Competent or threatening? When looking like a “salesperson” is disadvantageous

It is unclear why customers perceive some salespeople to be helpful and others to be threatening. Salesperson stereotypes are often considered negative and threatening; however, salesperson stereotypes may also be positive and professional. Based on the concepts of stereotype threat and compound stereotyping, this research proposes that customers form opinions about the threat posed by specific salespeople based on: (1) the extent to which they...