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One of the recent trends in sales research has been a growing focus on relationally based buyer‐seller interactions. Although existing sales literature is in general agreement as to the theoretical composition of buyer‐seller relationships, a lack of empirical evidence exists for the interrelationships of various aspects of relational selling (e.g. customer orientation, adaptability, and service orientation) on individual salespersons’ performance. Investigates the effect of these relational selling characteristics on the performance of individual salespeople. The results show a positive relationship exists between customer orientation and actual performance as measured by average annual sales dollars. Implications of the results for sales managers and sales researchers are discussed.

A number of obstacles, many originating from political/government sources, adversely affect individual firms involved in operations outside of their domestic market. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role in which market access, existence of government policies, and market imperfections impact both the importance firms attach to, and the formalization of, political activities designed to reduce or eliminate such threats. The findings indicate, when faced with government/political threats, firms attach high levels of importance to political behaviors and this, in turn, is associated with formalized political activities on the part of the firm.

One of the primary characteristics of the sales environment of the next century will be the proliferation of technology as an important component of the sales process. The successful salesperson of the future will be marked by an ability to incorporate and directly apply a wide range of technology in their interactions with customers. More than simple data access, sales technology is increasingly being used as a means by which the salesperson and customer interact. The overall objective of this study is to measure the attitude of salespeople toward the use of computer technology in a sales job and then ascertain the relationship between these attitudes and a salesperson’s job experience and productivity. The results of the study outline important managerial implications related to introducing and implementing new technology uses within a salesforce.

One of the most important decisions any firm can make is the adopting of new technology. This paper aims to propose ten guidelines for “best practices” in adopting new technology.

Using first‐hand business experience, the author presents and discusses common mistakes to avoid when considering the purchase of both new hardware and software technology.

Many firms mistake “new” for “better” and overlook the impact, explicit and implicit, technology changes can have on their organizations, partners, suppliers, customers, and employees.

The paper gives a foundational guideline for firms seeking to purchase new technology that will make them both more effective and efficient.

In the context of direct marketing, few experts have directly addressed the issues of effectively adopting new technology rather than effectively implementing the technology post‐purchase.

This study seeks to devise a research instrument designed to test the direct effects of technical and functional elements of the service encounter on behavioral intentions.

Using data collected from eight different countries, the survey instrument was tested for reliability and validity using confirmatory factor analysis. Hypotheses were then developed related to the service encounter across countries which were then tested using structural equation modeling.

The findings showed that, in the case of physical good quality, in some cultures the “experience” of the service encounter itself outweighs the tangible “product aspect” of the encounter. This is particularly true in cultures where a higher emphasis is placed on human interactions than the acquisition of materially‐oriented products. In the case of service quality, there was a significant relationship between levels of service quality and purchase intentions in the developed markets in the study but not in the developing markets. Servicescape was found to significantly affect purchase intentions in seven of the eight countries in the study, with India being the exception.

The primary limitation of the study is that of the eight countries sampled, five were either European or English‐speaking.

The study discusses how to maximize service success in a wide range of market environments.

Although aspects of service have been heavily studied in the US market, much less research exists across markets. This paper redresses this imbalance.

A number of studies in the international marketing literature have focused on the identification and discussion of differences across nations and cultures. Unfortunately, the majority of these investigations focus on existing differences without addressing which of these differences have the potential to substantially affect international operations or how to make comparisons within a framework which allows some measure of flexibility across nations and cultures. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to develop and measure the national identify of several different cultures in order to establish a means by which similarities and differences can be placed into a practically applicable context for international marketing decision making; and (2) to establish initial generalizable national identity norms for making broad cross‐cultural/cross‐national comparisons. The results based on a five‐country sample (i.e. the USA, Mexico, Japan, Sweden and Hong Kong) show that, within the theoretical framework of national identity it is possible to identify such differences. Implications for both academic research as well as managerial decision making in an international marketing context are presented.