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A Comparison of Consumer Perceptions of Product Versus Service Salespeople

  • Conference paper
Proceedings of the 1991 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference

Abstract

Few empirical studies have examined consumer perceptions of product or services salespeople. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the personal selling literature by investigating whether consumers perceive services and product salespeople differently. The literature on the unique characteristics of services was reviewed to provide a conceptual background as to why and how consumers might evaluate these two types of salespeople differently. Data were solicited from the Arkansas Household Research Panel members through mail questionnaires. This study yielded a number of surprising and contradictory findings. Explanations were offered to reconcile the contradictions. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed.

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© 2015 Academy of Marketing Science

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Rao, C.P., Kurtz, D.L., Ong, B.S. (2015). A Comparison of Consumer Perceptions of Product Versus Service Salespeople. In: King, R. (eds) Proceedings of the 1991 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17049-7_47

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