Effective Interpersonal Listening in the Personal Selling Environment: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Nomological Validity

TLDR

The study aimed to create and validate a measure of effective interpersonal listening among salespeople. The authors defined the construct, developed a 14‑item paper‑and‑pencil self‑report scale (ILPS), and assessed its validity using a mail questionnaire with 604 salespeople following Spiro and Weitz’s procedure. The ILPS scale was found to be reliable, correlated positively with sales performance and experience, unrelated to gender, age, or industry, and demonstrated face, convergent, and nomological validity, with implications for management and future research.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a measure of the degree to which salespeople practice effective listening. After defming and discussing the construct, the development of a paper-and-pencil self-report measure of interpersonal listening in the personal selling context (lLPS) is described. Following the procedure used by Spiro and Weitz (1990), the validity of the measure was assessed via a mail questionnaire with a sample of 604 salespeople from a variety of firms and industries. Both performance and sales experience were significantly correlated with the ILPS scale. There were no significant relationships between ILPS and gender, age, or industry type. The 14-item ILPS scale that emerged from the purification process was shown to have acceptable reliability estimates, as well as evidence of face, convergent, and nomological validity. Managerial implications and directions for future research are presented.