Current Status and Future Directions for Research on Direct Selling Channels

Abstract

Direct selling is not a new method of distribution. It has a rich history. But, until the late 1980s there was a paucity of published empirical research on direct selling. This paper reviews, in a descriptive way, the research that has been done since the mid-1980s on both the sales side and consumer side of this method of distribution. In addition, a survey of executives of direct selling companies was conducted to assess whether researchers have been studying the major problems faced by direct sellers. It appears that there is a poor match between those problems perceived as most important by practitioners and the problems studied by academicians.