The Consequences of Open Versus Closed Influence Strategies of Salespeople in a Developing Economy

Abstract

The sales representatives of a pharmaceutical manufacturer in India were surveyed to explore the effects of influence strategies on customer oriented selling, adaptive selling, and sales performance, and to examine the relationships among sales performance, job satisfaction, and propensity to leave. Of the 253 salespeople surveyed, complete responses were received from 146 respondents, providing a response rate of 57.7 percent. Results indicated that salespeople using open influence strategies were more customer oriented, more adaptive, and performed better. Further, for closed influencers, job satisfaction fully mediated the effect of sales performance on propensity to leave. Based on these findings, managerial implications for US firms who have entered or are planning to enter India were discussed.