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Mormonism and Multilevel Marketing Companies

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139 points cdepman | 1 comments | 18 Jul 20 15:30 UTC | HN request time: 0.202s | source
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cornstalks ◴[18 Jul 20 16:16 UTC] No.23882400[source]▶
I don't have access to the paper so I can't comment on its entirety, but the abstract is spot on in my personal experience.

One thing not mentioned in the abstract (but perhaps it's mentioned in the paper) is how many missionaries do door-to-door sales when the return home. Many don't, but a nontrivial number do. I suspect that that missionaries play a role in the popularity of MLMs: either because of former missionaries joining MLMs (because some missionary skillsets are applicable to MLM marketing/selling), or because a nontrivial number of people in Utah have a soft spot for missionaries and I think MLMs often exploit that same soft spot.

replies(2): >>23882448 #>>23882612 #
1. sjansen ◴[18 Jul 20 16:41 UTC] No.23882612[source]▶
Scanning the paper, it looks like it does discuss the impact of prior missionary experience on MLM growth.

Having seen it first hand, the relationship between pausing college for a couple of year to go door to door discussing religion, followed by returning to college and paying for it by going door to door selling security systems, solar panels, kitchen knives, etc. has always been obvious.

Don't get the wrong impressions. Only a minority of returned missionaries go into sales. And most quickly become disillusioned because it's harder to stay dedicated to flogging a mediocre kitchen knife. But it only takes a fraction of a fraction of the population.