Abstract
This study investigates how purchase decisions may be influenced by ties linking customer account personnel and sales personnel. Two distinct forms of social contagion-cohesion and structural equivalence-are posited as mechanisms for triggering purchase similarity among customer accounts. We empirically test our hypotheses using field-collected sociometric data that captures social ties among customer accounts and sales personnel within a retail sales territory. The results support structural equivalence rather than cohesion as a key driver of brand choice similarity among retail firms. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for sales management practice and research.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7-20 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2011 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Human Factors and Ergonomics
- Management of Technology and Innovation
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Bowler, W. M., Dahlstrom, R., Seevers, M. T., & Skinner, S. J. (2011). The ties that buy: The role of interfirm social contagion across customer accounts. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 31(1), 7-20. https://doi.org/10.2753/PSS0885-3134310101