Methods in Sales Research: A Psychometric Evaluation of the ADAPTS Scale: A Critique and Recommendations |
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| Authors: | James M. Comer Ronald Marks Douglas W. Vorhies Gordon J. Badovick |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Cincinnati;2. Ronald Marks is Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. His research interests are in selling and sales management. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1974. Prior to that, he worked in industrial sales for Burroughs Corporation and Superior Surgical. He has published in the Journal of Retailing, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Health Care Marketing, the Journal of Professional Services Marketing, and the Journal of Hospital Marketing. His textbook Personal Selling: A Relationship Approach now appears in its sixth edition. His research interests are in personal selling and multivariate methods in marketing research, especially structural equation modeling.;3. Douglas W. Vorhies is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1994. His business experience includes sales, product management, and marketing management experience in the utility, telecommunications, and computer industries. Dr. Vorhies' research interests are in sales and marketing management, marketing strategy, psychometrics, and marketing research. He has published in the Journal of Services Marketing and has presented his research at numerous national marketing conferences.;4. Gordon J. Badovick is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Graduate Programs Director in the College of Business at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. He has previously published in the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Applied Business Research, and Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. He previously held sales and marketing management positions with NCR, BankAmerica Corporation, and Citicorp. |
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| Abstract: | This study outlines a method for improving the psychometric properties of the ADAPTS scale for measuring adaptive selling (Spiro and Weitz 1990). As originally presented, the ADAPTS scale suffered from a lack of unidimensionality. Subsequent research has demonstrated mixed results when using ADAPTS as a predictor of salesperson performance. Results from this study suggest that ADAPTS can be improved by addressing the unidimensionality issue. To do this, a series of confirmatory factor models are presented, resulting in a two-factor adaptive selling model. The two adaptive selling constructs, beliefs and behaviors, are psychometrically evaluated, concluding with tests of the predictive validity of the two-factor model using self-reported performance as the exogenous latent variable. |
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