Adaptive Selling: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Nomological Validity

Abstract

A 16-item scale is developed to measure the degree to which salespeople practice adaptive selling—the degree to which they alter their sales presentation across and during customer interactions in response to the perceived nature of the sales situation. This paper-and-pencil scale assesses self-reports of five facets of adaptive selling: (1) recognition that different sales approaches are needed for different customers, (2) confidence in ability to use a variety of approaches, (3) confidence in ability to alter approach during an interaction, (4) collection of information to facilitate adaptation, and (5) actual use of different approaches. The reliability of the scale is .85. Support for the nomological validity of the scale is found by failure to disconfirm relationships with an antecedent (intrinsic motivation), several general personality measures of interpersonal flexibility (self-monitoring, empathy, locus of control, and androgyny), and a consequence (self-reported performance).

Marketing culture to service climate: the influence of employee control and flexibility

“…A flexible disposition is fundamental to the success of boundary spanners (Spiro and Weitz, 1990), and our findings offer further support regarding the influence it has on the development of the service climate perceived by employees. Highly flexible boundary spanners are more creative in their offerings to customers (Gwinner et al, 2005) and providing the services they require.…”

“…A sample item is, "the job knowledge and skills of employees to deliver superior customer service are outstanding". Boundary-spanning employee flexibility was assessed using four items based on Spiro and Weitz's (1990) employee flexibility on their performance, and the items used from the scale measure employee flexibility. A sample item includes, "I believe each customer requires a unique approach".…”

“…This research investigates how one of these boundary-spanning employee attributes, flexible disposition, facilitates the service climate. Research widely recognizes that personal flexibility reflects the degree to which a person will engage in adaptive selling techniques (Spiro and Weitz, 1990). By being flexible, boundary-spanning employees can tailor their services to each customer, providing them a greater level of service.…”

“…The individual's ability to employ a range of different behaviors, as required by a given interpersonal situation, defines their ability to be functionally flexible when interacting with customers (Sujan et al, 1994). Prior research regarding boundary-spanning employees expressed flexibility as a fundamental employee disposition for success (Spiro and Weitz, 1990;Sujan et al, 1994). Further depth on the understanding of flexibility has come from studies such as Boorom et al (1998) who researched the role of flexibility in communication.…”

Buyer‐seller relationships: A conceptual model and empirical investigation

“…While sales personnels' empathetic abilities have been identified by a number of theorists as a pre-requisite to successful selling (Greenberg and Greenberg 1983;Sager and Ferris 1986), the limited empirical evidence has produced somewhat contradictory evidence of the link between sales performance and empathy (Spiro and Weitz 1990;Dawson and Pettijohn 1992). Even where service delivery has failed, the ability of the service provider to empathize with the customer can help build a relationship (Bitner 1990).…”