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The Technicization of Sales Work: an Ethnographic Study in the US Electronics Industry

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  • Asaf Darr

    (University of Haifa, Israel darr@soc.haifa.ac.il)

Abstract

When do salespeople become technical experts, and when does sales work become technical in nature? To address these questions, this study presents a typology of markets and compares the impact of the structure of knowledge on the organization of sales practices in a mass and in a non-standard market in the electronic industry. A year-long ethnographic study in the United States shows that the technicization of sales occurs only in the non-standard market, in which buyers do not possess knowledge on products' quality and in which no common image of use exists. The technicization of sales is manifested in a larger percentage of engineers in the sales force, an infusion of engineering knowledge into initial sales interactions, and in a greater dependence on social and interactive skills. The technicization of sales is further compounded by the need to communicate contextual knowledge. Co-development and shared practice emerge as dominant forms of work organization in the non-standard market.

Suggested Citation

  • Asaf Darr, 2002. "The Technicization of Sales Work: an Ethnographic Study in the US Electronics Industry," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 16(1), pages 47-65, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:16:y:2002:i:1:p:47-65
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170222119245
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geertz, Clifford, 1978. "The Bazaar Economy: Information and Search in Peasant Marketing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 28-32, May.
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    3. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
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