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This paper aims to examine a longitudinal study of mentoring functions and their effect on salesperson attitudes and intentions.

The research is based on a multi-year study of salespeople beginning when the salesperson entered the industry being examined.

The level of interaction between the mentor and protégé was found to be the only antecedent examined that related to the perceived quality of mentoring functions. Age, education and length of employment for both parties; the degree of age and education difference; and the length of the mentoring relationship were not significant. Successful mentoring appeared to be based heavily on a mentor’s willingness and ability to interact frequently with the protégé.

This study adds to the literature on mentoring, looking at mentoring in a sales context. Research examining mentoring in a sales setting is much more limited than in many other professions, so the findings represent a valuable addition to the sales mentoring literature. Its influence on sales socialization may be very important.

The attitudes and perceptions of New Zealanders toward current consumerism issues are outlined and compared with four other countries. Many of the opinions expressed are critical of the existing practices of business and appear to be common in the other four countries. The theory of consumer product life cycle suggesting the development of national consumer movements was not supported by the data obtained in New Zealand.

Going from the short list to winning the contract is critical to a professional service provider, yet relatively few studies have investigated selection criteria used in this last stage of the selection process. This paper presents a qualitative study that examined the dynamics of the selection process, identified decision criteria which business and organizational clients use when selecting a professional service provider from their short lists, and investigated ways in which client firms assess competing professional service providers on intangible attributes, e.g. personal chemistry. Clients who had recently awarded a contract to a firm in the “built environment” industry (e.g. an architectural and engineering firm) were sampled. Their responses to open‐ended questions provided rich data that revealed factors considered in the selection of a professional service provider in the final presentation/interview stage and yielded insights into nuances of the selection process. Managerial recommendations for getting from the short list to the contract are presented.

While the consumer movement was popular in economically advanced countries between 1965 and 1975, developing countries were not yet ready for such issues. The consumers in these countries, due to their economic, social, and political environments, were not aware of their rights. Taiwan was a typical case. Three main reasons contributed to the ignorance of the Taiwanese consumers at the advent of the worldwide consumer movement. First, in its early years, Taiwan was basically an agricultural society. The primary industry and its commodities made product differentiation impossible. It was nature, and not human beings that decided the quality and/or quantity of the products produced for the market. Everyday products were simple and few, and the choice between products, easy. Secondly, it was not until the 1960's that Taiwan turned slowly from an import‐oriented economy to that of an export‐oriented economy. Raising tariffs and controlling the importation of products were necessary to protect local businesses from foreign competition. Thus, the rights of consumers were sacrificed. Lastly, the very nature of the Chinese (e.g., psychological profile), led them to endure the suffering of any mistreatment. They would avoid a direct confrontation on any dispute. Therefore, organized activities against businesses was not possible. All of these reasons made the consumer movement unheard of in Taiwan during the 1960s.

Stresses the importance of professional service provider selection and the potentially disastrous financial penalty for error made by a client organization. Identifies problems with previous studies relating to this selection process and offers suggestions for improving future research. Provides an expanded decision‐making model to organize discussion of various stages in selection and evaluation. Identifies factors which may complicate the process. Concludes that a better understanding of the selection process should lead to the identification of ways in which professional service providers can improve their marketing effectiveness and to the reduction of risk to client firms purchasing these services.

Reports on a survey carried out in the USA into the opinions of leading marketing managers and consumer advocates with respect to consumerism. Investigates, also the response of US business to consumerism. Offers several points to illustrate this, concluding that concepts of consumerism appear to have been institutionalized in the economic system of the USA.

Examines the impact of selling behaviors on performance. The time spent actually selling and servicing clients is shown positively to influence salesperson performance. Having a spouse in the profession, past sales experience, higher vocational esteem for selling and service, and a higher extrinsic reward orientation are antecendents to behaviors that relate to higher performance.

The purpose of this research is an examination of three different types of sales approaches (product-, solution- and provocation-based) on relational outcomes. The type of sales approach influences buyer's assessments about the trustworthiness of the salesperson and the conflict with the salesperson. These outcomes of the sales approach affect the customer's economic and non-economic satisfaction.

Using cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 840 organizational buyers, a structural equation model measures the path coefficients of the proposed model and tests the differences in the magnitude based on gender.

The results indicate that sales approaches will differentially influence assessments of trustworthiness and conflict. The magnitude of the influence of the sales approach on outcomes is different between genders.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the impact of sales approaches on both genders of organizational buyers.

Examines the responses of national account decision makers to open‐ended questions asking for their views on what salespeople need to do to build relationships, and categorizes the results. Eight categories of responses were found. These categories address a number of salesperson behaviors and attitudes ‐ some of which have not been empirically examined in the sales literature. Based on the findings of this study, presents managerial and theoretical implications of these results and implications for future research into buyer‐seller relationships.

Examines the effect of the quality of a salesperson’s relationship with a customer on the likelihood of retaining that customer’s business. Assesses the effects of high/low‐quality buyer‐salesperson relationships on obtaining referrals and recommendations from a customer. Results indicate that buyers who rated the quality of their relationship with their salesperson as above average were more likely to remain. In addition, above average buyer‐salesperson relationships were more likely to generate recommendations and referrals from customers. Suggests that a salesperson’s efforts to build relationships are rewarded by greater customer retention and increased business through referrals and recommendations.