The Complexities of Sales and Sales Management Research: A Historical Analysis from 1990 to 2005

Researchers have postulated that sales and sales management research is more problematic to conduct than other managerial research and has become more diffi cult to conduct over time. To address this issue, we examine 532 samples from 1990 to 2005. We fi nd that researchers can positively affect response rate and obtained sample size by the judicious selection of response facilitators, and we identify the single best facilitator for a sales sample as well as the best combination of facilitators. Importantly, the use of the two suggested response facilitators increases the estimated obtained sample size by 58 percent compared to a study with no facilitators.