Building Long-Term Business Sustainability: The Influence of Experiential Marketing on Sales Representatives’ Loyalty to Multi-Level Marketing Systems

Ioana-Mădălina Purcaru, Ana-Maria Urdea, Cristinel Petrişor Constantin and Gabriel Brătucu
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Ioana-Mădălina Purcaru: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Ana-Maria Urdea: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Cristinel Petrişor Constantin: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Gabriel Brătucu: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Monitoring the satisfaction of sales representatives is a major challenge in business based on multi-level marketing systems (MLM), as a high level of satisfaction could determine the sales representatives’ loyalty and subsequent business growth. The purposes of this study are (i) to measure the sales representatives’ satisfaction with various experiences they face within the MLM system, (ii) to identify the main satisfaction factors that synthetically illustrate the sales representatives’ experiences with the MLM system, and (iii) to determine the influence of satisfaction factors with MLM experiences on the intention to recommend the system to other people interested in joining the business. The research was based on a survey among 412 sales representatives of companies that use an MLM system in various fields of activity. The main factors that summarize the experiences that sales representatives have within the MLM systems have been identified by using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Further, the satisfaction with these factors was analyzed in relationship with the intention to recommend the system for the development of their individual business. The research results indicate three major experiences of the sales representatives: (i) experiences within the MLM system, (ii) experiences with customer relationships, and (iii) experiences with the product. The results also show that the higher satisfaction with these factors is, the higher the likelihood to recommend the MLM system. This study provides a contribution to the body of knowledge in using experiential marketing for sustainable business development and provides management insights for companies that use MLM systems.

Keywords: experiential marketing; multi-level marketing systems; sales representatives; long-term business; survey; loyalty; business sustainability; business ecosystem (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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