Michael T. Krush, assistant professor of marketing, co-wrote the manuscript, "Understanding the mechanism linking interpersonal traits to prosocial behaviours among salespeople: Lessons from India," which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.
Factors such as globalization and market size have made India a major consideration for multinational firms and their sales forces. Despite the appeal of the market, the majority of theories and empirical studies within sales have been based on Western thought and within a Western context. This study addresses the issue of what interpersonal traits impel outcomes and behaviors of Indian salespeople.
Specifically, the study examined two traits, empathy proneness and guilt proneness. The results suggest an interplay between interpersonal traits and prosocial sales behaviors. Empathy proneness was positively related to helping behaviors targeted at other salespeople. Guilt proneness was positively associated with behaviors targeted at customers and negatively associated with behaviors targeted at colleagues. The research suggests that a salesperson’s capacity for empathy does not always translate into customer-based behaviors within an Indian sales force. Hence, sales training and other interventions targeted toward building empathy may actually impact behaviors between salespeople versus the interface between the salesperson and customer.