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Death of a salesman: Birth of a knowledge broker

Article  in  International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management · January 2014

DOI: 10.1504/IJECRM.2014.066877

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Int. J. Electronic Customer Relationship Management, Vol. 8, Nos. 1/2/3, 2014 1

Death of a salesman: birth of a knowledge broker

M. Bendixen*, Y. Yurova, R. Abratt and

M. Rawdan
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship,
Nova Southeastern University,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Email: bendixen@nova.edu
Email: yy21@nova.edu
Email: abratt@nova.edu
Email: michaelrawdan@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract: Call centres have emerged as an important channel for the sale of
infrequently purchased goods and services. The purpose of this paper is to
examine the predictors of sales agent performance and their changed role in
inbound call centres. Two independent samples were taken from a single
inbound call centre, the first taken during a peak sales week, and the second
from an off-peak sales week. PLS was used to model the relationship between
agent tenure, selling time, administrative time and sales performance metrics.
Agent tenure was found to have a limited effect on sales performance.
Increased selling time and reduced administrative time increased both sales
performance metrics. Both of these findings are contrary to traditional sales
and call centre management theory. From these results it is apparent that
adaptive selling techniques are required to deal with the reduced information
asymmetry in the information age.

Keywords: call centre; information asymmetry; sales performance measures;

operational strategy.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Bendixen, M., Yurova, Y.,
Abratt, R. and Rawdan, M. (2014) ‘Death of a salesman: birth of a knowledge
broker’, Int. J. Electronic Customer Relationship Management, Vol. 8, Nos. 1/2/3,
pp.1–14.

Biographical notes: M. Bendixen is Professor of Decision Sciences and

Research Methods at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and
Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University. His research interests lie in
the application of multivariate analytical techniques and service industry
management. He has consulted to contact centres internationally for the past
15 years.

Y. Yurova is Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences and Research Methods

at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova
Southeastern University. Her research interests cover a range of topics in time
series analysis, structural equation modelling, and multivariate analysis in
economics, finance, and marketing.

R. Abratt is Professor of Marketing at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of

Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University. His research
interests are in corporate identity, branding and corporate reputation as well as

Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

2 M. Bendixen et al.

sales management. His research has been published in California Management

Review, Journal of Advertising Research, European Journal of Marketing,
Industrial Marketing Management and the Journal of Business Ethics, amongst
others.

M. Rawdan holds a Doctorate in International Business Administration from

the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova
Southeastern University. He has been involved at the intersection between
Decision Science programmes and contact centre management for 25 years. He
is an Adjunct Professor for several universities in Idaho and is presently
applying his background knowledge and experience in the healthcare industry
to drive significant improvements in how healthcare systems/hospitals use
data and technology to facilitate interactions and improve patient financial
experiences.

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Death of a

salesman: birth of a knowledge broker’ presented at the ‘5th Global Sales
Science Institute Conference’, Milan, June 2011.

1 Introduction

One of the most neglected areas in service research is the role played by agents in
inbound sales call centres. The sales role in an inbound call centre is different from
the traditional sales job. Management therefore has to manage these agents differently
from the traditional approach used to manage either general call centre agents or a
conventional sales team. The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of sales
agent performance and their changed role in inbound call centres.
The internet has changed the way in which consumers purchase products and services
by way of re-intermediation of the roles that manufacturers, retail salespersons and
intermediaries play. This is particularly true for infrequently purchased items where
consumers face additional risk (Coltman et al., 2001; Kracht and Wang, 2010). The
internet has not only changed the roles but created new channels of distribution and even
a new set of intermediaries, e.g. comparison websites (Laffey and Gandy, 2009).
Consider the example of a consumer purchasing a domestic appliance now as
compared to 25 years ago. Historically, the consumer would seek information about
competing brands by way of asking friends, family and colleagues. This would be used to
generate a shortlist which would be the basis of visiting retail outlets where pricing,
features and delivery details could be established, and a final purchase decision made.
The salesperson played a significant role in affecting the purchase decision in this
scenario.
Nowadays, information from friends, family and colleagues would initiate a search of
manufacturers’ websites where very detailed information on features could be sought.
This would probably be supplemented via social media (Senders et al., 2013), by a visit
to retail or comparison websites where prices, features and other details for competing
products could be directly compared. The consumer then has several options in terms of
purchasing the product through a variety of channels, viz. traditional retailer, online or
via a call centre (Coelho and Easingwood, 2008; Rhee, 2010). The influence of the
 Death of a salesman 3

salesperson is significantly reduced in this scenario and their role changed completely.
This example serves to illustrate how the internet has resulted in a breakdown of the
information asymmetry between buyer and seller (Coltman et al., 2001; Sharma, 2007).
The sales process is clearly different today with a change in the asymmetry of
information brought about by the internet and the different buying channels available to
customers. In this study we examine the impact of these changes in the little researched
area of an inbound sales call centre. This research was conducted in a single organisation
located in the USA. The organisation is a leading global provider of products,
technologies, software, solutions and services to individual customers and businesses.
The 150 seat inbound sales call centre is located in the USA and assists individual and
small business customers with their purchases of electronic equipment including
computers, printers, other peripherals, and supplies.
In the remainder of this paper, the circumstances of inbound call centres in the USA
is described, followed by theoretical considerations of call centre management, sales
processes and the effect of tenure on sales performance. This results in the development
of hypotheses, a description of the methodology employed and presentation of results.
The results are then discussed and conclusions drawn.

2 Background and development of hypotheses

2.1 Call centres

According to the United States Department of Labor (2014), there were 2.39 million
people employed as customer service agents (CSRs) in the USA in May 2013. This
represents a 7% increase since the pre-recessionary peak in 2008. The occupation of
‘customer service representative’ does not cover all agents working in call centres as a
portion of other occupations (such as telephone operators, bill and account collectors,
reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks) should also be included in
the count of total agents. Morrell (2006) estimated that in 2006 there were 3.07 million
agents working in 56,900 call centres in the USA (cf. 2.15 million CSRs reported by the
United States Department of Labor). The Morrell (2006) report is the most recent and
accurate of its kind and is useful in that it gives a breakdown by vertical market: 11,000
(19.3% of total) call centres employing over 475,000 agents (15.5% of total) in the retail
and distribution sector in the USA. In the same report it was estimated that 73% of call
centre activity is the handling of inbound calls. Inbound sales call centres are more
common for infrequently purchased goods (e.g. appliances, personal computers) and
services (e.g. airline tickets, hotels, car rental). In the most recent report, Morrell (2014)
estimates that 75% of call centres in retail and distribution sector take payments over the
telephone via an agent.

2.2 Call centre management

Traditionally, call centres have been managed using Taylorist methods (Bain et al.,
2002). As such, there has been considerable emphasis for call centre agents to minimise
the average handle time (AHT) of calls as this in turn minimises the number of agents
required in the call centre (Dwyer and Fox, 2006). This focus has even been applied to
sales call centres, for instance Eveleth and Morris (2002) argued that “higher performers
tended to have shorter more action-oriented calls and took more calls per hour” (p.36).
4 M. Bendixen et al.

Batt and Moynihan (2002) suggest alternative call centre production models. The
mass production model would correspond to the Taylorist approach while the professional
service and mass customisation models adopt a more customer-focused approach that
would be more appropriate to a sales call centre. This would shift the performance metric
away from AHT toward customer satisfaction and sales performance. Such a shift is
compatible with the principles of lean management which have been successfully applied
to call centres (Jones et al., 1999; Marr and Parry, 2004; Piercy and Rich, 2009). Under
this approach, AHT is a consequence of the processes used and does not act as the
primary driver of performance. This is supported by Morrell (2014) who describes AHT
as a “typical old fashioned metric, which seems to be going out of favour, based on the
idea that each call is different and should take as long as it takes” (p.93). It is interesting
to note that Friebel and Seabright (2011) found that in a call centre environment, females
had a 15% longer talk time than males and had slightly higher sales per shift than males.
We suggest that AHT should be partitioned into two components. Firstly, there is the
‘selling time’ in which the sales agent attempts to close the sale. If successful, this would
result in a second component, ‘administrative time’ during which the completion of
transaction details is the primary aim. It is usually during this time that up-selling and
cross-selling takes place.

2.3 Sales performance metrics

Two metrics of sales performance are endemic to sales call centres. Firstly, the
proportion of calls resulting in sales, known as the conversion rate, is a key indicator of
the effectiveness of the sales agents (Reynolds, 2010). Secondly, the average revenue per
call (ARC) “is vital to judging the success of the contact center itself” (Morrell, 2014,
p.94).

2.4 The sales process

One of the most widely accepted paradigms in the sales discipline is commonly referred
to as the ‘seven steps in selling’. These steps are (1) prospecting, (2) pre-approach, (3)
approach, (4) presentation, (5) overcoming objections, (6) close, and (7) follow-up
(Moncrief and Marshall, 2005). For inbound sales call centres selling infrequently
purchased items, most customers have gathered some information about the product or
service before calling. In many instances, the call is about clarifying certain technical
details, prices and also seeking affirmation that they are not exposing themselves to
additional risk by purchasing through this channel. Thus, because of reduced information
asymmetry, the salesperson’s role is less that of a persuasion agent but rather one of a
consultant to and implementation agent for the customer. In the extreme case, or when
frequently purchased products are being sold, the role of the sales agent may be reduced
to that of order taker. Thus, steps 1 to 4 are of less relevance to sales agents in a call
centre. As a consequence, for steps 5 and 6, adaptive selling techniques become
particularly important for salespersons answering customer sales queries to effectively
provide them with competent solutions (Fujun et al., 2007; Sharma, 2007).
From a customer’s perspective, Singh (2011) found that “one of the most important
activities of a salesperson is that of analysing the customer’s buying situation. When a
salesperson tries to analyse the customer’s buying situation, the customer perceives the
functional benefits of savings, has increased interest in the product, and experiences
 Death of a salesman 5

satisfaction with the explanation provided by the salesperson. This activity also results in
customers’ achieving psychosocial benefits by being able to decide what is best for them
and achieve a feeling of self-respect. The outcome is the achievement of terminal value,
satisfaction” (p.111).
Because of the consultative and adaptive nature of the sales task faced by call centre
agents, we argue that a longer selling time will result in both a higher conversion rate and
a higher ARC. This is in sharp contrast to the Eveleth and Morris (2002) finding and the
Taylorist approach to call centre management (Bain et al., 2002) but in line with the
principles of lean management (Piercy and Rich, 2009), the modern approach to AHT
(Morrell, 2014) and the findings of Friebel and Seabright (2011). Conversely, because
many customers view the processes of up-selling, cross-selling and ‘completing the
paperwork’ as tedious, we argue that increasing administrative time will reduce both
the conversion rate and ARC. This aligns with the findings of Singh (2011). Thus, the
following hypotheses are thus posited:
H1a: Selling time increases sales performance
H1b: Administrative time decreases sales performance.

2.5 Tenure
There have been many studies in recent years confirming that a salespersons’ experience
positively affects sales performance (Franke and Park, 2006; Fu, 2009, Jaramillo and
Grisaffe, 2009; Rapp et al., 2006). Most of these studies were conducted in conventional
sales settings and not ones in which reduced information asymmetry prevails.
Selling steps 1 to 4 usually improve with experience. We propose that adaptive
selling has become the key skill needed to overcome objections and to close the sale
(Eveleth and Morris, 2002). Adaptive selling involves the acquisition, analysis and the
use of customer information and these skills can be mastered in a relatively short time
period. Franke and Park (2006) found that salespersons’ experience is positively
correlated with adaptive selling and performance. Detailed product knowledge greatly
enhances sales agent’s ability to establish the context and provide a sales solution. Again,
product knowledge can be acquired in a relatively short period of time. This implies that
in a sales world where there is lower information asymmetry, experience is likely to play
a less important role as the salesperson’s role becomes more one of knowledge broker
than persuasion agent. We therefore posit the following hypothesis:
H2a: Tenure has a smaller effect on sales performance than does selling time
H2b: Tenure has a smaller effect on sales performance than does administrative time.

3 Methodology

3.1 Sample
In order to test the hypotheses, data was collected from the operations management
system of the call centre described in Section 1. The detailed data for all agents were
collected for a full week during the busy ‘Back-to-School’ sales period (Sample A). A
follow-up sample (Sample B) was collected one month later. Sample B is used to test the
6 M. Bendixen et al.

robustness of the findings. In sample A, the results of 141 agents were collected
compared to 128 agents in sample B. The only demographic detail of the agents available
from this data source was the hire date of the agent which allowed the calculation of
agent tenure. In order to protect the identity of the agents, other demographics (such as
age and gender) were not provided to the researchers. A comparison of the two samples
is presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Two samples for the study

Average
Total calls Gross No. of Average handle Conversion
revenue per
handled revenue agents time (AHT) rate
call (ARC)
Sample A
18,313 $3,185,952 141 11.44 24.54% $172.03
(peak sales week)
Sample B
14,875 $2,292,856 128 11.80 27.48% $150.28
(off-peak sales week)

3.2 Metrics
Sales performance for each agent was measured by two variables. Conversion rates for
each agent were measured as a proportion of total calls handled which resulted in sales;
ARC, based on total number of calls handled, was also measured for each agent. Agent
tenure was measured as the number of days elapsed between the time of the research and
the hire date. Short of listening to each call and measuring the actual time taken for each
process, it is impractical to measure selling and administrative time for each agent
directly. Therefore, proxies were used to this end. The selling time for each agent was
taken as the average handle time for unsuccessful calls (e.g. calls that did not result in a
sale). Such calls would not involve any administrative activities that are necessary
subsequent to a sale and, thus, represent a proxy for pure selling time. Administrative
time per agent was calculated as the difference between the average handle times of
successful calls (e.g. calls that resulted in a sale which would involve both selling and
administrative times) and the average handle time for unsuccessful calls (i.e. selling
time). It is important to note that these are only proxies and the absolute values of the
metrics may not be meaningful. However, their relative values are what is important in
the analysis.

3.3 Model
Hypotheses H1a and H1b are represented by casual links between selling time and
administrative time to the two performance measures. Hypotheses H2a and H2b are
represented by causal links from tenure to both conversion rate and ARC. Once a sale has
been made (i.e. a successful conversion has been achieved), the opportunity for selling
additional products and services exists and, thus, a causal link between conversion rate
and ARC is included in the model. Although, no hypotheses have been generated from
the literature in this regard, it is likely that tenure could affect both selling and
administrative times. These two causal links are added to the model for the sake of
completion. This model is illustrated in Figure 1.
 Death of a salesman 7

Figure 1 Sales performance model for inbound sales call centre

3.4 Method of analysis

The hypotheses are tested by way of estimating the significance of the coefficients of a
partial least squares (PLS) path model. PLS was chosen for the following reasons:
1 it deals with complex casual links and inter-relationships between the variables;
2 it is a preferred method when developing a predictive model;
3 it does not impose assumptions regarding variable distributions;
4 a PLS rather than OLS regression method can be implemented to overcome
problems of potential multicollinearity, and it may be used for model estimation with
small samples.
Robustness of the model was assessed by the way of the permutation test as to any
significant differences in the path coefficients between the Sample A and Sample B
(Chin and Dibbern, 2010). As the constructs tested in the model were based on single
variables rather than formative or reflective composites of multiple manifest variables,
the usual tests of reliability and validity are not meaningful. However, testing two
independent samples allows assessment of the robustness of the model. Furthermore,
measuring variable importance in projection (VIP) allows for the distinction between
significant and important variables in the model.

4 Results

A summary of descriptive statistics pertaining to the samples is presented in Table 2. The

estimates of the PLS model are presented in Figure 2.
8 M. Bendixen et al.

Table 2 Descriptive statistics and correlations for variables in the study

Sell Admin
Mean Median SD Min Max Conversion ARC Tenure
time time
Sample A (n = 141)
Conversion
24.54 24.71 4.63 9.84 34.46 1.00
(%)
Ave revenue
per call (ARC)
172.75 171.14 57.18 3.33 380.95 0.76* 1.00
(dollars
per call)
Tenure
348 145 325 69 874 0.24* 0.18* 1.00
(days)
Selling time
(minutes 6.18 5.75 2.49 0.57 14.52 0.75* 0.71* 0.04 1.00
per call)
Admin time
(minutes 23.27 20.36 14.27 2.79 125.86 –0.68* –0.51* –0.26* –0.31* 1.00
per call)
Sample B (n = 128)
Conversion
27.48 27.31 5.95 8.33 50.00 1.00
(%)
ARC
(dollars 150.28 146.86 55.31 16.7 326.64 0.58* 1.00
per call)
Tenure
374 179 328 12 908 0.08 0.20* 1.00
(days)
Selling time
(minutes 6.58 6.23 1.96 1.56 14.66 0.54* 0.38* –0.12 1.00
per call)
Admin time
(minutes 19.98 18.74 7.41 5.05 48.14 –0.68* –0.36* –0.23* –0.20* 1.00
per call)
Note: *p-value < .05 for a two-tailed test.

The results from both samples clearly support all hypotheses. Furthermore, a significant
relationship between conversion rate and ARC is confirmed. Tenure was found to have a
significant negative direct effect on administrative time but no significant direct effect on
selling time. The variable importance in projection scores is presented in Figure 3.
Variables with VIP scores >1 are considered very important, scores between 0.8 and 1 of
moderate importance while scores <0.8 indicate variables that are of little importance
(even if they are significant). These results indicate that both selling time and
administrative time are very important direct drivers of the conversion rate but tenure is
of little relevance. Conversion rate is a very important driver of ARC while selling time
and administrative time are of some importance. Again, tenure is of little relevance.
 Death of a salesman 9

Figure 2 Estimated sales performance model for inbound sales call centre

Note: *p-value < .05 for a two-tailed test.

Figure 3 Variable importance in projection (VIP) for conversion and ARC

10 M. Bendixen et al.

The results of the permutation test are presented in Table 3. Significant differences
between the path coefficients between samples A and B for both administrative and
selling times to conversion rate were found.
Table 3 Path coefficients of the estimated sales performance model

Path Coefficienta
Differenceb
Sample A Sample B
Tenure → Admin time –.264* –.228* .036
Tenure → Selling time .038 –.115 .154
Tenure → Conversion .172* –.011 .184
Tenure → ARC .082* .112* .030
Admin time → Conversion –.493* –.808* .315*
Admin time → ARC –.229* –.201* .029
Selling time → Conversion .541* .719* .178*
Selling time → ARC .316* .216* .100
Conversion → ARC .339* .326* .013
a
Notes: Significance of path coefficients was obtained using bootstrap with 1000
re-samplings.
b
The differences between path estimates for the two samples were tested using
permutation test with 1000 permutations. *p-value < .05

5 Discussion

The finding that tenure has no significant direct effect on selling time for either sample is
interesting in that it implies either that agent training is perfect (a new agent performs
identically to an experienced agent) or that agents have no control over the selling time of
a call. As the former is unrealistic, the latter must apply which provides some support for
our contention that steps 1–4 in the selling process (Moncrief and Marshall, 2005) are of
reduced significance in an inbound call centre and, consequently, that adaptive selling is
key (Fujun et al., 2007; Sharma, 2007). It is also in keeping with customers striving for
the terminal value of satisfaction (Singh, 2011). This contention is further supported by
the conformation of H1a that selling time increases sales performance.
Tenure, however, does have a significant negative effect on administrative time in
both samples. It seems that more experienced agents are able to handle the administrative
tasks more efficiently. This is important as administrative time has a large negative effect
on both conversion rate and ARC for both samples which is a reflection of customers’
desire to minimise the time taken for this stage of the selling process. This finding is
possibly explained by the ‘ambidextrous behaviour’ of more experienced agents in that
they are better able to deal with the conflicting demands of selling to as opposed to
servicing customers (Jasmand et al., 2012).
While the direct effects of tenure on both the conversion rate and ARC are small, this
does not imply that tenure is not important. The indirect effects of tenure must also be
taken into account which results in a different conclusion. This is reflected in the direct
and total effects reported in Table 4 (the difference being indirect effects). Tenure
does have a significant direct and total effect on conversion rate in sample A but not in
sample B.
 Death of a salesman 11

Table 4 Direct and total effects of the estimated PLS model for inbound sales call centre

Sample A Sample B
a a
Direct effects Total effects Direct effectsa Total effectsa
Tenure → Admin time –.264* –.264* –.228* –.228*
Tenure → Selling time .038 .038 –.115 –.115
Tenure → Conversion .172* .323* –.011 .090
Tenure → ARC .082* .264* .112* .162*
Admin time → Conversion –.493* –.493* –.808* –.808*
Admin time → ARC –.229* .396* –.201* –.464*
Selling time → Conversion .541* .541* .719* .719*
Selling time → ARC .316* .500* .216* .451*
Conversion → ARC .339* .339* .326* .326*
a
Notes: Significance of direct and total effects was obtained using bootstrap with 1000
re-samplings. A direct effect of an independent variable onto a dependent
variable is measured by the estimated path coefficient; a total effect is
measured as a sum of the direct effect (path coefficient) and the indirect effect
propagating from the independent variable to the dependent variable through
other causal paths. *p-value < .05.
This too is an interesting finding in that it implies that in pressure circumstances created
by a peak sales period, experience does make a difference. This again is probably
explained by greater ambidextrous behaviour displayed by more experienced agents
(Jasmand et al., 2012). It is also important to note that the indirect effects of both selling
time and administrative time on ARC are not insubstantial for both samples.

6 Conclusion

6.1 Implications for management

The inbound call centre for infrequently purchased items represents a very different
world to that of the usual retail sales environment. Reduced information asymmetry
results in generally better-informed potential customers which, in turn, results in a
change in the relative importance of the steps in the selling process. In the main, sales
agents need to spend less effort on the prospecting and presentation processes for
the products purveyed by their own organisation and more time on closing the sale. The
process would rely on them quickly recognising customers’ needs and specific
circumstances and adapting to these so as to provide a consulting or counselling service
to customers. They also need to have in-depth knowledge of both their organisation’s
products as well as those offered by competitors in order to maintain any credibility in
providing answers to customers’ queries. Their role has changed from sales agent to
‘knowledge broker’ (Verbeke et al., 2011). This implies that management need to take
considerable care in recruiting and training call centre sales agents, noting that
conventional approaches may not work. Reliance on experience is also less likely to be
important.
In terms of call centre management, a very different approach is needed to the typical
Taylorist approach which focuses heavily on minimising AHT. In fact, AHT is probably
12 M. Bendixen et al.

a metric that should not be used in inbound sales calls centres for any purpose other than
capacity planning. Morrell (2014) reports that the three most pressing managerial issues
in call centres are: improving customer satisfaction, increasing revenue and achieving set
metrics. He also reports that the most important industry trend is “customer experience
improvement”, more so in the retail and distribution sector than all other markets
(Morrell, 2014, p.340). Customer experience measurement, conversion rate and ARC
should thus be the focus of performance management and processes established to
support these. These may include:
 methods of assessing call quality and feedback/coaching provided to sales agents
should focus on selling technique;
 supervision should be focused on developing adaptive selling skills;
 technology support that provides easy access to competitive product information;
 technology support that allows rapid transaction processing to speed up the
administrative time for successful calls.

6.2 Implications for future research

The literature on sales call centres is extremely limited and it would be enlightening to
confirm and expand the findings of this research. This study was limited to a single
organisation operating in the USA with a particular product offering. Replication in other
product markets (particularly for more frequently purchased items) and geographic
locations is suggested.
Call centres are often outsourced either locally or globally in order to realise cost
savings. It is unusual to outsource pure inbound sales call centres (as the authors
discovered in an initial attempt to replicate this research). A key reason for this is
apparently the ‘connective tissue’ between the organisation and its customers (Stace and
Bhalla, 2008). The majority of customer service and technical support call centres also
have sales targets in addition to their primary business. The ambidextrous behaviour of
agents in such circumstances has been shown to be of considerable importance to
performance (Jasmand et al., 2012) and future research specifically examining the role of
agent tenure is warranted by the results presented here. Many of these inbound call
centres are outsourced. The impact of outsourcing would thus be of considerable interest.
Outbound call centres represent an entirely different category of sales call centres
(Morrell, 2014) and very different selling processes can be anticipated relative to inbound
call centres and relative to the source of the leads used to make the outbound calls. It
would be interesting to extend this research to outbound call centres. However, this may
prove difficult as organisations tend to be very protective of information pertaining to
outbound operations, again as the authors discovered in another attempt to expand the
present findings.
There is another dearth of literature as it pertains to information asymmetry applied to
sales and marketing. The few articles that are available are mainly in the B2B rather than
the B2C markets. We believe that we have illustrated the significance of information
asymmetry and suggest further research to gain a better understanding of how it affects
consumer behaviour and what appropriate responses to it by marketers.
 Death of a salesman 13

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