TY - JOUR
T1 - Customers’ decision-making styles and their preference for sales strategies
T2 - Conceptual examination and an empirical study
AU - Sharma, Arun
AU - Pillai, Rajnandini
N1 - Funding Information:
The research was supported in part by the Center for Telecommunications Management, University of Southern California and by a Faculty Development Grant, School of Business, University of Miami. The authors thank Jagdish N. Sheth, Frederick Winter, Seymour Sudman, Amiya Basu, A. Parasuraman, Michael Levy, Howard Marmorstein, and Dhruv Grewal for their assistance.
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.1080/08853134.1996.10754042
DO - 10.1080/08853134.1996.10754042
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85009643469
VL - 16
SP - 21
EP - 33
JO - Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
JF - Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
SN - 0885-3134
IS - 1
ER -