Publication Date
2019
Abstract
Preliminary evidence indicates that salespeople working in a variety of industries hold the perception that destructive selling (defined as the intentional use of unethical tactics including lying, misrepresenting product/service performance, misleading the client, spreading rumors about the competition, etc. by professional salespeople) does occur in the professional selling discipline. A rich history of related research provides further evidence that university students exhibit negative perceptions and attitudes towards professional selling. In the work reported in this manuscript, the authors employed the survey research method to empirically study the perceptions held by university level pre-business and business students regarding the presence of destructive selling tactics in the world of professional selling. Results indicated that respondents believed that both B2B and B2C professional salespeople are intentionally engaging in destructive selling behaviors and tactics and that some firms are training their sales forces in the use of those tactics. Implications, limitations and future research avenues are presented.