Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

Zoomer Generation: Used Car Automobile Purchasing Behaviors, Scott E. Whitaker, Joe Spencer, Giovanni Calise

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2024

There is a growing trend of online automobile purchasing that is altering the relationship between consumers and automobile dealerships. Consumers are more informed and seek a larger variety of inventory and options when shopping for used vehicles. The online marketplace provides a viable alternative to local dealerships who have hereto dominated much of the market. This research shows the current generation of Zoomers is helping to drive this trend which has significant marketing implications toward the industry. There remains a gap in the academic body of knowledge examining this behavior in relation to large online purchases such as automobiles. This …

Impact Of The Digitized Sales Work Environment On Customer Orientation, Julia Rötzmeier-Keuper, Nancy Viola Wünderlich

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

Informed by appraisal theory, which highlights personal characteristics and resources as critical to the emergence of stress appraisal and adaptation (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), our study poses the following questions:

• What characterizes the DSWE?
• What is the role of the DSWE in creating salesperson distress and eustress?
• How is a salesperson’s customer orientation/ value-based selling affected by the DSWE?

In our attempt to explore the potential up- and downsides of work environment digitalization and the appraisal of the pervasive use of Information Technology in everyday work, we adopted a qualitative approach. We combined information from qualitative interviews with B2B customer …

Use Of Online Or Traditional Job Search Tools: Which Do Sales Students Prefer When Searching To Begin Their Post-College Graduate Careers-A Study Revisited, Linda G. Mullen, Randy S. Stuart, Michael Lee Thomas

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

In 2019, a study was conducted to see if college students who studied/majored in professional sales, preferred digital media over face-to-face interactions for post-graduation careers searches. Results showed sales students used multiple methods during these searches. Although sales students engaged with digital media to land entry-level career positions, they still relied heavily upon traditional methods (i.e., college/university career fairs/services, internships, etc.). In March of 2020, as Covid-19 moved just about everyone online, the authors were interested in seeing whether the increased use and familiarity with digital media changed sales students’ preference for and use of job search tools.

This follow-up …

Minimizing The Ratchet Effect: Why Reciprocity Preserves Customer Satisfaction In Service Environments, Kyle A. Huggins, Val Larsen

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

This paper focuses on a fundamental problem for marketers: the ratchet effect. The ratchet effect occurs when actual service performance is perceived to be significantly higher than service expectations, causing dissonance and resulting consumer guilt. If left unattended, consumers relieve their guilt by increasing the perceived state of expectations for subsequent visits. Known as the ratchet effect, this causes a dilemma for the service business as they consistently strive to improve service performance. Using equity theory, our experimental study explores whether businesses can break the ratchet effect by providing mechanisms of reciprocity for consumers to respond at little or no …

Intention To Pursue A Sales Career: A Dyadic Study Of Students And Parents Extended Abstract, Joseph Little, Mark Kubik, Alexander King, Grant Weidman

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2022

Typical career choice selection studies generally have been one sided focusing on students or parents independently. This dyadic study aims to analyze student and their parent influencers to determine what will be the strongest influencer of a student to pursue a career in sales. “Because the dyad is arguable the fundamental unit of interpersonal interaction and relations, family relations such as a parent and their child/student have a powerful dyadic component” (Kenny et al., 2006, p1). Therefore, understanding the influencers of this career choice selection may lead to interventions for increasing the number of students to pursue a career in …

There Is No I In Team: The Role Of Sales Faculty Coaching And Organizational Culture On Student Competition Teams, Stefan Sleep, Brent Mcculloch

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2022

As sales competitions become more prevalent in the educational environment, faculty coaching has taken on a role that closely replicates coaching by industry sales managers. This case study examines how the combination of faculty coaching and student sales team organizational culture impact performance in sales competitions. By providing positive feedback, role modeling, and building trust, faculty coaches can improve performance and commitment while preparing students for their future careers. Additionally, developing an organizational coaching culture plays a critical role in contributing to the overall success of the team as it encourages student commitment and participation. These lessons are also relevant …