Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 2013
This study explores personal characteristics as antecedents to three types of work commitment: jo... more This study explores personal characteristics as antecedents to three types of work commitment: job, organizational, and career. Also, the relationships between these work commitments and key sales outcomes (performance and propensity to leave the organization) are assessed. We demonstrate the distinctive nature of these three work commitments while reducing the concept redundancy found between them and other forms of work commitment. The results indicate that each form of work commitment is uniquely related to a set of personal characteristics and sales outcomes. We also provide suggestions for future research and implications for sales managers.
As a special retailing channel, network marketing organizations (NMO), also referred to as multil... more As a special retailing channel, network marketing organizations (NMO), also referred to as multilevel direct selling organizations (ML), have existed widely for decades. Although the marketing literature documents numerous studies on this popular but controversial practice, NMO’s functional mechanism has not yet been explored. This research presents a theoretical model in characterizing NMO’s behavioural rationale and illustrates how NMOs convert social networks into sales opportunities by incorporating the size of the sales force with individuals’ contacting rate and salespersons’ persuasive rate. In addition, when the factor of the quitting of salespersons is considered, the modeling dynamics demonstrates how and why down-stream salespersons are worse off. This paper provides insights into the inherent relationships within NMO’s pyramid levels and it advances our knowledge of NMO’s controversial practices.
Journal of Comparative International Management, 2021
The development of SMEs serves as a tool for creating employment opportunities in developing coun... more The development of SMEs serves as a tool for creating employment opportunities in developing countries. SME growth can be attributed to how owners and managers use entrepreneurial marketing skills in their day-to-day operations. A quantitative study was used to gain an understanding of the application of marketing skills in SMEs and the development of SMEs in Ghana. Findings indicate that entrepreneurs acquire marketing skills during their years of operation, however, these skills are not in tune with modern business trends and market competition. Establishing marketing departments and equipping business owners with marketing skills enables their ability to deal with volatile consumer demands. Likewise, requisite marketing skills enable market understanding, new marketing approaches, and the design of demand driven products and services
Major changes are expected for shopping centers in the next several years as many highly competit... more Major changes are expected for shopping centers in the next several years as many highly competitive non-mall retailers are successfully targeting value-conscious and convenience-oriented consumers. This trend suggests that shopping centers may be loosing certain types of shoppers to these non-mall retailers. Given these changes, marketing researchers must begin to explore the implications this trend holds for users of mall intercept interviews. The authors discuss this trend and the current state of mall intercept interviewing, and report the [mdings of a study designed to investigate the types of shoppers who are interviewed in a shopping mall. Three hundred and three regional shopping center customers were selected and surveyed to test the study’s research questions. The results demonstrate the potential of mall intercept samples with an over-representation of recreational-type shoppers and surface several trade-offs associated with mall intercept interviewing. The authors provide suggestions for futur...
... PERSPECTIVE Phillip C. Wright ... TQM places salesforce managers in a pivotal position, as th... more ... PERSPECTIVE Phillip C. Wright ... TQM places salesforce managers in a pivotal position, as they are responsible for the implementation of quality improvements within the salesforce. ... A similar outlook can be found in Crosby's (1979) 14 steps to quality improvement (see Table 2). ...
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Oct 24, 2013
... Dr. Bush has contributed articles to the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertisin... more ... Dr. Bush has contributed articles to the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal ... Rosann L Spiro Indiana U. 5 15 2.33 18.5 R. Kenneth Teas Iowa State 5 15 4.00 7 Pradeep K. Tyagi San Diego State 5 15 4.50 4.5 RomonA. ...
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Oct 24, 2013
In order to objectively assess the progress of a discipline, it is important to periodically exam... more In order to objectively assess the progress of a discipline, it is important to periodically examine its publication outlets to identify topics and trends that reflect the state of knowledge. In this paper, the content of 13 years of sales force research in four ...
The authors examine the influence of student ethnocentrism on attitudes toward the importance of ... more The authors examine the influence of student ethnocentrism on attitudes toward the importance of and propensity to enroll in international business, foreign language, and business ethics courses. Ethnocentrism is found to be related negatively to student attitudes on each of these topic areas. The relevance of these findings to marketing educators is discussed.
We propose a model that allows managers to assess new product development (NPD) projects, combine... more We propose a model that allows managers to assess new product development (NPD) projects, combined with the anticipated strategy, prior to introduction and to estimate a probability of success. This model allows for an evaluation and prioritization of resource commitments. A test of this model that compares companies within the United States (U.S.) and the United Kingdom (U.K.) is provided.
The authors explore salesforce socialization tactics as a means of building organizational value ... more The authors explore salesforce socialization tactics as a means of building organizational value congruence—an important dimension of salesforce culture strength. An empirical study is presented in which six socialization tactics are measured and it is found that certain socialization tactics have a greater effect than others on organizational value congruence. The findings have important implications for salesforce managers and suggest future research direction.
Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2014
The present research examines the effects of personal, psychological, and job-related factors on ... more The present research examines the effects of personal, psychological, and job-related factors on propensity to quit. The research provides the foundation for the development of a profile of "high PQ" candidates. Our results fail to support the existence of several attitu-dinal variables thought to be predictors of PQ. The findings may be useful in predicting PQ levels much earlier in a sales career and from less complex variables. These findings hold implications for sales management researchers and human resource/personnel managers.
Purpose – To contribute to the understanding of how to manage turnover, the purpose of this paper... more Purpose – To contribute to the understanding of how to manage turnover, the purpose of this paper is to determine if sales managers have the ability to predict high levels of propensity to leave (PL) from variables readily available in personnel records, and on commonly used employee surveys. Design/methodology/approach – The data used for the analysis of the study variables were collected from the sales forces of a total of ten firms across a variety of consumer and industrial product categories, resulting in a sample of 604 respondents. Data were analyzed via multiple discriminant analysis. Findings – The analysis and test results demonstrate that discriminant sets of attitudinal variables, personal characteristics, and aspects of the job can be identified and used to establish meaningful classifications of a salesperson's PL. Organizational commitment, satisfaction with pay, family status, job involvement, level of education, and compensation plan were all found to be signifi...
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 1996
... 13, 395 to 398. Smith, Stephan," European Perspective on the Shadow Economy", Europ... more ... 13, 395 to 398. Smith, Stephan," European Perspective on the Shadow Economy", European Economic Review, March 1989, Vol. ... Vatikiotis, Michael," The Last Frontier: ASEAN Investment Helps to Buoy Vietnam's Economy", Far Eastern Economic Review, June 1991, Vol. ...
Global competition forces companies to invest intensively in brands in order to hold their market... more Global competition forces companies to invest intensively in brands in order to hold their market positions. Hence, a company's market competitiveness can be estimated based on an assessment of its brand equity. This study developed a preliminary metric that assesses a company's ...
The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 2011
This paper explores service quality in the seldom investigated context of nonprofit organizations... more This paper explores service quality in the seldom investigated context of nonprofit organizations dependent on third-party payments for services. Building on Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry's (1985) conceptual model of service quality and the theory of exchange, a qualitative study, using a Canadian sample, provides support for an enhanced conceptual model of service quality applicable to the nonprofit sector. This model holds insight into strategic marketing decisions faced by nonprofit managers, and it provides a foundation for a research agenda to gain further insights into issues of service quality.
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 2010
Abstract This paper discusses the setup of a new entrepreneurship program at a university in Atla... more Abstract This paper discusses the setup of a new entrepreneurship program at a university in Atlantic Canada as well as the intended method of program assessment. An important dimension of the paper is to showcase the challenges and opportunities of setting up an applied program of entrepreneurship study in a region lacking in infrastructure support for entrepreneurs compazed with other regions of Canada. The authors azgue that the development of new entrepreneurship programs will only advance the field if it is accompanied with proper assessment of program effectiveness.
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 2013
This study explores personal characteristics as antecedents to three types of work commitment: jo... more This study explores personal characteristics as antecedents to three types of work commitment: job, organizational, and career. Also, the relationships between these work commitments and key sales outcomes (performance and propensity to leave the organization) are assessed. We demonstrate the distinctive nature of these three work commitments while reducing the concept redundancy found between them and other forms of work commitment. The results indicate that each form of work commitment is uniquely related to a set of personal characteristics and sales outcomes. We also provide suggestions for future research and implications for sales managers.
As a special retailing channel, network marketing organizations (NMO), also referred to as multil... more As a special retailing channel, network marketing organizations (NMO), also referred to as multilevel direct selling organizations (ML), have existed widely for decades. Although the marketing literature documents numerous studies on this popular but controversial practice, NMO’s functional mechanism has not yet been explored. This research presents a theoretical model in characterizing NMO’s behavioural rationale and illustrates how NMOs convert social networks into sales opportunities by incorporating the size of the sales force with individuals’ contacting rate and salespersons’ persuasive rate. In addition, when the factor of the quitting of salespersons is considered, the modeling dynamics demonstrates how and why down-stream salespersons are worse off. This paper provides insights into the inherent relationships within NMO’s pyramid levels and it advances our knowledge of NMO’s controversial practices.
Journal of Comparative International Management, 2021
The development of SMEs serves as a tool for creating employment opportunities in developing coun... more The development of SMEs serves as a tool for creating employment opportunities in developing countries. SME growth can be attributed to how owners and managers use entrepreneurial marketing skills in their day-to-day operations. A quantitative study was used to gain an understanding of the application of marketing skills in SMEs and the development of SMEs in Ghana. Findings indicate that entrepreneurs acquire marketing skills during their years of operation, however, these skills are not in tune with modern business trends and market competition. Establishing marketing departments and equipping business owners with marketing skills enables their ability to deal with volatile consumer demands. Likewise, requisite marketing skills enable market understanding, new marketing approaches, and the design of demand driven products and services
Major changes are expected for shopping centers in the next several years as many highly competit... more Major changes are expected for shopping centers in the next several years as many highly competitive non-mall retailers are successfully targeting value-conscious and convenience-oriented consumers. This trend suggests that shopping centers may be loosing certain types of shoppers to these non-mall retailers. Given these changes, marketing researchers must begin to explore the implications this trend holds for users of mall intercept interviews. The authors discuss this trend and the current state of mall intercept interviewing, and report the [mdings of a study designed to investigate the types of shoppers who are interviewed in a shopping mall. Three hundred and three regional shopping center customers were selected and surveyed to test the study’s research questions. The results demonstrate the potential of mall intercept samples with an over-representation of recreational-type shoppers and surface several trade-offs associated with mall intercept interviewing. The authors provide suggestions for futur...
... PERSPECTIVE Phillip C. Wright ... TQM places salesforce managers in a pivotal position, as th... more ... PERSPECTIVE Phillip C. Wright ... TQM places salesforce managers in a pivotal position, as they are responsible for the implementation of quality improvements within the salesforce. ... A similar outlook can be found in Crosby's (1979) 14 steps to quality improvement (see Table 2). ...
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Oct 24, 2013
... Dr. Bush has contributed articles to the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertisin... more ... Dr. Bush has contributed articles to the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal ... Rosann L Spiro Indiana U. 5 15 2.33 18.5 R. Kenneth Teas Iowa State 5 15 4.00 7 Pradeep K. Tyagi San Diego State 5 15 4.50 4.5 RomonA. ...
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Oct 24, 2013
In order to objectively assess the progress of a discipline, it is important to periodically exam... more In order to objectively assess the progress of a discipline, it is important to periodically examine its publication outlets to identify topics and trends that reflect the state of knowledge. In this paper, the content of 13 years of sales force research in four ...
The authors examine the influence of student ethnocentrism on attitudes toward the importance of ... more The authors examine the influence of student ethnocentrism on attitudes toward the importance of and propensity to enroll in international business, foreign language, and business ethics courses. Ethnocentrism is found to be related negatively to student attitudes on each of these topic areas. The relevance of these findings to marketing educators is discussed.
We propose a model that allows managers to assess new product development (NPD) projects, combine... more We propose a model that allows managers to assess new product development (NPD) projects, combined with the anticipated strategy, prior to introduction and to estimate a probability of success. This model allows for an evaluation and prioritization of resource commitments. A test of this model that compares companies within the United States (U.S.) and the United Kingdom (U.K.) is provided.
The authors explore salesforce socialization tactics as a means of building organizational value ... more The authors explore salesforce socialization tactics as a means of building organizational value congruence—an important dimension of salesforce culture strength. An empirical study is presented in which six socialization tactics are measured and it is found that certain socialization tactics have a greater effect than others on organizational value congruence. The findings have important implications for salesforce managers and suggest future research direction.
Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2014
The present research examines the effects of personal, psychological, and job-related factors on ... more The present research examines the effects of personal, psychological, and job-related factors on propensity to quit. The research provides the foundation for the development of a profile of "high PQ" candidates. Our results fail to support the existence of several attitu-dinal variables thought to be predictors of PQ. The findings may be useful in predicting PQ levels much earlier in a sales career and from less complex variables. These findings hold implications for sales management researchers and human resource/personnel managers.
Purpose – To contribute to the understanding of how to manage turnover, the purpose of this paper... more Purpose – To contribute to the understanding of how to manage turnover, the purpose of this paper is to determine if sales managers have the ability to predict high levels of propensity to leave (PL) from variables readily available in personnel records, and on commonly used employee surveys. Design/methodology/approach – The data used for the analysis of the study variables were collected from the sales forces of a total of ten firms across a variety of consumer and industrial product categories, resulting in a sample of 604 respondents. Data were analyzed via multiple discriminant analysis. Findings – The analysis and test results demonstrate that discriminant sets of attitudinal variables, personal characteristics, and aspects of the job can be identified and used to establish meaningful classifications of a salesperson's PL. Organizational commitment, satisfaction with pay, family status, job involvement, level of education, and compensation plan were all found to be signifi...
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 1996
... 13, 395 to 398. Smith, Stephan," European Perspective on the Shadow Economy", Europ... more ... 13, 395 to 398. Smith, Stephan," European Perspective on the Shadow Economy", European Economic Review, March 1989, Vol. ... Vatikiotis, Michael," The Last Frontier: ASEAN Investment Helps to Buoy Vietnam's Economy", Far Eastern Economic Review, June 1991, Vol. ...
Global competition forces companies to invest intensively in brands in order to hold their market... more Global competition forces companies to invest intensively in brands in order to hold their market positions. Hence, a company's market competitiveness can be estimated based on an assessment of its brand equity. This study developed a preliminary metric that assesses a company's ...
The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 2011
This paper explores service quality in the seldom investigated context of nonprofit organizations... more This paper explores service quality in the seldom investigated context of nonprofit organizations dependent on third-party payments for services. Building on Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry's (1985) conceptual model of service quality and the theory of exchange, a qualitative study, using a Canadian sample, provides support for an enhanced conceptual model of service quality applicable to the nonprofit sector. This model holds insight into strategic marketing decisions faced by nonprofit managers, and it provides a foundation for a research agenda to gain further insights into issues of service quality.
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 2010
Abstract This paper discusses the setup of a new entrepreneurship program at a university in Atla... more Abstract This paper discusses the setup of a new entrepreneurship program at a university in Atlantic Canada as well as the intended method of program assessment. An important dimension of the paper is to showcase the challenges and opportunities of setting up an applied program of entrepreneurship study in a region lacking in infrastructure support for entrepreneurs compazed with other regions of Canada. The authors azgue that the development of new entrepreneurship programs will only advance the field if it is accompanied with proper assessment of program effectiveness.
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Papers by Stephen Grant