Salesperson Causal Attribution Scale – Unsuccessful Sales Call

What it measures

Measures five types of causal attributions a salesperson makes following an unsuccessful sales call (one in which a sale was not closed and no follow-up was scheduled). Each subdimension captures a distinct attribution type across the locus, stability, and controllability dimensions. 3 items per subdimension on a 6-point forced-choice Likert scale.

Response format

Likert

Scale items

• EFFORT ATTRIBUTION (α=.94):
• I didn't work hard enough.
• I didn't put in the necessary time to make this sale.
• I didn't put forth the effort needed to make this sale.
• ABILITY ATTRIBUTION (α=.94):
• I need more skill and knowledge to be successful.
• I need to improve my skills to be successful.
• I need to increase my knowledge in order to be successful.
• TASK DIFFICULTY ATTRIBUTION (α=.89):
• This type of sales call is difficult for everyone.
• Everyone finds this to be a tough selling situation.
• This was a difficult selling situation.
• STRATEGY ATTRIBUTION (α=.92):
• I used the wrong selling strategy for this type of situation.
• I picked the wrong strategy for this type of client.
• My sales strategy was incorrect for this type of client.
• LUCK ATTRIBUTION (α=.90):
• This situation was just an unlucky one.
• It was just an unlucky break.
• It was just bad luck.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Subdimension alphas and CRs: Effort α=.94 (CR=.90, AVE=.75); Ability α=.94 (CR=.87, AVE=.69); Task α=.89 (CR=.80, AVE=.57); Strategy α=.92 (CR=.86, AVE=.68); Luck α=.90 (CR=.84, AVE=.63). All subdimensions exceed α=.80 threshold. Companion success-context scale: SCAS-S (ID 1816). Validated on 228 field financial services sales reps.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Dixon, A.L., Spiro, R.L. & Jamil, M. (2001). Successful and unsuccessful sales calls: Measuring salesperson attributions and behavioral intentions. Journal of Marketing, 65(3), 64–78.

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