To examine the antecedents and consequences of the development of salespeople's organizational commitment during early employment, the authors conducted a longitudinal study. The study focused on how changes in three key antecedents (leadership behavior, role stress, and job satisfaction) influence the development of commitment and how changes in commitment, in turn, affect turnover intentions and behavior. Results suggest that role ambiguity and job satisfaction (but not leadership behavior) are significant contributors to the development of organizational commitment during early employment. The results also show that organizational commitment influences turnover through its significant impact on propensity to leave.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonJames C., and GerbingDavid W. (1984), “The Effect of Sampling Error on Covergence, Improper Solutions, and Goodness-of-Fit Indices for Maximum Likelihood Confirmatory Factor Analysis,”Psychometrika, 49 (2), 155–73.
2.
BagozziRichard (1980a), “Performance and Satisfaction in an Industrial Sales Force: An Examination of Their Antecedents and Their Simultaneity,”Journal of Marketing, 44 (Spring), 65–77.
3.
BagozziRichard (1980b), Causal Models in Marketing.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
4.
BartolKathryn M. (1979), “Professionalism as a Predictor of Organizational Commitment, Role Stress and Turnover: A Multidimensional Approach,”Academy of Management Journal, 22 (4), 815–21.
5.
BatemanThomas S., and StrasserStephen (1984), “A Longitudinal Analysis of the Antecedents of Organizational Commitment,”Academy of Management Journal, 27 (1), 95–112.
6.
BeckerHoward S. (1960), “Notes on the Concept of Commitment,”American Journal of Sociology, 66, 32–40.
7.
BehrmanDouglas N., and PerreaultWilliam D. (1984), “A Role Stress Model of the Performance and Satisfaction of Industrial Salespersons,”Journal of Marketing, 48 (Fall), 9–21.
8.
BentlerPeter M., and BonettDouglas C. (1980), “Significance Tests and Goodness-of-Fit in the Analysis of Covariance Structures,”Psychological Bulletin, 80 (3), 588–606.
9.
BlauGary J., and BoalKimberly B. (1987), “Conceptualizing How Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment Affect Turnover and Absenteeism,”Academy of Management Review, 12 (2), 288–300.
10.
BluedornAllen C. (1982), “A Unified Model of Turnover From Organizations,”Human Relations, 35 (February), 135–53.
11.
BuchananBruce (1974), “Building Organizational Commitment: The Socialization of Managers in Work Organizations,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 19 (December), 533–46.
12.
ChonkoLawrence B. (1986), “Organizational Commitment in the Sales Force,”Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 6 (November), 19–27.
13.
ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., FordNeil M., HartleySteven W., and WalkerOrville C.Jr. (1985), “The Determinants of Salesperson Performance: A Meta-Analysis,”Journal of Marketing Research, 22 (May), 103–18.
14.
ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., FordNeil M., and WalkerOrville C.Jr. (1976), “Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Salesforce,”Journal of Marketing Research, 13 (November), 323–32.
15.
CottonJohn L., and TuttleJeffrey M. (1986), “Employee Turnover: A Meta-Analysis and Review With Implications for Research,”Academy of Management Review, 11 (1), 55–70.
16.
CronWilliam L. (1984), “Industrial Salesperson Development: A Career Stages Perspective,”Journal of Marketing, 48 (Fall), 41–52.
17.
CronWilliam L., DubinskyAlan J., and MichaelsRonald E. (1988), “The Influence of Career Stages on Components of Salesperson Motivation,”Journal of Marketing, 52 (January), 78–92.
18.
CronWilliam L., and SlocumJohn W.Jr. (1986), “The Influence of Career Stages on Salespeople's Attitudes, Work Perceptions, and Performance,”Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (May), 119–29.
19.
CronbachLee J., and FurbyLita (1970), “How Should We Measure ‘Change'—or Should We?”Psychological Bulletin, 74 (1), 68–80.
20.
CurryJames P., WakefieldDouglas S., PriceJames L., and MuellerCharles W. (1986), “On the Causal Ordering of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment,”Academy of Management Journal, 29 (4), 847–58.
21.
DeCotiisThomas A., and SummersTimothy P. (1987), “A Path Analysis of a Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Commitment,”Human Relations, 40 (7), 445–70.
22.
DubinskyAlan J., and HartleySteven W. (1986), “A Path-Analytic Study of a Model of Salesperson Performance,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 14 (1) Spring, 36–46.
23.
DubinskyAlan J., HowellRoy D., IngramThomas N., and BellengerDanny N. (1986), “Salesforce Socialization,”Journal of Marekting, 50 (October), 192–207.
24.
DubinskyAlan J., and SkinnerSteven J. (1984), “Impact of Job Characteristics on Retail Salespeople's Reactions to Their Jobs,”Journal of Retailing, 60 (Summer), 35–62.
25.
FeldmanDaniel C. (1976), “A Contingency Theory of Socialization,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 21 (September), 433–50.
26.
FishbeinMartin, ed. (1967), Readings in Attitude Theory and Measurement.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
27.
FishbeinMartin, and AjzenIcek (1975), Belief, Attitude, Intention and Behavior.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
28.
FryLouis W., FutrellCharles M., ParasuramanA., and ChmielewskiMargaret A. (1986), “An Analysis of Alternative Causal Models of Salesperson Role Perceptions and Work Related Attitudes,”Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (May), 153–63.
29.
FutrellCharles M., and ParasuramanA. (1984), “The Relationship of Satisfaction and Performance to Salesforce Turnover,”Journal of Marketing, 48 (Fall), 33–40.
30.
GerbingDavid W., and AndersonJames C. (1988), “An Updated Paradigm for Scale Development Incorporating Unidimensionality and Its Assessment,”Journal of Marketing Research, 25 (May), 186–92.
31.
GlissonCharles, and DurickMark (1988), “Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Human Service Organizations,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 33 (March), 61–81.
32.
HornPeter W., KaterbergRalphJr., and HulinCharles L. (1979), “Comparative Examination of Three Approaches to the Prediction of Turnover,”Journal of Applied Psychology, 64 (3), 280–90.
33.
HuntShelby, ChonkoLawrence B., and WoodVan R. (1985), “Organizational Commitment and Marketing,”Journal of Marketing, 49 (Winter), 112–26.
34.
IngramThomas N., and BellengerDanny N. (1983), “Personal and Organizational Variables: Their Relative Effect on Reward Valences of Industrial Salespeople,”Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (May), 198–205.
35.
JohnstonMark W., FutrellCharles M., ParasuramanA., and SagerJeffrey (1988), “Performance and Job Satisfaction Effects on Salesperson Turnover: A Replication and Extension,”Journal of Business Research, 16 (1), 67–83.
36.
JohnstonMark W., VaradarajanP., FutrellCharles M., and SagerJeffrey (1987), “The Relationship Between Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among New Salespeople,”Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 7 (November), 29–38.
37.
JöreskogKarl G. (1971), “Statistical Analysis of Sets of Congeneric Tests,”Psychometrika, 36 (June), 109–33.
38.
JöreskogKarl G., and SorbomDag (1983), LISREL VI: An Analysis of Linear Structural Relations by the Method of Maximum Likelihood, Version VI.Chicago: National Education Resources.
39.
KohliAjay K. (1985), “Some Unexplored Supervisory Behaviors and Their Influence on Salespeople's Role Clarity, Specific Self-Esteem, Job Satisfaction, and Motivation,”Journal of Marketing Research, 22 (November), 424–33.
40.
LordFred M. (1963), “Elementary Models for Measuring Change,” in Problems in Measuring Change, HarrisC. W., ed. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
41.
LucasGeorge H., ParasuramanA., DavisRobert A., and EnisBen M. (1987), “An Empirical Study of Salesforce Turnover,”Journal of Marketing, 51 (July), 34–59.
42.
MichaelsRonald E., CronWilliam L., DubinskyAlan J., and JoachimsthalerErich A. (1988), “The Influences of Formalization on the Organizational Commitment and Work Alienation of Salespeople and Industrial Buyers,”Journal of Marketing Research, 25 (November), 376–83.
43.
MobleyWilliam H., HornerStanley O., and HollingsworthA. T. (1978), “An Evaluation of Precursors of Hospital Employee Turnover,”Journal of Applied Psychology, 63 (4), 408–14.
44.
MoncriefWilliam C.III (1986), “Selling Activity and Sales Position Taxonomies for Industrial Salesforces,”Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (August), 261–70.
45.
MorrisJames H., and KochJames L. (1979), “Impacts of Role Perceptions on Organizational Commitment, Job Involvement, and Psychosomatic Illness Among Three Vocational Groupings,”Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14 (February), 88–101.
46.
MorrisJames H., and Daniel ShermanJ. (1981), “Generalizability of an Organizational Commitment Model,”Academy of Management Journal, 24 (September), 512–26.
47.
MowdayRichard, PorterLyman W., and SteersRichard M. (1982), Employee-Organization Linkages: The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover.San Francisco: Academic Press, Inc.
48.
MowdayRichard, SteersRichard M., and PorterLyman W. (1979), “The Measurement of Organizational Commitment,”Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14 (April), 224–47.
49.
NunnallyJum C. (1978), Psychometric Theory.New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
50.
OliverRichard L., and BriefArthur P. (1978), “Determinants and Consequences of Role Conflict and Ambiguity Among Retail Sales Managers,”Journal of Retailing, 53 (Winter), 47–58.
51.
PierceJon L., and DunhamRandall B. (1987), “Organizational Commitment: Pre-Employment Propensity and Initial Work Experiences,”Journal of Management, 13 (1), 163–78.
52.
PorterLyman W., SteersRichard M., MowdayRichard T., and BoulianPaul V. (1974), “Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians,”Journal of Applied Psychology, 59 (5), 603–9.
53.
ReichersArnon E. (1985), “A Review and Reconceptualization of Organizational Commitment,”Academy of Management Review, 10 (3), 465–76.
54.
RizzoJohn R., HouseRobert J., and LirtzmanSidney I. (1970), “Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity in Organizations,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 15 (March), 150–63.
55.
SchriesheimChester A. (1978), “Development, Validation, and Application of New Leadership Behavior and Expectancy Research Instruments,” doctoral dissertation, College of Administrative Science, Ohio State University.
56.
SmithPatricia Cain, KendallLorne M., and HulinCharles L. (1969), The Measurement of Satisfaction in Work and Retirement.Chicago: Rand McNally.
57.
SteersRichard M. (1977), “Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational Commitment,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 22 (March), 46–56.
58.
SteersRichard M., and MowdayRichard T. (1981), “Employee Turnover and Post-Decision Accommodation Processes,” in Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 3, CummingsL. L., and StawB. M., eds. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, Inc., 235–81.
59.
StillLeonie V. (1983), “Part-Time Versus Full-Time Salespeople: Individual Attributes, Organizational Commitment, and Work Attitudes,”Journal of Retailing, 59 (2), 54–78.
60.
TeasR. Kenneth (1983), “Supervisory Behavior, Role Stress, and the Job Satisfaction of Industrial Salespeople,”Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (February), 84–91.
61.
WalkerOrville C.Jr., ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., and FordNeil M. (1975), “Organizational Determinants of the Industrial Salesman's Role Conflict and Ambiguity,”Journal of Marketing, 39 (January), 32–9.
62.
WalkerOrville C.Jr., ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., and FordNeil M. (1977), “Motivation and Performance in Industrial Selling: Present Knowledge and Needed Research,”Journal of Marketing Research, 14 (May), 156–68.
63.
WanousJohn P. (1980), Organizational Entry: Recruitment, Selection, and Socialization of Newcomers.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
64.
WienerYoash (1982), “Commitment in Organizations: A Normative View,”Academy of Management Review, 7 (3), 418–28.
