An 8-nation empirical test of three interpersonal listening techniques

ABSTRACT

Listening is a fundamental element of good marketing. Marketing relies on clear, effective, interactive communication: between the firm and customers, between the firm and suppliers, and within the firm among employees. While prior research has emphasized the crucial importance of good listening skills to individual and organizational performance, only a few listening techniques have been assessed empirically, particularly under difficult listening circumstances. This paper fills that gap in the literature by building on prior conceptual and exploratory work on listening, identifying 3 listening techniques, and empirically testing the effectiveness of the techniques using a multinational sample. Results show that listening techniques improve recall, but the most effective technique depends on the countries’ level of individualism.

Acknowledgments

The first author acknowledges the generous support of the University of Tulsa’s Research Office for data collection in this research.