Enhancing International Business Relationships- a Focus on Customer Perceptions of Salesperson Role Performance Including Cultural Sensitivity

Abstract

For many manufacturers, success in the international marketplace depends largely on how well they manage their relationships with retailers, distribu-tors, and agents in foreign cultures. Even so, remarkably little effort has been devoted to understanding cultural sensitivity and its role in international business relationships. The authors draw on existing research and 52 in-depth field interviews with Mexican purchasing directors to provide a working definition of salesperson role performance which in-cludes customers' perceptions of cultural sensitivity as a key dimension. A conceptual framework is presented that identifies the antecedents and consequences of salesperson role performance as a guide to future research efforts. Implications for U.S. managers are discussed.