Resumen de Combining Critical Incident Technique Andcontent Analysis to Investigate Critical Emotional Behaviors in Salesperson-Customer Interactions
Michel Klein, Fanny Poujol, Bruno Lussier, Christophe Fournier
In this chapter, we describe how we used both a Critical Incident Technique (CIT) survey and content analysis for collecting and identifying critical emotional behaviors in salesperson-customer interactions involving a subsequent decision to buy or not to buy. Using numbers to generate meaning from qualitative data, we present a detailed exemplar of the staged process consisting of: (1) data collection by means of an open-ended questionnaire; (2) inductive identification of categories; and (3) coding of empirical material, concerning critical emotional behaviors related to success and failure in sales interactions. Using this work, the chapter proposes a specific CIT survey process to identify critical phenomena contributing to or hindering the achievement of a specific task. This study also suggests precise category development and content analysis procedures that can be combined with a CIT survey or used to analyze written empirical material from a positivist perspective.
