Exploration of salesperson competencies for customer engagement in selected home improvement retail organizations in the USA
Open Access
- Author:
- Sadique, Farhan
- Graduate Program:
- Workforce Education and Development
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 22, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Rama Radhakrishna, Outside Unit & Field Member
Wesley Donahue, Major Field Member
William Rothwell, Major Field Member
Mark Threeton, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies - Keywords:
- Salesperson
Competencies
Delphi
Customer Engagement
USA
Home Improvement
competency framework for salesperson
competency inventory
Retail Organization
Workforce Education and Development - Abstract:
- This study aimed to create and critically evaluate a comprehensive, systematic, and rigorous multimethod approach for developing a competency inventory for retail salespersons in the USA's home improvement industry. A prospective naturalistic inquiry methodology with a pragmatic inductive analysis approach was employed, chosen for its suitability to the exploratory nature of the research. This methodology afforded considerable flexibility, allowing adjustments to the study design based on emerging data. The research utilized a modified Delphi technique, starting with an instrument initially crafted from a literature review and environmental scanning. The development of the competency inventory involved a three-phase process: construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. The construction phase encompassed data and information collection throughout the project, from inception to the final iteration of the modified Delphi technique. During these phases, 269 competency codes were identified from qualitative data gathered from the expert panel of salespeople through thematic open coding. These were refined into 57 competencies grouped into 11 overarching clusters. In the third iteration, customers in the home improvement retail industry evaluated these competencies using a 5-level Likert Scale (1 representing 'not important' to 5 'most important'). The study provided a final list of competencies in 11 clusters through mean comparison analysis and factor analysis, offering insights into the potential future evolution of these competencies. The study acknowledges the significant shifts in retail organizations, reflecting retail trade's historical evolution and advancements. The role of the salesperson remains constant, but the required skills, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and other competencies are evolving in response to changing customer demands and retail infrastructure shifts. With the increasing importance of 'customer engagement' in a world influenced by reviews and social connectedness, this research focused on evaluating and enhancing the cognitive competencies of salespeople, often overlooked yet crucial for customer engagement in retail stores. Viewing competencies as a system serves a dual purpose. Organizations should leverage these competencies to develop tailored models for competency-based training, hiring, and performance management. The findings highlight an urgent need for upskilling and reskilling retail personnel to meet the dynamic demands of the sector, significantly influenced by technological advancements and shifting consumer behaviors. This research contributes to formulating competency models that can inform training and development initiatives in the retail industry.