title: Evaluating Trust based on Impression Formation in Business Encounters
Creators: name: Rozumowski, Anna V.
Publisher: name: Oxford Brookes University
Year: 2023

description: Purpose: This doctoral study analyses how trust based on impression formation can be enhanced in business encounters. In addition, the doctoral study contributes to the knowledge of impression formation, focusing on warmth/ likability and competence/ expertise perceptions. Design / Methodology / Approach: A research framework has been elaborated based on the literature on social interactions and impression formation. The focus is on creating an innovative stimulus material, which marketing and sales experts validated in a pre-test, combining qualitative and quantitative elements. The validated stimulus material was tested in two quantitative studies using a between-subject approach with a for Switzerland representative sample in terms of gender, age, and education. Findings: The findings of this doctoral study showed that based on the validated stimulus material, respondents perceived different warmth/ likability and competence/ expertise perceptions of the male and the female salesperson. Respondents also perceived different trustworthiness perceptions based on the manipulation of content, appearance, voice, and body language. Thus, participants recognised the archetypes – Incompetent Jerk, Competent Jerk, Lovable Fool and Lovable Star – in the different experimental studies. Respondents judged the Lovable Star as being the most trusted salesperson. Two conceptual models were further evaluated. The findings showed that the constructs from social science (warmth and competence) indicated a better model fit than those from sales research (likability and expertise). Lastly, the structural equation analysis showed that trustworthiness perceptions were a strong and significant predictor of trust perceptions. Research Implications: This doctoral research contributes to the knowledge of the impression formation process, the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), and the trust formation process using innovative stimulus material, including a realistic business setting. Moreover, this doctoral study analysed how gender perceptions in sales, business encounters, and product involvement impact the salesperson’s warmth/ likability and competence/ expertise perceptions. Methodological Implications: An innovative and evaluated conceptual model was introduced within this doctoral research. Marketing and sales experts validated the stimulus material with different approaches contributing to methodology. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of scales on how to measure warmth/ likability, competence/ expertise, trustworthiness, and trust contributes to the methodological problem in research using different scales to analyse the same constructs. Practical Implications: The theory-driven and evidence-based findings resulted in recommendations on how to become the Lovable Star in business encounters to enhance trust perceptions. The findings indicated that respondents perceived different trustworthiness perceptions of the salespersons based on the specific application of the words (content sales speech), voice, appearance, and body language. How trustworthiness and trust perceptions can be enhanced in business encounters is relevant for marketing and sales managers since a trusted salesperson influences the customer’s buying decision. Originality: This doctoral research extends the theory on warmth/ likability and competence/ expertise in the impression formation process. Moreover, an innovative stimulus material was introduced to analyse the salesperson’s trustworthiness and trust perception in business encounters.