Knowledge is Power: The Moderating Effect of Product Knowledge: An Abstract

Although high pressure sales tactics are still sometimes applied by salespeople in the marketplace, most academics and marketers alike agree with Hartman (2005, p. 74) that “pressure is consistently an effective strategy for producing managerially undesirable consequences.” So, the study of consumer perceptions of sales pressure is vital to better understanding in what situations consumers feel pressured, in an effort to minimize such situations.

Using Friestad and Wright’s (1994) Persuasion Knowledge Model as a framework, this research seeks to focus on consumer entitlement, product knowledge, and persuasion knowledge as antecedents to consumer perceptions of sales pressure. Particularly in focus is the moderating role of product knowledge on the relationships of consumer entitlement and persuasion knowledge on perceptions of sales pressure. We seek to test whether product knowledge can simultaneously enhance the impact of persuasion knowledge on perceived pressure, while mitigating the impact of consumer entitlement on perceived pressure.

Though the moderation was insignificant where consumer entitlement was concerned, product knowledge did significantly moderate the relationship between persuasion knowledge and perceived aggressive sales pressure. Although it is logical that someone with high levels of self-confidence in their persuasion knowledge should feel less sales pressure in a buying experience, our results suggest that this outcome is not realized at low levels of product knowledge. In fact, the pressure alleviating impact of persuasion knowledge increases significantly with consumer product knowledge. It would behoove marketers to not only encourage, but also actively enable consumers to be more informed in their buying efforts. These enabled consumers will, as a result, feel less pressured in a buying situation, resulting in a more satisfying and trusting interaction and relationship with their seller. The buying process will be more of a partnership among buyer and seller with the goal being a quality purchase and experience for all involved.