The value of nonselling activities at international trade shows

Many senior managers regard nonselling activities at trade shows negatively. Yet, international trade shows offer companies an excellent source of market-specific and firm-specific information. This study offers a new framework demonstrating how nonselling activities at international trade shows perform a potentially vital cost-saving function for a company. A taxonomy of firms is proposed that enables managers to deploy quanlified personnel effectively to obtain the best quality information available from international trade show participation.