Salespeople face increasingly complex work environments, both externally with customers and internally with various departments in their own organizations. Because managing such customer and organizational complexity is crucial to performance, the authors conceptualize and develop measures of customer and organizational complexity and examine the effects on salesperson outcomes. In line with job demands-resources theory, salespeople leverage personal and supervisory resources to manage complexity. The test of the conceptual model uses matched salespeople–sales manager data gathered from a large business-to-business firm. The empirical findings reveal that personal resources (sales self-efficacy) help manage complexity in general but create greater role stress in the face of customer complexity. The effectiveness of supervisory resources (transactional leadership behavior) is contingent on the type of complexity and the personal resources available to a salesperson. These results indicate not only how salespeople manage different complexities but also how sales managers should adapt their leadership behaviors to enhance salesperson performance.
AikenLeona S. and WestStephen G.(1991), Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
2.
BakkerArnold B. and DemeroutiEvangelia(2007), “The Job Demands–Resources Model: State of the Art,”Journal of Managerial Psychology22(3), 309–328.
3.
BanduraAlbert(1986), Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
BanduraAlbert(1997), Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
5.
BettencourtLance A. and BrownStephen W.(2003), “Role Stressors and Customer-Oriented Boundary-Spanning Behaviors in Service Organizations,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science31(4), 394–408.
6.
BirkinshawJulian and HeywoodSuzanne(2010), “Putting Organizational Complexity in Its Place,”McKinsey Quarterly19(3), 1–9.
7.
BrownSteven P. and PetersonRobert A.(1993), “Antecedents and Consequences of Salesperson Job Satisfaction: Meta-Analysis and Assessment of Causal Effects,”Journal of Marketing Research30(February), 63–77.
8.
BrownSteven P. and PetersonRobert A.(1994), “The Effect of Effort on Sales Performance and Job Satisfaction,”Journal of Marketing58(April), 70–80.
9.
CampbellDonald J.(1988), “Task Complexity: A Review and Analysis,”Academy of Management Review13(1), 40–52.
10.
CampbellDonald J. and GingrichKarl F.(1986), “The Interactive Effects of Task Complexity and Participation on Task Performance: A Field Experiment,”Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes38(2), 162–80.
11.
ChallagallaGoutam N. and ShervaniTasadduq A.(1996), “Dimensions and Types of Supervisory Control: Effects on Salesperson Performance and Satisfaction,”Journal of Marketing60(January), 89–105.
12.
ChowdhuryJhinuk(1993), “The Motivational Impact of Sales Quotas on Effort,”Journal of Marketing Research30(February), 28–41.
13.
ChurchillG.A(1979), “A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs,”Journal of Marketing Research16(February), 64–73.
14.
CoelhoFilipe, AugustoMário, and LagesLuis Filipe(2011), “Contextual Factors and the Creativity of Frontline Employees: The Mediating Effects of Role Stress and Intrinsic Motivation,”Journal of Retailing87(1), 31–45.
15.
CordesCynthia L. and DoughertyThomas W.(1993), “A Review and Integration of Research on Job Burnout,”Academy of Management Review18(4), 621–56.
16.
CrawfordEean R., LePineJeffery A., and RichBruce Louis(2010), “Linking Job Demands and Resources to Employee Engagement and Burnout: A Theoretical Extension and Meta-Analytic Test,”Journal of Applied Psychology95(5), 834–48.
17.
DavieChristopher, StephensonTom, and de UsterMaria Valdivieso(2010), “Three Trends in Business-to-Business Sales,”McKinsey Quarterly19(May), 1–4.
18.
DayGeorge S.(2011), “Closing the Marketing Capabilities Gap,”Journal of Marketing75(May), 183–95.
19.
De JongeJan and DormannChristian(2006), “Stressors, Resources, and Strain at Work: A Longitudinal Test of the Triple-Match Principle,”Journal of Applied Psychology91(5), 1359–74.
20.
DemeroutiEvangelia, BakkerArnold B., NachreinerFriedhelm, and SchaufeliWilmar B.(2001), “The Job Demands– Resources Model of Burnout,”Journal of Applied Psychology86(3), 499–512.
21.
FornellClaes and LarckerDavid F.(1981), “Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error,”Journal of Marketing Research18(February), 39–50.
22.
General Electric(2010), Annual Report 2009. Fairfield, CT: General Electric.
23.
HaeremThorvald and RauDevaki(2007), “The Influence of Degree of Expertise and Objective Task Complexity on Perceived Task Complexity and Performance,”Journal of Applied Psychology92(5), 1320–31.
24.
HomburgChristian, MüllerMichael, and KlarmannMartin(2011), “When Should the Customer Really Be King? On the Optimum Level of Salesperson Customer Orientation in Sales Encounters,”Journal of Marketing75(March), 55–74.
25.
HouseRobert J.(1996), “Path-Goal Theory of Leadership: Lessons, Legacy, and a Reformulated Theory,”Leadership Quarterly7(3), 323–52.
26.
HuJing, HuhmannBruce A., and HymanMichael R.(2007), “The Relationship Between Task Complexity and Information Search: The Role of Self-Efficacy,”Psychology & Marketing24(3), 253–70.
27.
IngramThomas N.(2004), “Future Themes in Sales and Sales Management: Complexity, Collaboration, and Accountability,”Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice12(4), 18–28.
28.
IngramThomas N., LaForgeRaymond W., and SchwepkerCharles H.(2011), “Addressing Job Stress in the Sales Force,”inThe Oxford Handbook of Strategic Sales and Sales ManagementCravensDavid W., Le Meunier-FitzhughKenneth, and PiercyNigel F. eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press253–76.
29.
JaramilloFernando, MulkiJay Prakash, and SolomonPaul(2006), “The Role of Ethical Climate on Salesperson's Role Stress, Job Attitudes, Turnover Intention, and Job Performance,”Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management26(3), 271–82.
30.
JonesEli, BrownSteven P., ZoltnersAndris A., and WeitzBarton A.(2005), “The Changing Environment of Selling and Sales Management,”Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management25(2), 105–111.
31.
KarasekRobert A.(1979), “Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Design,”Administrative Science Quarterly24(2), 285–308.
32.
LoweKevin B., KroeckK. Galen, and SivasubramaniamNagaraj(1996), “Effectiveness Correlates of Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Review of the MLQ Literature,”Leadership Quarterly7(3), 385–425.
33.
LuthansFred and YoussefCarolyn M.(2007), “Emerging Positive Organizational Behavior,”Journal of Management33(3), 321–49.
34.
MacKenzieScott B. and PodsakoffPhilip M.(2012), “Common Method Bias in Marketing: Causes, Mechanisms, and Procedural Remedies,”Journal of Retailing88(4), 542–55.
35.
MacKenzieScott B., PodsakoffPhilip M., and FetterRichard(1993), “The Impact of Organizational Behavior on Evaluations of Salesperson Performance,”Journal of Marketing57(January), 70–80.
36.
MacKenzieScott B., PodsakoffPhilip M., and RichGregory A.(2001), “Transformational and Transactional Leadership and Salesperson Performance,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science29(2), 115–34.
37.
MorhartFelicitas M., HerzogWalter, and TomczakTorsten(2009), “Brand-Specific Leadership: Turning Employees into Brand Champions,”Journal of Marketing73(September), 122–42.
38.
MuthénLinda K. and MuthénBengt O.(2006), Mplus: Statistical Analysis with Latent Variables: User's Guide. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.
39.
NunnallyJum C.(1978), Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
40.
OliverRichard L. and AndersonErin(1994), “An Empirical Test of the Consequences of Behavior- and Outcome-Based Sales Control Systems,”Journal of Marketing58(October), 53–67.
41.
PlouffeChristopher R., SridharanSrinivas, and BarclayDonald W.(2010), “Exploratory Navigation and Salesperson Performance: Investigating Selected Antecedents and Boundary Conditions in High-Technology and Financial Services Contexts,”Industrial Marketing Management39(4), 538–50.
42.
PodsakoffPhilip M., BommerWilliam H., PodsakoffNathan P., and MacKenzieScott B.(2006), “Relationships Between Leader Reward and Punishment Behavior and Subordinate Attitudes, Perceptions, and Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review of Existing and New Research,”Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes99(2), 113–42.
43.
PodsakoffPhilip M., MacKenzieScott B., LeeJeong-Yeon, and PodsakoffNathan P.(2003), “Common Method Variance in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies,”Journal of Applied Psychology88(5), 879–903.
44.
PodsakoffPhilip M., TodorWilliam D., GroverRichard A., and HuberVandra L.(1984), “Situational Moderators of Leader Reward and Punishment Behaviors: Fact or Fiction?”Human Behavior and Human Performance34(1), 21–63.
45.
RizzoJohn R., HouseRobert J., and LirtzmanSidney I.(1970), “Role Conflict and Ambiguity in Complex Organizations,”Administrative Science Quarterly15(2), 150–63.
46.
SchaubroeckJohn, GansterDaniel C., and KemmererBarbara E.(1994), “Job Complexity, ‘Type A’ Behavior, and Cardiovascular Disorder: A Prospective Study,”Academy of Management Journal37(2), 426–39.
47.
SiegristJohannes(1996), “Adverse Health Effects of High-Effort/Low-Reward Conditions,”Journal of Occupational Health Psychology1(1), 27–41.
SinghJagdip(1998), “Striking a Balance in Boundary-Spanning Positions: An Investigation of Some Unconventional Influences of Role Stressors and Job Characteristics on Job Outcomes of Salespeople,”Journal of Marketing62(July), 69–86.
50.
SinghJagdip(2000), “Performance Productivity and Quality of Frontline Employees in Service Organizations,”Journal of Marketing64(April), 15–34.
51.
SinghJagdip, GoolsbyJerry R., and RhoadsGary K.(1994), “Behavioral and Psychological Consequences of Boundary Spanning: Burnout for Customer Service Representatives,”Journal of Marketing Research31(November), 558–69.
52.
SinghJagdip, MarinovaDetelina, and BrownSteven P.(2012), “Boundary Work and Customer Connectivity in B2B Front Lines,”inHandbook of Business-to-Business MarketingLilienGary L. and GrewalRajdeep eds. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar433–55.
53.
SinghJagdip, VerbekeWillem, and RhoadsGary(1996), “Do Organizational Practices Matter in Role Stress Processes? A Study of Direct and Moderating Effects for Marketing-Oriented Boundary Spanners,”Journal of Marketing60(July), 69–86.
54.
StajkovicAlexander D. and LuthansFred(1998), “Self-Efficacy and Work-Related Performance: A Meta-Analysis,”Psychological Bulletin124(2), 240–61.
55.
StajkovicAlexander D. and LuthansFred(2003), “Social Cognitive Theory and Self- Efficacy: Implications for Motivation Theory and Practice,”inMotivation and Work BehaviorPorterLyman W., BigleyGregory A., and SteersRichard M. eds. Boston: McGraw-Hill126–40.
56.
SturmanMichael C., CheramieRobin A., and CashenLuke H.(2005), “The Impact of Job Complexity and Performance Measurement on the Temporal Consistency, Stability, and Test–Retest Reliability of Employee Job Performance Ratings,”Journal of Applied Psychology90(2), 269–83.
57.
SujanHarish, WeitzBarton A., and KumarNirmalaya(1994), “Learning Orientation, Working Smart, and Effective Selling,”Journal of Marketing58(July), 39–52.
58.
TeasR. Kenneth(1981), “An Empirical Test of Models of Salespersons' Job Expectancy and Instrumentality Perceptions,”Journal of Marketing Research18(May), 209–226.
59.
TuliKapil R., KohliAjay K., and BharadwajSundar G.(2007), “Rethinking Customer Solutions: From Product Bundles to Relational Processes,”Journal of Marketing71(July), 1–17.
60.
VorhiesDouglas W. and MorganNeil A.(2003), “A Configuration Theory Assessment of Marketing Organization Fit with Business Strategy and Its Relationship with Marketing Performance,”Journal of Marketing67(January), 100–115.
61.
WangGuangping and NetemeyerRichard G.(2002), “The Effects of Job Autonomy, Customer Demandingness, and Trait Competitiveness on Salesperson Learning, Self-Efficacy, and Performance,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science30(3), 217–28.
62.
WildingRichard(2006), “The Application of Complexity Science to Business—Guest Editorial,”Management Decision44(7), 837–38.
63.
XanthopoulouDespoina, BakkerArnold B., DollardMaureen F., DemeroutiEvangelia, SchaufeliWilmar B., TarisToon W.et al. (2007), “When Do Job Demands Particularly Predict Burnout? The Moderating Role of Job Resources,”Journal of Managerial Psychology22(8), 766–86.
64.
XieJia-Lin, SchaubroeckJohn, and LamSimon(2008), “Theories of Job Stress and the Role of Traditional Values: A Longitudinal Study in China,”Journal of Applied Psychology93(4), 831–48.
65.
YimChi Kin, ChanKimmy Wa, and LamSimon S.K.(2012), “Do Customers and Employees Enjoy Service Participation? Synergistic Effects of Self- and Other-Efficacy,”Journal of Marketing76(6), 121–40.
