian respondents are surveyed about personal disposition, shopping experiences and other factors. The research model and hypotheses are evaluated utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings As posited, Indian consumers dealing with loneliness and social isolation tend to enjoy in-store shopping experiences involving personal interactions with salespersons. Further, salespersons’ adaptive selling relates positively to consumers’ predisposition to comply with salesperson input and three outcomes (i.e. trust in salesperson, purchase intention and retail patronage). Originality/value This study fills a void in current marketing and retailing literature, providing one of the first known empirical investigations of consumers’ experiences with loneliness and social isolation. Overall, the study shows that store-based retailers within culturally collectivistic emerging markets can capitalize on their unique ability to attract and retain shoppers through in-store salesperson interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortune Edem Amenuvor ◽  
Ho-Taek Yi ◽  
Henry Boateng

PurposeThis paper examines the antecedents of adaptive selling behavior empirically from the salespeople's, customers', and firms' perspectives.Design/methodology/approachSurvey design was used for this study. Data from 219 salespeople and their visiting customers in selected cosmetics companies in Korea are used to test the conceptual model using structural equation modeling.FindingsFindings show that intrinsic motivation, empathy, and product knowledge are germane to adaptive selling behavior among salesperson-level factors. Similarly, among the customer-level factors, the length of the relationship between salespeople and customers positively affects adaptive selling behavior. Also, while supervisory empowerment among the organizational-level factors significantly predicts adaptive selling behavior, supervisory control has a negative effect on adaptive selling behavior. The study finds that emotional intelligence and customer value demandingness do not significantly affect adaptive selling behavior.Originality/valueEven though there is extant research on adaptive selling behavior, our research differs from previous research because our research focuses on door-to-door personal selling channels. Furthermore, this study departs from previous research because it uses customer-reporting of the salespeople and salespeople's self-reporting responses.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Ahmad Al-Hawari ◽  
Shaker Bani-Melhem ◽  
Faridahwati Mohd. Shamsudin

Purpose This study aims to build on the trait activation and interactionist perspective theories to investigate the effect of frontline employees’ (FLEs) willingness to take risks on hotel guest loyalty by assessing the mediating role of their innovative behaviors. It also examines whether decentralization strengthens the positive impact of willingness to take risks on innovative behavior and, subsequently, customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected multilevel data from various sources – hotel FLEs (n = 183), hotel operation managers (n = 46) and hotel guests/customers (n = 266) – from five-star hotels operating in Dubai. Structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro (version 3.5) were used to analyze the data. Findings The findings showed that willingness to take risks indirectly (via innovative behaviors) affects guest/customer loyalty positively. This effect is strengthened when the hotel is decentralized. Practical implications This study provides insight into how hotel managers can foster customer loyalty. More specifically, they can do so by establishing employees’ innovative behaviors triggered by employees’ positive personality traits and by giving employees more autonomy. Originality/value The present study addresses recent calls to investigate the positive impact of FLEs’ personality traits, attitudes and behaviors on customer loyalty.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Arianpoor ◽  
Hameed Mohsen Khayoon

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of teaching style and academic enthusiasm of Iraqi accounting and auditing students on their stress, aggression and anxiety. Design/methodology/approach The statistical population in this study consists of two parts. The first is the Iraqi accounting and auditing students in Iran and the second is the Iraqi accounting and auditing students in Iraq. By available non-probability sampling method, 62 people (Iraqi students in Iran) and 102 (Iraqi students in Iraq) were selected as samples. In this research, a questionnaire was used to collect information. The validity of the questionnaire’s structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Also, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in this study indicating the measurement tool’s reliability. In this research, structural equation modeling has been used to analyze and test the hypotheses. The primary criteria for determining the coefficient and evaluating the path coefficients were used to evaluate the structural model. Findings Findings indicate that in Iraqi students in Iraq and Iraqi students in Iran, teaching style negatively affects stress, aggression and accounting and auditing students’ anxiety. Also, in the group of Iraqi students in Iraq and the group of Iraqi students in Iran, the eagerness to study has a significant negative effect on accounting and auditing students’ stress and anxiety. In contrast, the effect of the desire to study accounting and auditing students’ aggression was confirmed only in Iraqi students in Iraq. Originality/value As the accounting and auditing professions are among the most stressful occupations that increase the characteristics of aggression and anxiety in the employees of that profession, the results of leading research can show that the stress, anxiety and aggression of accounting and auditing students how to reduce through training so that their stress, anxiety and aggression do not appear in the workplace and the reports of accountants and auditors are not affected.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjiang Xu ◽  
Sakthi Mahenthiran

Purpose This study aims to develop a scale to measure the cloud provider’s performance and it investigates the factors that impact that performance from the users’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a research framework, develops hypotheses and conducts a survey to test the framework. Findings The results from both ordinary least square regression and structural equation modeling analyzes indicate that information technology complexity negatively and significantly affects users’ perception of the cloud computing providers’ performance. Additionally, the trust in the supervisor significantly enhances the otherwise insignificant positive relationship between providers’ cybersecurity capability and users’ perception of their providers’ performance. Originality/value The research makes important contributions to the cloud computing literature, as it measures users’ perception of the cloud computing provider’s performance and links it with cybersecurity, technical complexity and incorporates both the trust in the client firm’s supervisor and the strength of cybersecurity offered by cloud computing provider.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel E. Collier ◽  
Daniel L. Sherrell ◽  
Emin Babakus ◽  
Alisha Blakeney Horky

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential differences between types of self-service technology. Specifically, the paper explores how the dynamics of public and private self-service technology influence customers' decision to use the technology. Design/methodology/approach – Existing customers of private and public self-service technology were surveyed from the same industry. Using structural equation modeling, the authors examine how relevant self-service constructs influence evaluations and attitudes of customers across both settings. Findings – The analysis reveals that customers' control and convenience perceptions differ across public and private self-service technology. Additionally, customers placed a heavier emphasis on the hedonic or utilitarian evaluation of a service experience based on the type of self-service technology. Practical implications – For managers of self-service applications, understanding the unique differences of public and private self-service technology can aid in the implementation and adoption of the technology. By properly understanding the differences of the self-service types, managers can provide a beneficial experience to the customer. Originality/value – By identifying and describing two distinct categories of SSTs, this study allows managers and researchers to better understand how and why individuals choose to utilize individual self-service technologies. Through understanding the unique dynamics of a public and a private SST experience, retailers can determine the appropriate strategy for customer adoption based on the utilitarian or hedonic functions of the technology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-324
Author(s):  
Matti Haverila ◽  
Kai Haverila ◽  
Mehak Arora

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare satisfied and non-satisfied customers in the context of wine tasting rooms using the SERVQUAL model and to examine the relationships in the model in terms of service experience to better understand customer needs. Design/methodology/approach The data used in this study were derived from a survey conducted among wineries in British Columbia, Canada. Analysis of survey results using the partial least squares structural equation modeling was undertaken. Sample size was 402. Findings The findings show that the SERVQUAL constructs that had the most impact on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction were tangibility and assurance. Somewhat surprisingly, the perceived value for money construct was not significantly related to customer satisfaction but was significantly related to repurchase intent. Furthermore, all SERVQUAL constructs, except the reliability construct, were significantly related to customer satisfaction. Originality/value This study provides an overview of how wineries can improve their services to increase the number of satisfied customers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Husni Kharouf ◽  
Donald J. Lund ◽  
Harjit Sekhon

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of retailer trustworthiness in driving customer trust and the subsequent impact on loyalty. The authors position trustworthiness as a mediator in the link between retail strategies and the development of trust. They model customer loyalty to the service retailer as a function of the trust created through trustworthy perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors validate their model using 420 survey responses from customers in a service retail setting. Nine research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Alternate models are estimated, and the results provide support for the theory-based trustworthiness mediation model. Findings – Trustworthy behaviors first build trustworthiness, which then translates into customer trust and ultimately has a positive impact on both behavioral and attitudinal loyalty. Research limitations/implications – The research highlights the importance for retailers to signal their trustworthiness to build customer trust and loyalty. Researchers should measure trustworthiness perceptions when examining customer relationships and managers should plan strategically to develop both trust and trustworthiness with their customers. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to investigate the mediating effect of trustworthiness on customer loyalty in service settings. While past research has investigated dimensions of trustworthy behaviors, none has included a measure of trustworthiness perceptions and consumer trust in the same theoretical model. The results of the research provide important insights for both researchers and managers.


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