Customers’ decision-making styles and their preference for sales strategies: Conceptual examination and an empirical study

The primary purpose of this paper is to examine business customers' decision-making styles and the impact these styles have on the selection of a sales strategy for the selling firm. The paper reports the results of a survey of 109 customers of a high-technology firm. We first determine the decision-making styles of business customers and then examine the relationship between customers' decision-making styles and their preference for different sales strategies. The results indicate that business customers can be grouped based on their decision-making styles. Also, the decision-making style of the firm was reflected in the decision-making styles of individuals. Three decision-making styles with distinct preferences for sales strategies emerged from this analysis: entrepreneurial, planning, and bureaucratic. Customers demonstrating different decision-making styles were also found to be different in their demographic characteristics. The results provide directions for future theoretical investigations and applications in segmentation and sales management.