Do Attitudes Toward Careers in Sales Differ Based on Country of Origin?: A Comparative Analysis of MBA Student Attitudes:

Personal selling is a profession that has been described as requiring skilled and professional employees. Although employers have looked toward colleges and universities as sources of potential new sales employees in the past, the complexity and professionalism required in sales has led employers to recruit graduate students to fill the sales role. This research evaluates the exposure of students pursuing their MBA degrees to sales and their attitudes toward sales to identify how these attitudes might affect the recruiting process. Further, given the prevalence of international business operations, the study identifies sales attitudes and sales exposure in a comparative fashion by assessing the responses of MBA students in the US and in UK The results provide insights into differences in attitudes and sales knowledge between students enrolled in MBA courses in the two countries. Based on these findings, conclusions and suggestions for employers and educational institutions are developed.