PERSONAL SELLING MANAGEMENT IN HUNGARY, PORTUGAL AND NEW ZEALAND - IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN PERSONAL SELLING AND COLLECTIVISM

This study examines the link between personal selling and collectivism found in small clothing and shoe retailers in New Zealand, Portugal and Hungary. These three culturally similar and predominately Afrglophonc countries are selected for this research as most of the prior researches with a cultural factor are conducted in culturally dissimilar nations, hence the results can hardly be generalised across the countries with similar culture. This research reveals that there is a sufficient link between choice of personal selling as a promotional tool and the collectivist orientation on the part of the retailers. The results shows that the retailers who orientate towards collectivism in their cultural value structure will perceive personal selling as an important promotional tool and therefore, spend more of their promotion budget on personal communication tools such as personal selling and will continue to do so. It is concluded in this paper that there is a definitive link between personal selling and collectivism in small clothing and shoe retailers. The results showed in this research allow the retailers to have a better understanding of how personal selling can be used effectively in their promotion plans.