Salesforce Social Media Use, Adaptive Selling Behaviour and Consumer Outcomes in Consumer Electronics: An Emerging Market Perspective

ABSTRACT

The study aims to fill literature gaps in the use of adaptive selling on social media platforms by observing consumer and sales force behavior in the consumer electronic market. The study’s main objectives are framed to answer the following questions: How does adaptive selling influence consumer outcomes in consumer electronics? What are the effects of social media on consumer outcomes through adaptive selling? The unit of analysis was individual consumers who use consumer electronics, retailers’ services and products offered through salespeople. The sample size of 400 consumers of electronic products was reached via electronic surveys. The questionnaire was adapted from literature to satisfy the quantitative nature of the study. This study found adaptive selling behavior of salespeople to be positively significant in predicting consumer outcomes. The outcomes of the study give statistical proof that social media use in sales has a positive impact on adaptive selling habits. The study also revealed a significant positive impact of consumer satisfaction on customer loyalty; this relationship is identified as critical in the consumer electronics retail market. This study is unique because it widens the understanding of social media use among salespeople in emerging markets.

KEYWORDS:

• Salesforce
• social media
• adaptive selling
• consumer outcomes
• consumer electronics
• emerging market

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).