The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Technology, Adaptability, And Customer Orientation Among Professional Salespeople

The use of computer technology is increasingly becoming a way of life for professional salespeople.  Given the increased use of technology in virtually aspects of sales, it would seem natural to reconcile both the uses of, and attitudes toward, computers among professional salespeople with traditionally emphasized sales constructs such as adaptability and customer orientation.  The results of such an analysis would have implications for both academic sales research as well as sales managers and trainers who would benefit from an investigation into a propensity to accept computer technology and the ability to engage in significant sales activities that represent the human dimension.  The current study addresses this issue by assessing the relationships between salespersons’ attitudes toward computer technology, adaptability, and customer orientation.  The findings generally indicate a positive predisposition toward computer usage and a significant positive relationship between those attitudes and both adaptability and customer orientation among a sample of professional salespeople.