The influence of national culture on the strategic use of salesperson pricing authority: A cross-country study within the hotel industry

Abstract

At some hotel properties individual catering sales managers are empowered with the authority to make price adjustments, but at other properties they must ascertain the permission before adjusting prices. This research collected and analyzed data from 392 hotels in 28 countries and found that national culture has an influence on the price empowerment decision. Specifically, catering sales managers are more likely to be granted pricing authority in: (1) individualistic societies than in collective societies; (2) low power distance cultures than in high power distance cultures; and (3) low uncertainty avoidance societies than in high uncertainty avoidance societies.