ENHANCING INTERNATIONAL-BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS - A FOCUS ON CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF SALESPERSON ROLE PERFORMANCE INCLUDING CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

For many manufacturers, success in the international marketplace depen ds largely on how well they manage their relationships with retailers, distributors, and agents in foreign cultures. Even so, remarkably lit tle effort has been devoted to understanding cultural sensitivity and its role in international business relationships. The authors draw on existing research and 52 in-depth field interviews with Mexican purcha sing directors to provide a working definition of salesperson role per formance which includes customers' perceptions of cultural sensitivity as a hey dimension. A conceptual framework is presented that identifi es the antecedents and consequences of salesperson role performance as a guide to future research efforts. Implications for U.S. managers ar e discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.