Sales Practices Research Articles

Scenario, implications and prospects of climate change on potato (Solanum tuberosum) insect pests: A review

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a cool climate loving crop. Climatically, there is a short window in which potato has been fitted with appreciable use realized even 80 to 90 days old crop. Moreover a few other crops produce comparatively high yields of nutrients per unit area where land is scarce. That’s why potatoes are highly important formany marginal families of the country. High production levels and highly perishable sale practices enable farmers to be competitive despite the fact of high input cost, labour problem and forced gluts, still potato is an important cash crop and cultivated mainly as an irrigated winter cash crop. Among the various factors related to insect pestsand diseases, potato farmers are increasingly forced to face water stress change, changes in rainfall patterns and its intensity, frost and fog etc. These conditions are generally interpreted to be climate changes. Potato productionis highly dependent on climate and weather factors. All climate change projections are based on simulations andtherefore involve uncertainties. However, it is clear that climate change will not only affect the cultivation system butalso change the pressure of insect pests of potato. Disease free seed production may also be affected due to changes in the life cycles of aphids. Pests such as mite, potato tuber moth and cutworms may become more serious on potatocrop. At present most of the potato seed is grown in Northern plains under no or low aphid period in order to keep it virus free but change in climate, in certain regions, aphids/whiteflies will occurs in greater numbers, resulting threat particularly to virus free seed production. The precise impact of climate change on insects is somewhat uncertain because some changes may favours insects while other may inhibit the activity of few insects. The best economic strategy for farmers is to use IPM practices to monitor insect occurrence and their buildup on potato crop.

Misoprostol knowledge and distribution in Mexico City: A survey of pharmacy staff

Objectives: Abortion is legal and widely available in Mexico City, but practices around the sale of misoprostol in community pharmacies are not well understood. We assessed pharmacy staff sale practices and knowledge about misoprostol in Mexico City.

Why cultures fail: The power and risk of Groupthink

Why do terrible things happen under the watch of good leaders? Why do very smart, dedicated, well-meaning leaders make horrific mistakes? Can these problems be foreseen? How and why do these problems happen? How is it that a robust system of checks and balances designed to prevent these situations fails? Are these problems likely to happen again? In this paper, the power and risk of Groupthink is explored by examining two cases (London Whale and Sales Practices) at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Through specific examples, the paper demonstrates that what happened at these organisations can happen in any company.

Toward a guanxi-bases view of structural holes in sales gatekeeping: A qualitative study of sales practices in China

Sales managers often engage relational gatekeepers who connect personally with key managers or decision-makers in the client organization to broker the structural holes (‘absence of direct connections’) in sales relations in closely-knit networked markets. Based on interviews with fourteen local sales managers working for foreign companies and seven local gatekeepers in China, we aim to understand how different types of guanxi (‘particularistic personal ties’) bases and related social ties interact with one another, and together bridge structural holes in the sales management. We develop propositions to capture the essence of approaches, bases, rules, and rewards in sales gatekeeping (which refer to a process that involves the facilitation provided by relational gatekeepers in social and business interactions between a sales manager and a client manager in sales). We further develop a framework for understanding the differences in terms of guanxi bases and gatekeeper ties between homogeneous and heterogeneous structural holes in sales gatekeeping. This new framework has important theoretical and practical implications, as it allows researchers and practitioners to evaluate the guanxi-base characteristics of structural holes in business networking in China, and to determine the appropriate gatekeeper tie for the different purposes of gatekeeping (symbolic vs. reciprocal) in sales management.

Non-prescribed sale of antibiotics for acute childhood diarrhea and upper respiratory tract infection in community pharmacies: a 2 phase mixed-methods study

BackgroundAlthough prohibited by law and legal regulatory frameworks, non-prescribed sale of antibiotics in community medicine retail outlets (CMROs) remains a serious problem in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to document the extent of and motivations behind non-prescribed sale of antibiotics among CMROs in Gondar town, Ethiopia.MethodsA 2 phase mixed-methods study (a simulated patient visit followed by an in-depth interview) was conducted among CMROs in Gondar town, Ethiopia. Two clinical case scenarios (acute childhood diarrhea and upper respiratory tract infection) were presented and the practice of non-prescribed sale were measured and results were reported as percentages. Pharmacy staff (pharmacists and pharmacy assistants) were interviewed to examine factors/motivations behind dispensing antibiotics without a valid prescription.ResultsOut of 100 simulated visits (50 each scenarios) presented to drug retail outlets, 86 cases (86%) were provided with one or more medications. Of these, 18 (20.9%) asked about past medical and medication history and only 7 (8.1%) enquired about the patient’s history of drug allergy. The most frequently dispensed medication for acute childhood diarrhoea simulation were oral rehydration fluid (ORS) with zinc (n = 16) and Metronidazole (n = 15). Among the dispensed antibiotics for upper respiratory infection simulation, the most common was Amoxicillin (n = 23) followed by Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid capsule (n = 19) and Azithromycin (n = 15). Perceived financial benefit, high expectation and/or demand of customers and competition among pharmacies were cited as the main drivers behind selling antibiotics without a prescription.ConclusionsA stringent law and policy enforcement regarding the sale of antibiotics without a valid prescription should be in place. This will ultimately help to shift the current pharmacy practices from commercial and business-based interests/practices to the provision of primary healthcare services to the community.

Personal branding of artists and art-designers: necessity or desire?

PurposePersonal branding becomes a new in-demand skill for all professionals today. To be well-known helps to achieve success in the networked business environment. Personal relationships and a good reputation in the reality of network economy help young artists and art designers move up the career ladder. This paper aims to discuss a problem of artists who often find it difficult to define their artistic and self-distinction identities. The concept of personal brand and branding seems quite irrelevant, especially in reference to their own selves. People usually associate branding with marketing, which in our minds is usually the same as “pushy” and aggressive sales practices. Their find problematic to promote themselves. The purpose of this paper is to highlight that, based on existing theories, artistic identity creation in connection with the skill of personal branding is crucial for personal success in the profession of today’s young artists and art designers.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted based on the data originally collected among artists, designers, architecture professionals and students. The data have been analyzed with the equal structural equation modeling method.FindingsThis paper presents empirical evidence that if artists view themselves as personal brands, it affects their personal performance in a positive way.Practical implicationsAuthors claim that a teaching curriculum for young adult artists should include a personal branding program, to help them find and support their artistic identity and express their personal values and self-brand distinction, and leverage them to build their professional career.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to quantify the self-brand performance of young art designers as a benefit of being self-brand oriented.

Wells Fargo Unauthorized Account Openings: A Case Study for Bank Board Directors

The case study draws primarily from the 113 page report of the Wells Fargo board’s independent investigation of retail banking sales practices. The case study also relies on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s report titled: Lessons Learned Review Of Supervision Of Sales Practices At Wells Fargo. Additional details are sourced from various Wells Fargo regulatory reports. The case study is intended to be used as a resource for directors at banks and financial services institutions of all sizes, so that they may learn from, and hopefully avoid, mistakes that were made over many years throughout Wells Fargo’s corporate hierarchy. All errors are our own.

Waiting for a sales renaissance in the fourth industrial revolution: Machine learning and artificial intelligence in sales research and practice

Experts have suggested that the next few decades will herald the fourth industrial revolution. The fourth industrial revolution will be powered by digitization, information and communications technology, machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence; and will shift more decision-making from humans to machines. The ensuing societal changes will have a profound impact on both personal selling and sales management research and practices. In this article, we focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) and their impact on personal selling and sales management. We examine that impact on a small area of sales practice and research based on the seven steps of the selling process. Implications for theory and practice are derived.

Producer and farm characteristics, type of product, location: Determinants of on‐farm and off‐farm direct sales by farmers

AbstractDirect sales are a widespread and important typology of the so‐called alternative food networks. They can take two basic forms: consumers going to buy agricultural products at the farm (on‐farm sales) and farmers selling their products in urban areas. We investigate the territorial distribution of direct sales practices (on‐farm and off‐farm) in Piedmont (Italy) and we assess the main determinants of these choices via probit models, separately for on‐farm and off‐farm sales. The explanatory variables comprise structural characteristics of the farms, type of farming, characteristics of the operators and of their products, and the proximity to urban and commercial areas. The most important factor affecting these choices is the type of farming (TF). The effect of other variables differs according to the TF. Conditional on it, other significant variables are generally farm location, organic farming and, especially for on‐farm direct sales, the complementarity with agro‐tourism and recreational activities. Operators’ and farm characteristics are found to affect the choice of selling directly rather weakly. [EconLit citations: Q13, Q12, R12].

How can we improve the customers’ experience of our life products?

AbstractIn the last three decades the life insurance industry was rocked by a series of mis-selling scandals such as endowment mortgage, personal pension and payment protection insurance mis-selling. Regulators have stepped in to try to address the underlying causes and improve customer protection by introducing more stringent regulation targeted at sales practices and remuneration, product design, disclosure and ongoing monitoring together with significantly larger financial penalties for non-compliance. Against this background, the paper considers whether customers understanding of risks and outcomes associated with life insurance products can be further improved and how poor customer outcomes can be avoided in the future. We acknowledge the complexity of these issues, which involve many stakeholders, covering all stages of the product lifecycle and customer journey and being impacted by a constantly changing regulatory landscape. We first review the current regulatory landscape across both the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions, concluding that whilst regulators have acted to improve customer protection, gaps still remain, particularly around the areas of disclosure and consideration of changing customers’ needs throughout product lifetimes. The paper then considers how the current situation could be improved for customers in a cost effective manner. We focus on improvements in disclosure, needs-based selling, ongoing assessment and communication as a means of ensuring that products continue to meet the customers’ needs and risk profile, and on introducing a duty of care which would force financial services firms to act in the best interests of their customers. In this paper we present our preliminary thoughts and recommendations. Some of the recommendations will cost something to implement, and should therefore be supported by cost-benefit analyses that would weigh these costs against the potentially larger benefits to both customers and the insurance industry.

Financial Consumer Protection in the Household Lending Sector : An Assessment of the Korean Experience

The objective of this paper is to offer a systematic review and assessment of the policy measures adopted to date for financial consumer protection (FCP) in the household lending sector in Korea. In so doing, we focus on the “software” aspects of the policies adopted so far in terms of four particular groups of consumer issues: (1) information provision (by service providers), (2) financial literacy programs, (3) sales practices, and (4) dispute resolution (rules and processes). We also attempt to relate the FCP policies to two broader goals of financial market regulations - financial stability and financial inclusion. Our analyses indicate that; the regulatory authorities in Korea initiated the FCP policies early on, which cover a fairly comprehensive set of policy measures with almost all sub-items of the aforementioned four dimensions being included; some of the FCP policies are driven in large part by the intent of stabilizing the housing and mortgage market rather than protecting financial consumers per se, for which the regulatory authorities should weigh the anticipated benefit in terms of financial stability against the unintended cost in financial inclusion; and the Korean FCP policies tend to focus on the residential mortgage lending sector, which should be extended to other consumer lending products (e.g., credit – or non-collateralized – lending, credit card receivables, and car loans). Though seemingly comprehensive, the FCP policies in Korea should be further refined and enhanced with respect to their effectiveness, for which we discuss a series of future research topics.

Alexion cuts 20% and moves to Boston

Rare-disease drugmaker Alexion Pharmaceuticals will cut 20% of its workforce, about 600 jobs, and move its headquarters to Boston, leaving about 450 positions behind in New Haven, Conn. The move comes amid controversy over aggressive sales practices for Alexion’s drug Soliris, which treats rare blood diseases, that led to the ousting of its CEO. The downsizing includes the shuttering of a plant in Smithfield, R.I., and the end of partnerships with Moderna Therapeutics and Arbutus Biopharma.

Selling Value in Business Markets: Individual and Organizational Factors for Turning the Idea into Action

Modern business-to-business firms focus increasingly on understanding and selling value, as a strategic priority and to achieve marketing and sales excellence. Yet many companies struggle to implement their value orientation, without sufficient knowledge of how to translate it into sales practice. This study therefore examines value-based selling (VBS) as an implementation of value-based marketing at the sales force level. The proposed motivation–opportunity–ability framework integrates individual- and organizational-level antecedents, outcomes, and moderators in an attempt to explain the adoption and performance outcomes of VBS in business markets. Multilevel path modeling with cross-sectional survey data from 944 salespeople and managers in 43 sales organizations confirms the prediction that VBS enhances salespeople's performance, beyond that achieved with established selling approaches. However, firms need specific types of salespeople and dedicated organizational support for effective VBS implementation. A salesperson's learning orientation and networking competencies emerge as critical antecedents. Organizational value assessment tools can compensate for individual salespeople's lack of learning orientation; reference marketing efforts also strengthen the performance outcomes of VBS. Finally, VBS is most effective in organizational settings where perceived customers value demandingness is lower, enabling salespeople to use VBS as a proactive selling approach.

When performance improvement coaching for your salesperson goes badly: a conceptual approach to dealing with negative reactions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a framework and conceptualization of approaches to salespersons’ negative reactions to performance-improvement coaching. This is done by first depicting “negative reaction to coaching” (such as defensiveness, reluctance, fear, confusion, or apathy) as the manifestation of an underlying psychological “basic issue” held by the salesperson. Next, from the sales coaching and psychology literature, the theoretical underpinnings of the following coaching approaches are introduced: humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, and psychodynamic. Finally, applications of coaching conversations are presented for each “basic issue” and “coaching approach” pairing.Design/methodology/approachThis study is conceptual and is depicted using a framework illustration (table) of how each negative reaction to coaching (i.e. basic issue) maps to a theoretical approach rooted in the psychology and coaching literature.FindingsDealing with a rep’s negative reaction to performance-improvement coaching should be treated like the process of handling any sales objection, issue, or concern. This process consists of, first, recognizing, clarifying, or attempting to better understand the rep’s negative reaction; and second, responding to the negative reaction using the appropriate psychology-rooted coaching approach to clarify or explain the purpose or rationale for coaching. Examples and sample coaching conversations are presented for each negative reaction–coaching approach pairing.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual research presented in this paper provides scholars one way to view and understand such negative reactions to performance-improvement coaching from salespeople, as it maps to the underlying psychological basic issues (behind negative reactions) and theoretical basis (to coaching approaches). Using the framework of Argyris and Schon, this paper conceptualizes these negative reactions to coaching as “action strategies” as a rep’s means to protect him/herself psychologically.Practical implicationsFor practicing sales managers (coaches), a better understanding of negative reactions to performance-improvement coaching and underlying theoretical approaches to responding to them could better help shape the most constructive coaching conversations with reps. These conversations should follow the same format as responding to a customer objection (e.g. better understand the reaction and then respond to it).Originality/valueThis conceptual paper blends the theory and practice of sales coaching by providing a framework to aid sales managers in overcoming and minimizing the obstacles posed by salespeople when they are not open to coaching conversations.

Exploring Buyer Motivation to Improve Management, Marketing, Sales, and Finance Practices in the Martial Arts Industry

The martial arts industry is experiencing immense growth, creating a highly competitive environment where challenges in attracting and retaining customers cause substantial losses and an inability to compete effectively. Customer memberships are the primary revenue source for fitness firms. Understanding buyer motivation is essential for marketing message creation and product development to attract and retain customers. The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory, single-case study was to investigate parent purchase motivation for children’s martial arts classes and to document internal buying motives in order to address the problem of acquiring and retaining customers in the commercialized martial arts industry. The study sample consisted of seven parents, two instructors, and two owners. The data collection methods were semistructured interviews comprising open-ended questions. Interviews were analyzed using NVivo® qualitative analysis software to code and analyze themes. The semistructured interviews identified 10 themes. Three new themes emerged—ease of participation, alternative to team sports, and convenience. Study findings contribute to the theory of planned behavior and theories used to predict purchase behavior. Recommendations for practice include refinements of product offerings and marketing messages and the creation of a new market segment, resulting in customer alignment and increased ability to attract and retain customers. Future research is recommended to replicate this study in other geographies, to use the data gathered in this study to seed qualitative research studies, and to weigh the relative influence of the three types of behaviors influencing intention in the theory of planned behavior.

“THAT’S HOW THEY TAUGHT US TO DO IT”: Learned Deviance and Inadequate Deterrents in Retail Banking

ABSTRACTThe recent reports of Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley being engaged in widespread fraudulent sales practices in the retail banking industry make this field a timely and interesting area of study. The current study expands upon previous research examining retail banking deviance and seeks to further explore potential causes of such conduct. Specifically, the current study seeks to explore whether the underlying deviance is being taught by senior employees and also whether current ethics and compliance policies are adequate deterrents. To achieve this goal, the current study utilizes an approach mirroring a qualitative case study. Results indicate that new employees are being taught these fraudulent practices and that current ethics and compliance practices and policies are largely ineffective in curtailing such conduct. Informed by these findings, policy recommendations are presented.

Lessons Learned in Management, Marketing, Sales, and Finance Incentive Practices a Decade after the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

The subprime mortgage crisis was the most devastating financial crisis since the Great Depression. The steady rise of housing purchases and seemingly limitless increase in home values drew many investors to the United States real estate market. The business growth in this sector was so compelling that financial firms created new secondary markets that were perceived as diversifying risk, which in turn prompted lenders to create innovative funding vehicles and loose and fast loan qualification processes. The federal government was ill prepared to deal with this shift in the financial world to market-based demand, and the results were disastrous. Lenders embraced predatory lending practices, borrowers with bad credit overextended themselves beyond their means, and foreclosures occurred at startling rates as home values plummeted, resulting in a world-wide economic depression. Ten years later, we reflect on the events that led up to and caused the subprime mortgage crisis for lessons learned to improve management, marketing, and finance incentive practices.

Food and nutrition education in private Indian secondary schools

PurposeThe current Indian secondary school curriculum has been criticised for its failure to deliver relevant skills-based food and nutrition education for adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to understand the views of adolescents, their parents, teachers and school principals on the present food and nutrition curriculum and the role of the schools in developing food skills.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were held with 15 students aged 14-15 years, 15 parents, 12 teachers and ten principals in ten private schools in Kolkata, India. The interview questions were primarily based on the content, merits and demerits of the curriculum. The digitally recorded data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.FindingsAll the 52 interviewees observed that the food and nutrition curriculum created awareness in students about the importance of healthy eating. However, they also described certain weaknesses of the curriculum. These included lack of practical assignments, an out-dated and a limited curriculum, which failed to initiate critical thinking and was contradicted by sales practices in the school food environment. The interviewees prioritised the inclusion of food skills in the curriculum.Practical implicationsThe emerging evidence suggests the need for the development of a skills-focussed food and nutrition curriculum to encourage healthy eating behaviours among adolescents.Originality/valueMost of the work on food and nutrition education has come from developed nations – this is the first study in the Indian context of the secondary school food and nutrition curriculum.

Public health practices at meat pie retail points in Makurdi, Benue State and its potential effect on consumer’s health

Observance of public health best practices at point of sales by meat pie retailers in Makurdi, Benue State was evaluated by studying three (3) retail sources namely eateries, supermarkets and street hawkers. Observations were carried out ninety (90) times between March to July 2013. The neatness of the vendor, sales environment, and state of the product storage containers were assessed. Microbiological analysis revealed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp, Enterobacter spp, Proteus spp, Pseudomonas spp, Citrobacter spp, Edwardsiella spp, Bacillus spp, Klebsiella spp and Shigella spp. There was a positive relationship between multiple bacterial contamination and the constituents of the meat pie fillings. A total of 64 (35.6%) fillings had between 3 – 7 bacterial contaminants, 57 (31.7%) had at least 2 bacterial contaminants, 58 (32.2%) had at least 1 contaminant while only 1 (0.6%) was without any bacterial contaminant. Only 5(5.6 %) of the vendors and 10(11.1%) of the sales environment were very neat, while 23(25.6%) and 22(24.4%) of the storage containers were observed to be partially accessible to air/dust and insects respectively. None of the vendors (90:100%) used hand gloves, none (90:100%) used an apron, 89 (98.9%) used no cutlery and 89 (98%) had uncovered hair while serving the product. The paper submits that the health of consumers is endangered by this negligence. Hence, the need for regulatory authorities to create awareness on, as well as enforce the observance of established point of sales practices for the sake of the public health.Keywords: Public, health, meat pie, fillings, negligence, contamination.

Non-prescription sale and dispensing of antibiotics in community pharmacies in Zambia

ABSTRACTBackground: In Zambia, antibiotics are categorized as prescription-only medicines. Antibiotics dispensed without a prescription pose a public health threat, which is a concern. Consequently, the aim is to ascertain the extent of non-prescription sales and dispensing of antibiotics in community pharmacies in Zambia.Methods: The practice of non-prescription sale and dispensing were assessed in 73 randomly selected community retail pharmacies, using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire with simulated case scenarios.Results: Majority (97%) stated that clients frequently requested non-prescribed antibiotics. Interviewees usually asked clients’ indications (94%), counselled on dosing (96%) and suggested changes to antibiotic choices (97%). All (100%) dispensed non-prescribed antibiotics. Commonly dispensed antibiotics included amoxicillin (52%), cotrimoxazole (25%) and metronidazole (23%). Non-prescription sale and dispensing of antibiotics was significantly associated with interviewees’ professional qualification in four out of five simulations.Conclusion: Non-prescription sale and dispensing of antibiotics is widespread in Zambia. Concerted public and professional interventions are needed coupled with stronger regulatory enforcement to reduce this.