The Gender Effect on Managing Salespeople: Business Students’ Perceptions in Turkey

Abstract

This study investigates the gender effect of a male versus a female manager in terms of business students' preferences in working for, being trained by, being motivated by, and being rewarded by one or the other. Based on 328 questionnaires, the results for the entire sample, as well as male and female subsamples, demonstrate the existence of a gender effect for all but one aspect of managing salespeople. Also, comparisons of male students to female students reveal significant differences between perceptions of the two genders in terms of the training and motivating functions. The study found that the subjects as a whole, as well as the male and female subsamples, have a preference for male managers over female managers. The findings of this study could have implications for developing and managing an effective sales force and it could also have implications for academics in preparing students for successful sales careers.