Purpose

This paper aims to explore not only the greatness of Patterson but also some of the mistakes he made along the way.

Design/methodology/approach

The study traces the career of John Patterson, founder and president of the National Cash Register (NCR) from 1884 to 1922. Data from many different sources, some only recently available through the HathiTrust Digital Library, are analyzed to provide a systematic and focused examination of Patterson’s greatness, as well as some errors in judgment he during his lengthy leadership at NCR.

Findings

John Patterson recognized the potential development of a new global industry before it existed and went to work creating it. After he bought the original patents for the cash register, he spent huge sums on research and development and secured hundreds of additional patents on the device. He also spent a fortune on educational advertising to create market demand where none previously existed and invested heavily in developing his salesforce through a strong focus on training, professionalism and high commissions. He also engaged in many unsavory sales practices to try to keep others from encroaching on what he considered his exclusive right to the cash register market. At one point, he was convicted in a criminal proceeding for those efforts and sentenced to prison.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to provide a balanced review of Patterson’s contributions to the business history of that era from a sales and marketing perspective. The paper may be of interest to marketing scholars and practitioners, as well as business historians.

中文翻译：

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约翰·H·帕特森（John H.Patterson）和NCR的早期销售实践

目的

本文的目的不仅是探索帕特森的伟大之处，还在于探索他一路走来所犯的一些错误。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究追溯了约翰·帕特森（John Patterson）的职业生涯，约翰·帕特森是1884年至1922年国家收银机（NCR）的创始人和总裁。分析了许多不同来源的数据，其中一些数据最近只能通过HathiTrust数字图书馆获得，以进行系统的，有针对性的检查。帕特森的伟大之处，以及他在NCR长期任职期间判断他时的一些错误。

发现

约翰·帕特森（John Patterson）意识到新兴的全球产业的潜在发展，并着手创造这一产业。在为收银机购买原始专利后，他在研发上花费了大量资金，并在该设备上获得了数百项其他专利。他还花了很多钱在教育广告上，以创造市场需求，而这在以前是不存在的，并通过大力培训，专业化和高佣金投入了大量资金来发展其销售队伍。他还从事许多不利的销售手法，以防止其他人侵犯他认为自己对收银机市场的专有权。有一次，他因这些努力而被定罪于刑事诉讼，并被判入狱。

创意/价值

这是第一篇从销售和市场营销角度对帕特森对那个时代的业务历史所做的贡献进行均衡回顾的论文。营销学者和从业人员以及商业历史学家可能会对本文感兴趣。