Contribution of cultural intelligence to adaptive selling and customer-oriented selling of salespeople at international trade shows: does cultural similarity matter?

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the contribution of cultural intelligence (CQ) to the level of adaptive selling behavior and customer-oriented selling behavior of salespeople in a cross-cultural selling context. Design/methodology/approach This study collected data from a total of 210 Thai salespeople who had been assigned to work at trade shows in Japan (n = 110) and in Vietnam (n = 100). Findings The findings show that salespeople with higher CQ tend to demonstrate a higher degree of adaptive selling behavior and customer-oriented selling behavior in both countries. The moderating effect analysis shows that the positive relationship between CQ and adaptive selling behavior is significantly higher for Thai salespeople in Japanese trade shows than in Vietnamese trade shows. Research limitations/implications This study uses cross-sectional data collection; therefore, the results have been interpreted as associations, but not causations. Practical implications The study suggests that CQ development programs could be considered as part of the training that organizations provide to salespeople to develop cross-cultural competencies to deal effectively with foreign customers. Originality/value This study provides additional evidence concerning the benefits of CQ in an occupational area that has not been previously explored. More importantly, the result regarding the positive linkage between CQ and adaptive selling behavior was significantly stronger in the country characterized by higher cultural differences. This also contributed to CQ research by showing that differences in a cultural context might also influence the benefits of CQ in relation to the outcome variables.