The Problem Solving Approach Of International Salespeople: The Experience Effect

Sales research has established the importance of experience in buyer–seller interactions. While this is intuitively appealing, the experience variable has had minimal attention at the international level. This study explores the relationship between experience and the problem solving strategy of international salespeople. Specifically, experience is defined based on three popular measures used in the extant literature: tenure with the organization, general sales experience, and international sales experience. Results indicate that a U-shaped relationship exists between tenure in the organization and problem solving. A plateau effect was identified between sales experience and problem solving early. These results run counter to findings in domestic studies assessing experience and negotiation encounters.