Salesperson Influence on Product Development: Insights from a Study of Small Manufacturing Organizations

This research addresses three questions: (1) How do salespeople get their desired product modifications implemented within organizations? (2) What effect does salesperson trustworthiness have on the means they adopt to get product modifications implemented? and (3) What are the performance outcomes of the modified products? The results from a survey of 149 product managers in small manufacturing organizations suggest that two influence strategies—rationality and exchange—have a positive impact and that two influence strategies—coalition building and upward appeal—have an inverse impact on product modification implementation. The results also show that salesperson trustworthiness enhances the positive effects of rationality and exchange while mitigating the inverse effects of coalition building and upward appeal. Finally, the results show that product modification implementation has a positive effect on the product's performance in the marketplace. Collectively, the results suggest that salespeople should adopt the rationality and exchange strategies to get their desired product modifications implemented while also developing a reputation for trustworthiness and that it pays for organizations to listen to their salespeople.