A confirmatory investigation of industrial buyer image of the Saleswoman

An intervening variable between ability and sales performance is the receptivity of professional purchasing agents. In this article we examine the extent to which purchasing agents’ perceptions of female sales representatives constitute a barrier to the latter’s sales performance and effectiveness. The present investigation replicates the work of Swan et al. (1984) with two substantive improvements; (1) it is based on a sample representative of purchasing agents throughout the United States, and (2) the study introduces importance ratings for each of the attributes thought to contribute to buyer preference for a salesperson. In addition to replication, the present investigation allows for comparison of changes in purchasing agent’s perception of differences between male and female industrial salespersons during the decade of the 1980s. Results support the earlier study in finding no overt evidence of negative stereotyping of female sales representatives. Directions for future research are also discussed.