The ethical dilemma of AI vs. Human capital: Salespersons’ perceptions and usage of technology
Diane R. Edmondson, Lucy M. Matthews · The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice · 2025
Although initial research predicted that artificial intelligence adoption by organizations would be significant, actual adoption and usage have lagged. The goal of this research is to investigate current technology usage by business-to-business salespeople. Salesperson’s perspectives toward the future of artificial intelligence in the sales industry are discussed. Data was collected from 330 currently employed business-to-business sales representatives, finding many of the technology tools were used on a limited basis. Ethical concerns about artificial intelligence usage highlighted the risk of job loss resulting from adoption. Implications related to the study’s results are highlighted.