Sales supporting function and salespeople’s attitude towards social media, and its effect on client retention
(A2020-49175)

AUTHORS

Mirkó Gáti, Corvinus University of Budapest; András Bauer, Corvinus University of Budapest; Ariel Mitev, Corvinus University of Budapest

KEYWORDS

personal selling; social media; client retention

ABSTRACT

The paper analyses how the sales supporting role of social media and the salesperson’s individual perceived usefulness towards social media affects the actual use of these tools in their sales-related activities, and how social media affects client retention. Besides, the paper also analyses how the intensity of online communication influences actual social media use and finally client retention in a sales organization. For the analysis structural equation modelling (SEM), namely PLS-SEM was used, because it is adequate to apply in case of exploratory research design, and the model is valid even if sample size is not so large. Results show that although the use of social media can be stimulated if the salesperson understands the sales supporting role of social media and consequently considers the utilization of social media useful. Nevertheless, social media does not result in higher client retention (unlike other online tools), which brings up questions related to the necessity and suitability of social media.