Final answer:
Maintaining an expatriate sales force is very expensive due to higher salaries, additional benefits, and legal costs, making it a disadvantage for companies. The correct answer is option E.
Step-by-step explanation:
A disadvantage of using an expatriate sales force is that maintaining such a workforce can be very expensive. Expatriates often require higher salaries, extensive training, and additional benefits such as housing allowances, international school fees for their children, and travel expenses for periodic visits home.
Moreover, dealing with various legal and bureaucratic requirements in different countries can add up to the overall cost for the company. As opposed to local employees, expatriates usually have less understanding of the local market, may face cultural and language barriers, and can face difficulties in fully integrating within the local business environment.
Despite the potential advantages of having employees with superior product and company knowledge, and who can implement practices compliant with the home office, the added financial burden poses a significant disadvantage.