Information Overload: Guidance for Identifying When Information Becomes Detrimental to Sales Force Performance

The sales literature reports that a greater number of offerings increase sales performance, but the enlarged product line should result in increased information requirements for salespeople. Strategies of sales force specialization imply that too much information can reduce sales performance. Yet theoretical and practical guidance regarding when information becomes detrimental to sales performance is sparse. Information overload theory is used to identify when performance suffers because of large amounts of information. The results of this study offer preliminary evidence that a self-report measure of information overload can offer guidance to sales managers in identifying when information becomes detrimental to sales force performance.

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