Salespersons’ Information Overload: Scale Development, Validation, and its Relationship to Salesperson Job Satisfaction and Performance

Abstract

This paper reports evidence of the development and validity of a state measure titled salespersons’ information overload (SIO). SIO is defined as a state evoked by salespeople’s attempts to process an amount of information that exceeds their ability to assimilate or process during a given unit of time (cf. Jacoby, Speller, and Kohn 1974). Manifestations of information overload are increasing errors and negative affect such as confusion or frustration (Jacoby, Speller, and Kohn 1974; Keller and Staelin 1987).Even though SIO originally appeared in Hunter (2004), examination of its development and validity in that article was limited. This paper builds upon the previous work of Hunter by examining the conceptual basis of the scale and its relation to other constructs. Such a deeper investigation should inform future research by clarifying the dimensions and boundaries of the construct, its theoretical basis, and its relationship to sales outcomes of interest such as sales performance and job satisfaction.

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