Predictive Power of Personal Factors in Studying Students' Perception of Sales Profession in Poland

Abstract

Since Poland has become a member of the European Union, free market activities have increased dramatically. The purpose of this study is to explore university students' perceptions of personal selling as a career in Poland. Using logistic regression and Z-test methodologies, we analyzed the perceptions of 114 students. The results confirm the findings of previous studies that personal factors play a significant role in predicting students' perception of sales profession as a career. The findings presented in this study show that Polish students have a biased perception about sales as a career; however, interestingly, few dimensions show a significant effect. Understanding students' perceptions of the sales profession will help corporate recruiters achieve their goals by selecting those students most likely to excel in sales careers.

From resentment to excitement – Australasian students’ perception towards a sales career

“…A comprehensive review of the literature found that attitudes towards a sales career has been a subject of interest to marketing educators and researchers for more than sixty years with numerous studies reporting negative views of sales as a career, (Mason, 1965;Paul and Worthing, 1970;Dubinsky, 1980;Honeycutt et al, 1999;Wiles and Spiro, 2004;Caballero and Joonas, 2009;Waldeck et al, 2010;Bahhouth et al, 2011, Agnihotril et al, 2014. It is thought that these negative perceptions of sales people may have emerged during a period often referred to as the 'sales era' when aggressive attempts were used by organizations to sell their products in a cutthroat competitive environment where supply exceeded demand (Kerin et al, 2009).…”

“…However, it is thought that university students may still hold negative stereotypes (Bahhouth et al, 2011) influenced by external parties. i.e.…”

“…Selling has been a critical marketing activity that accounts for a major portion of revenue generation for any company (Barat and Spillan, 2009;Concha et al, 2014). However, a review of the literature suggests that sales still falls short of being recognized as a profession by society with numerous studies over a period of sixty years reporting negative views of sales as a career (Mason, 1965;Paul and Worthing, 1970;Dubinsky, 1980;Honeycutt et al, 1999;Wiles and Spiro, 2004;Caballero and Joonas, 2009;Waldeck et al, 2010;Bahhouth et al, 2011). In recent times, it is believed that these negative images have been reinforced through anecdotes, stories, and the mass media focussing on the business-to-consumer salesperson resulting in all salespeople being stereotyped in a similar manner, perpetuating the myth of the 'door to door' sales person.…”

“…Sales education in universities equip students with crucial job-related skills and contributing to sales representatives' performance (Bolander et al, 2014) through the establishment of sales centres (Stewart, 2006;Mantel et al, 2002). However, it is thought that university students may still hold stereotypes (Bahhouth et al, 2011) based on external influences. If students have concerns regarding poor ethical image of sales (Burnett et al, 2008) or inaccurate stereotypes about the nature of sales, they are less likely to consider selling as a career (Cummins et al, 2015;DelVecchio and Honeycutt, 2002;Sparks and Johlke, 1996).…”

La actividad comercial en empresas turísticas. Percepción de los estudiantes de turismo

“…Estos estereotipos negativos no están restringidos a un único entorno sociocultural. Estudios realizados en diferentes entornos y países, encontraron que la venta no es considerada entre los universitarios como una carrera profesional atractiva (Lee, Sandfield y Dhaliwal, 2007;Barat y Spillan, 2009;Canales, 2012;Agnihotril, Bonney, Dixon, Erffemeyer, Pullins, Sojka y West, 2014), algo que ocurre incluso en países en vías de desarrollo como Ghana (Bahhouth, Spillan y Mensah, 2013).…”