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Assessing the validity of sales self-efficacy: A cautionary tale
Abstract and Figures
We developed a focused, context-specific measure of sales self-efficacy and assessed its incremental validity against the broad Big 5 personality traits with department store salespersons, using (a) both a concurrent and a predictive design and (b) both objective sales measures and supervisory ratings of performance. We found that in the concurrent study, sales self-efficacy predicted objective and subjective measures of job performance more than did the Big 5 measures. Significant differences between the predictability of subjective and objective measures of performance were not observed. Predictive validity coefficients were generally lower than concurrent validity coefficients. The results suggest that there are different dynamics operating in concurrent and predictive designs and between broad and contextualized measures; they highlight the importance of distinguishing between these designs and measures in meta-analyses. The results also point to the value of focused, context-specific personality predictors in selection research.
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... It is connected with finding and maintaining an occupation that is satisfactory at that stage of life. Self-efficacy in this role is understood as the ability to seek out the most attractive job opportunities, cope with the employer's recruitment requirements, and effectively pass the selection process (Gupta et al. 2013;Lent and Brown 2008). Finally, being a homemaker is a role connected with the organization of an individual's household. ...
... The fundamental goals of the first survey were to calculate the discriminatory power indices for the items, to determine the (Clark 2013), solving mathematical tasks (Caprara et al. 2011), self-efficacy in learning chemistry (Aydin and Uzuntiryaki 2009), self-efficacy in sport (Feltz et al. 2008), sales self-efficacy (Gupta et al. 2013), entrepreneurial behavior (Chen et al. 2001;Łaguna 2013) Subjective Who is involved in achieving success; pertains to individual or collective self-efficacy independently, as a team, indirectly through someone (Bandura 2006, Lent et al. 2006Tasa et al. 2007;Wang et al. 2010) Class of events The extent to which the activity is spontaneous or premeditated ...
... According to Bandura (2011), one of the results of selfefficacy is improved self-esteem. Gupta et al. (2013) also stress the close link between self-efficacy and positive feelings. In our research, we found statistically-significant positive correlations between the new scale that we developed and Rosenberg's (1989) Self-Esteem Scale. ...
Self-efficacy is widely regarded as a key factor in shaping one's own career. To date, self-efficacy has usually been measured on a one-dimensional basis without taking into account the interaction between the various social roles involved in career development. The social roles were described by Donald E. Super in his career development theory. Adopting this framework, we provide a questionnaire to simultaneously measure self-efficacy in Super's five described social roles. This work presents the development and validation of a new questionnaire entitled the Life Roles Self-Efficacy Scale (LRSES). The questionnaire has been developed based on a series of surveys: the first survey (N = 347) aimed to establish the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and basic psychometric properties of the tool; the second survey (N = 494) aimed to verify the confirmatory factor analysis of the method (CFA) and reliability parameters with regard to a new sample; and the third survey (N = 109) explored the consistency of results over time. Statistical analysis confirmed this tool to be accurate for assessing one's self-efficacy in school-to-work transitions.
... For at least 50 years, researchers have acknowledged that personality is a proven predictor of success (Bailey, 2014). The traits include 'perceived employability', 'work-family balance' (Wille et al., 2013), and 'self-efficacy' (Gupta et al., 2013). Researchers, often in psychology, have questioned whether intrinsic traits such as self-efficacy can predict long-term career success (Wille et al., 2013;Gupta et al., 2013). ...
... The traits include 'perceived employability', 'work-family balance' (Wille et al., 2013), and 'self-efficacy' (Gupta et al., 2013). Researchers, often in psychology, have questioned whether intrinsic traits such as self-efficacy can predict long-term career success (Wille et al., 2013;Gupta et al., 2013). ...
... In Gupta et al. (2013) conducted research on 200 department store sales associates. The research compared self-efficacy and employees' judgements of their capabilities (Bandura, 1986, as cited in Gupta et al., 2013), with the big five personality traits to see which trait predicated on-the-job success. ...
... From a theoretical viewpoint, the importance of convergence and divergence perspectives provide new insights for the literature that, to date, uses either control system separately (e.g., Ahearne et al. 2013;Ahearne et al. 2010;Miao and Evans 2013;Wang, Dou, and Zhou 2012;. The focal study examines convergence and divergence, as well as the moderating role of self-efficacy and performance in amplifying the main effects (Brown, Jones, and Leigh 2005;Gupta, Ganster, and Kepes 2013). ...
... Previous research recognizes the main effect of salespeople's self-efficacy on sales outcomes (Ahearne, Mathieu, et al. 2005;Fu et al. 2010;Peterson 2020;Schmitz and Ganesan 2014;Vancouver, Thompson, and Williams 2001;Vancouver et al. 2002;Krishnan, Netemeyer, and Boles 2002), but the predominant focus is on the estimation of its prediction power (Wang and Netemeyer 2002). Additionally, self-efficacy has been used as a moderator in cognitive psychology and sales research (Brown, Ganesan, and Challagalla 2001;Saks 1995;Brown, Jones, and Leigh 2005;Gupta, Ganster, and Kepes 2013;Schmitz and Ganesan 2014). The theoretical reason for using self-efficacy as a moderator is because it is a personal trait that reflects the salesperson's confidence that they can achieve specific results (Bandura 1977), which could influence the statistical relationship between behaviorand outcome-based control convergence or divergence on sales performance. ...
Drawing on control systems and self-efficacy theories, the authors propose two alternative perspectives: a control systems convergence, which refers to a salesperson’s perception of their sales manager’s use of both behavior-based and outcome-based controls together, and a control systems divergence, which is an unbalanced and more traditional view toward one dimension or the other. Using multi-sourced data, this research examines two frameworks: (1) the moderating role of self-efficacy on the main effects of control systems convergence and divergence on sales performance, and alternatively (2) the moderating role of past performance on the pattern of relationships leading to self-efficacy. The results suggest that control systems convergence has a significant impact on sales performance. Furthermore, self-efficacy moderates the main effect of control systems convergence whereas high (vs. low) levels of self-efficacy generate greater levels of performance in low (vs. high) levels of convergence. Moreover, high (vs. low) levels of self-efficacy generate greater levels of performance in high (vs. low) levels of divergence toward outcome-based control (i.e., when outcome-based control is greater than behavior-based control). In the alternative model, we found that performance explains self-efficacy, generating something like a reciprocal causality).
A key finding in personnel selection is the positive correlation between conscientiousness and job performance. Evidence predominantly stems from concurrent validation studies with incumbent samples but is readily generalized to predictive settings with job applicants. This is problematic because the extent to which faking and changes in personality affect the measurement likely vary across samples and study designs. Therefore, we meta‐analytically investigated the relation between conscientiousness and job performance, examining the moderating effects of sample type (incumbent vs. applicant) and validation design (concurrent vs. predictive). The overall correlation of conscientiousness and job performance was in line with previous meta‐analyses (r ¯ = .17 , k = 102 , n = 23 , 305 $\bar{r}=.17,k=102,n=23,305$). In our analyses, the correlation did not differ across validation designs (concurrent: r ¯ = .18 , k = 78 , n = 19 , 132 $\bar{r}=.18,k=78,n=19,132$; predictive: r ¯ = .15 , k = 24 , n = 4173 $\bar{r}=.15,k=24,n=4173$), sample types (incumbents: r ¯ = .18 , k = 92 , n = 20 , 808 $\bar{r}=.18,k=92,n=20,808$; applicants: r ¯ = .14 , k = 10 , n = 2497 $\bar{r}=.14,k=10,n=2497$), or their interaction. Critically, however, our review revealed that only a small minority of studies (~12%) were conducted with real applicants in predictive designs. Thus, barely a fraction of research is conducted under realistic conditions. Therefore, it remains an open question if self‐report measures of conscientiousness retain their predictive validity in applied settings that entail faked responses. We conclude with a call for more multivariate research on the validity of selection procedures in predictive settings with actual applicants. Research on the predictive validity of conscientiousness is almost exclusively conducted with incumbents and criterion data gathered at the same time as test data. Such studies likely underestimate the detrimental effects of faking and personality change across time. Predictive studies with real applicant samples are scarce. Self‐report personality measures should be used with caution if faking was expected. In general, a stronger emphasis on incremental validity instead of individual predictors is desirable. Research on the predictive validity of conscientiousness is almost exclusively conducted with incumbents and criterion data gathered at the same time as test data. Such studies likely underestimate the detrimental effects of faking and personality change across time. Predictive studies with real applicant samples are scarce. Self‐report personality measures should be used with caution if faking was expected. In general, a stronger emphasis on incremental validity instead of individual predictors is desirable.
A key finding in personnel selection is the positive correlation between conscientiousness and job performance. Evidence predominantly stems from concurrent validation studies with incumbent samples but is readily generalized to predictive settings with job applicants. This is problematic because the extent to which faking and changes in personality affect the measurement likely vary across samples and study designs. We meta-analytically investigated the relation between conscientiousness and job performance, examining the moderating effects of sample type (incumbent vs. applicant) and validation design (concurrent vs. predictive). Our review of the published literature reveals that only a small minority of studies were conducted with real applicants in predictive designs, which questions the generalizability of the findings to real selection processes. However, the overall correlation of conscientiousness and job performance was in line with previous meta-analyses (𝑟̅ = .17, k = 102, n = 23,305) and this effect was not moderated by either validation design (concurrent: 𝑟̅ = .18, k = 78, n = 19,132; predictive: 𝑟̅ = .15, k = 24, n = 4,173), sample type (incumbents: 𝑟̅ = .18, k = 92, n = 20,808; applicants: 𝑟̅ = .14, k = 10, n = 2,497), or the interaction thereof. We discuss how these results are limited by a potentially large file drawer problem in the industry and conclude with a call for more multivariate research on the validity of selection procedures in predictive settings with actual applicants.
The COVID-19 pandemic altered buyers’ concerns and resulted in more complex demand for high-involvement goods, such as financial products. These changes seem likely to persist after the pandemic. Additionally, other unforeseen events, although likely not as pervasive as the pandemic, could occur at any time. In this context, the ability of salespeople to keep their mental abilities sharp is vital in overcoming challenges and moving forward. This study highlights the emerging psychological capacities that help salespeople cope with new work circumstances following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as dealing with other unforeseen events, and identifies ways to develop these psychological capabilities. Findings from in-depth interviews with 20 salespeople suggest that patience (P), consideration (C), and responsibility (R) are the emerging psychological capacities that motivate salespeople to achieve positive outcomes during and after the pandemic. These capacities can be developed through the exercise of passion and purpose, gratitude, long-term thinking, self-reflection, and self-compassion. We found the P.C.R. framework to fit the existing psychological capital (PsyCap) model, providing nuances to our understanding of PsyCap by proposing a framework with the emerging psychological capacities that salespeople require to succeed in the post-COVID personal selling environment. The study’s limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
Purpose
Negotiation is important for career success. Therefore, this study draws from social expectancy and self-regulation theories to develop a model proposing that social class background (SCB) influences the ease with which achievement striving translates into propensity to negotiate. Specifically, the authors examine how SCB moderates the relationship between achievement striving and negotiation propensity via a key mediator—status-based identity uncertainty—reflective of one's (un)certainty about their societal standing.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data across three surveys over a four-week period from 460 participants. The authors assessed negotiation propensity by asking participants to rank-order behavioral reactions, representative of different degrees of negotiation engagement, in response to three scenarios.
Findings
The positive effects of achievement striving on negotiation propensity are attenuated for individuals with lower SCBs, in part, because achievement-oriented individuals with lower SCBs experience a heightened sense of status-based identity uncertainty. Although achievement striving is an asset for initiating negotiations, it appears to disproportionately benefit those with higher SCBs.
Originality/value
Individuals higher in achievement striving and with lower SCBs may approach the negotiation process differently than those with higher SCBs. This dynamic serves as another mechanism through which cumulative (dis)advantage processes in career success may occur over time.
Given the lowering of trade barriers among nations, the internet revolution, and a resultant increase in the bargaining power of consumers, coupled with the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic, firms are increasingly forced to make use of a high performing workforce. It is to raise the quality of their products and/or services as global competition for the consumer's money severely punishes inefficiencies. As a result of this, it has become imperative for organizational researchers to determine the important antecedents of employee task performance. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between 147 the domain-based self-efficacy and employee task performance. Drawing on the Social Cognitive Theory, we propose that there is a relationship between these two variables, and that the relationship is moderated by emotional intelligence, with the view of shedding light on the inconsistent nature of the results from previous studies. Through the descriptive survey research design, the multi-stage sampling technique was applied in eliciting data from a total of 342 employees of the Nige-rian banking industry who are employed in the customer services sector. From the simple moderation analysis conducted after utilizing the Process macro, results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between domain-based self-efficacy and task performance. However, emotional intelligence moderates this relationship in such a way that the positive relationship between self-efficacy and task performance was weaker among subjects who reported a higher level of emotional intelligence. In the light of these findings, it was recommended for managers particularly in the banking industry to set up intervention strategies that have the potentials of promoting a desirable level of domain-based self-efficacy among their employees while also ensuring that an optimal mix of emotional intelligence both within and across components is promoted with the view of achieving a desirable moderating impact of this relationship.
While companies devote extensive resources to sales force monitoring and compensation, executives continue to puzzle over how to properly motivate their sales personnel to perform more effectively and efficiently. Which matters more for performance—extrinsic incentives or intrinsic motivators—and under what conditions? While motivation has been studied for decades, the phenomenon remains a chief concern facing many organizations today. Findings from 293 effect sizes nested within 127 studies (n = 77,560) demonstrate that motivation is significantly associated with salesperson performance (r = .245, 95% CI = .238 to .252). In addition, the meta-analytic findings indicate that intrinsic motivation is more significantly associated with performance (r = .298, 95% CI = .287 to .308) than extrinsic motivation (r = .176, 95% CI = .166 to .186). The multivariate analyses also confirm that intrinsic motivation has stronger effects than extrinsic motivation on salesperson performance after controlling for sample characteristics such as age, gender, and tenure. Moreover, we find that the relationship between intrinsic motivation and performance is greater than that of extrinsic motivation and performance for both younger and older salespeople, salespeople with longer job tenure and years of sales experience, female salespeople, salespeople selling in a B2B context, and salespeople located within the U.S. We discuss the theoretical importance of these findings, offer practical implications for sales managers, and suggest avenues for future scholarly research.
Self-efficacy has been a focal construct in personal selling research for more than four decades. This article reviews and examines how self-efficacy has been conceptualized, measured, and investigated in personal selling research. Following a canvass of scales that have been used to measure self-efficacy in personal selling research, quantitative analyses of the self-efficacy–sales performance relationship were conducted, and an empirical analysis of nine self-efficacy scales and their underlying items was carried out to assess and compare the scales’ reliability and validity. The article concludes with several observations about the “state of the art” of self-efficacy in personal selling research and recommendations for future research.
The primary purpose of this investigation was to test two key characteristics hypothesized to influence the validity of situational (SI) and behavior description (BDI) structured interviews. A meta-analysis of 54 studies with a total sample size of 5536 suggested that job complexity influences the validity of SIs, with decreased validity for high-complexity jobs, but does not influence the validity of BDIs. And, results indicated a main effect for study design across both SIs and BDIs, with predictive studies having 0.10 lower validity on average than concurrent studies. Directions for future research are discussed.
This paper posits and tests a model of the individual characteristics of self-efficacy, competitiveness, and effort as potential antecedents of salesperson performance. Based on two studies in different selling contexts, it is observed that whereas effort mediates the relationship between competitiveness and sales performance, self-efficacy has both direct and indirect effects on sales performance. Structural equation modeling results support the proposed model. Implications and conclusions of the studies are presented.
This article reports on meta-analyses of the relations of self-efficacy beliefs to academic performance and persistence. Results revealed positive and statistically significant relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and academic performance and persistence outcomes across a wide variety of subjects, experimental designs, and assessment methods. The relationships were found to be heterogeneous across studies, and the variance in reported effect sizes was partially explained by certain study characteristics. Implications for further research and for intervention are discussed.
Foreword by Tim Judge. Preface. Individual Differences at Work. Methods to Assess Work Behaviour and Potential. Personality Testing in the Work Place. Types and Temperaments at Work. Personality Disorders at Work. Cognitive Ability at Work. Social and Emotional Intelligences at Work. Creativity at Work. Attitudes, Beliefs, Styles and Values at Work. Integrity and Honesty at Work. Competency at Work. Conclusion.
The research objective was to examine the relative impact of "organizational citizenship behaviors" (OCBs) and objective sales productivity on sales managers' evaluations of the performance of their sales personnel. Objective measures of sales productivity were obtained for three diverse sales samples: (1) 261 multiline insurance agents, (2) 204 petrochemical sales representatives, and (3) 108 district sales managers working for a large pharmaceutical company. Managerial evaluations of organizational citizenship behavior and overall performance were also obtained for each of these people. The results indicate that (1) managers do recognize several different dimensions of "citizenship" behavior, and these OCBs are distinct from objective sales productivity, (2) the combination of OCBs and objective sales productivity accounts for substantially more variance in managers' overall evaluations than typically is accounted for by sales productivity alone, and (3) the OCBs (taken as a group) consistently account for a larger portion of the variance in managerial evaluations than does sales productivity. The implications of these findings for salesforce motivation and evaluation are discussed.
A conceptual framework is presented that resolves some of the conflicts and inconsistencies in the various paradigms pertaining to goal setting. Hypotheses about the impact of quota level, expectancy, and self-efficacy on motivation are developed and tested in a laboratory experiment in which the subjects assume the role of salespersons and negotiate with opponents whose roles are simulated by a custom-designed computer program. The results indicate that as quota level is increased, effort increases only up to a point, after which increases in the level of the quota may actually decrease effort. Additionally, the impact of increased quota levels is stronger for subjects who are high in self-efficacy than for subjects who are low in self-efficacy. Finally, information about the level of task difficulty also influences the motivation to expend effort at the task.