ArticlePublisher preview available

The effect of trust in management on salespeople’s selling orientation

Authors:
Peter Dickson
Peter Dickson
Peter Dickson
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Erick M. Mas at Indiana University Bloomington
Erick M. Mas
Michelle van Solt at Valparaiso University
Michelle van Solt
Tessa Garcia-Collart
Tessa Garcia-Collart
Tessa Garcia-Collart
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Show all 5 authorsHide
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract and Figures

In the following study, a sales rep hard-selling orientation is much more influenced by the hard-selling orientation they perceive senior management want them to adopt when (1) they trust senior management and (2) when their sales manager is perceived to take a similar position as senior management. Thus, a strong in-sync ethical signal is sent, either low or high. Trust plays no moderating role in senior management or sales managers’ influence on a salesperson’s level of customer orientation. This is because pursuing a customer orientation does not increase risk and vulnerability the way that pursuing a hard-selling orientation does, and trust is only an influential construct when there exists risk and vulnerability. In addition, no strong in-sync ethical signal effect was observed on sales rep customer orientation.
Figures - available from: Marketing Letters
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
A preview of this full-text is provided by Springer Nature.
Learn more
Content available from Marketing Letters
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Vol.:(0123456789)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-021-09612-5
1 3
The effect oftrust inmanagement onsalespeople’s selling
orientation
PeterDickson1 · ErickM.Mas2· MichelleVanSolt3· TessaGarcia‑Collart4·
JaclynL.Tanenbaum1
Accepted: 22 December 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
2022
Abstract
In the following study, a sales rep hard-selling orientation is much more influenced
by the hard-selling orientation they perceive senior management want them to
adopt when (1) they trust senior management and (2) when their sales manager is
perceived to take a similar position as senior management. Thus, a strong in-sync
ethical signal is sent, either low or high. Trust plays no moderating role in senior
management or sales managers’ influence on a salesperson’s level of customer ori-
entation. This is because pursuing a customer orientation does not increase risk
and vulnerability the way that pursuing a hard-selling orientation does, and trust is
only an influential construct when there exists risk and vulnerability. In addition, no
strong in-sync ethical signal effect was observed on sales rep customer orientation.
Keywords Trust in management· Vulnerability· Customer orientation· Hard-
selling orientation· Sales manager senior management in-sync ethical signaling
* Peter Dickson
dicksonp@fiu.edu
Erick M. Mas
emas@iu.edu
Michelle Van Solt
michelle.vansolt@valpo.edu
Tessa Garcia-Collart
tgarcia-collart@umsl.edu
Jaclyn L. Tanenbaum
jtanenba@fiu.edu
1 College ofBusiness, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
2 Kelley School ofBusiness, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
3 College ofBusiness, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA
4 College ofBusiness Administration, University ofMissouri - St. Louis, St.Louis, MO, USA
Marketing Letters (2022) 33:381–397
/Published online: 22 April 2022
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Accounting for Common Method Variance in Cross-Sectional Research Designs
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2001
Cross-sectional studies of attitude-behavior relationships are vulnerable to the inflation of correlations by common method variance (CMV). Here, a model is presented that allows partial correlation analysis to adjust the observed correlations for CMV contamination and determine if conclusions about the statistical and practical significance of a predictor have been influenced by the presence of CMV. This method also suggests procedures for designing questionnaires to increase the precision of this adjustment.
View
The combined effect of customer perceptions about a salesperson’s adaptive selling and selling orientation on customer trust in the salesperson: a contingency perspective
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2016
  • J BUS IND MARK
Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of customer perceptions about a salesperson’s combined use of adaptive selling (AS) and selling orientation (SO) on customer trust in the salesperson. Based on insights from attribution theory, the contingency model of salespeople’ effectiveness, relationship marketing and market orientation literatures, the authors analyze the interplay between customer perceptions of salespeople’s AS and SO, and how this affects customer trust. Furthermore, adopting a contingency perspective, the authors investigate how two important situational variables (i.e. length of buyer–seller relationships and importance of purchase for the buyer) affect this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on regression analysis with two- and three-way interactions, using survey data from 134 business-to-business (B2B) buyers. Findings The results indicate that the interplay between AS and SO is negatively related to trust, and that the above situation is attenuated in sales contexts characterized by high purchase importance or enduring buyer–seller relationships. Research limitations/implications The empirical findings are based on firms from a single industry. Second, a cross-sectional research design is adopted. Third, the absence of measures of objective performance (e.g. sales) might be regarded as a limitation. Practical implications The study suggests that salespeople willing to win customer trust should modify their approach across the relationship life cycle. Similarly, when purchase importance for the customer is low, salespeople interested in building relationships based on trust should combine AS and customer orientation. In contrast, when purchase importance is high, salespeople can only generate more trust by increasing customer orientation/reducing SO. These findings might inspire sales trainers and sales managers in developing training experiences based on adaptation and customer orientation. Originality/value The research contributes in several ways to the literature. First, the simultaneous effect of AS and SO on performance (i.e. customer trust) was investigated. Second, the analysis of the interaction between AS and SO was complemented by testing two important boundary conditions residing in the selling situation: purchase importance and relationship length. Third, this study is the first to examine the interplay among AS, SO and selling context outside using customer data from actual B2B sales interactions. Also, it enhances knowledge of the effects of AS on sales outcomes by adding a long-term, relational outcome (i.e. trust) to previous work that tended to focus on short-term outcomes (i.e. sales revenues). Furthermore, by investigating perceived benefits from the point of view of customers rather than sellers, our findings add to previous studies of AS which relied too heavily, or exclusively, on the voice of the seller. Finally, this study shed further light on the role played by SO in affecting customer-based performance.
View
The Diffusion of Market Orientation Throughout the Organization: A Social Learning Theory Perspective
Article
  • Sep 2010
  • J MARKETING
This study examines the diffusion of market orientation (MO) as a social learning process to acquire and transfer individual-level MO. Central to the diffusion are important work-group members, or envoys. Through their market-oriented action, top managers serve as market-oriented role models to two important types of observers in work groups—formal middle managers and work-group expert peers. In turn, these observers become top managers’ envoys and role models of market-oriented behavior to frontline employees. Empirical results from a three-level data set from a Fortune 500 company support this perspective. While envoys who are neither market oriented nor identified with the firm are the least effective, envoys who are not market oriented but are strongly identified with the firm are also detrimental. Network size hinders the informal route of learning through expert peers but not the formal route through middle managers. By identifying who the important work-group envoys are and under what conditions certain envoys are likely to be most effective, this study helps managers select the best envoys to implement MO.
View
The SOCO Scale: A Measure of the Customer Orientation of Salespeople
Article
  • Aug 1982
The concept of customer orientation in salespeople is defined, a scale is developed to measure the degree to which salespeople engage in customer-oriented selling, and the properties of the scale are reported. A test of the nomological validity indicates the use of customer-oriented selling is related to the ability of the salespeople to help their customers and the quality of the customer-salesperson relationship.
View
Perspectives on Behavior-Based versus Outcome-Based Salesforce Control Systems
Article
  • Oct 1987
  • J MARKETING
Forms of control systems used in salesforce evaluation and based on the monitoring of outcomes or of behaviors are described, contrasted, and evaluated in terms of emerging theories in economics, organization theory, and cognitive psychology. Generally, the principles of behavior control as opposed to outcome control are found to be consistent with these theoretical perspectives with exceptions as noted, though studies of descriptive trends suggest that outcome control remains useful as a sales management philosophy. The authors conclude with a set of propositions intended to stimulate research on the managerial and behavioral consequences of the two control philosophies.
View
An Empirical Test of the Consequences of Behavior-and Outcome-Based Sales Control Systems
Article
  • Oct 1994
  • J MARKETING
In a previous volume of this journal, the authors presented a behavior versus outcome sales control continuum based on methods of monitoring, directing, evaluating, and compensating the salesperson's efforts and results. They empirically test their propositions about how control system perceptions influence salespeople on a diverse sample of sales representatives. They find that the predicted effects of control philosophy on affective and motivational states are generally supported whereas the effects on sales strategies or performance outcomes are not. Organizational culture differences are also observed.
View
Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for multidimensional approach.
Article
  • Jan 1983
To facilitate a multidimensional approach to empathy the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) includes 4 subscales: Perspective-Taking (PT) Fantasy (FS) Empathic Concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD). The aim of the present study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of these 4 subscales. Hypothesized relationships among the IRI subscales between the subscales and measures of other psychological constructs (social functioning self-esteem emotionality and sensitivity to others) and between the subscales and extant empathy measures were examined. Study subjects included 677 male and 667 female students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes at the University of Texas. The IRI scales not only exhibited the predicted relationships among themselves but also were related in the expected manner to other measures. Higher PT scores were consistently associated with better social functioning and higher self-esteem; in contrast Fantasy scores were unrelated to these 2 characteristics. High EC scores were positively associated with shyness and anxiety but negatively linked to egotism. The most substantial relationships in the study involved the PD scale. PD scores were strongly linked with low self-esteem and poor interpersonal functioning as well as a constellation of vulnerability uncertainty and fearfulness. These findings support a multidimensional approach to empathy by providing evidence that the 4 qualities tapped by the IRI are indeed separate constructs each related in specific ways to other psychological measures.
View
View
The good, the bad and the effective: A meta-analytic examination of selling orientation and customer orientation on sales performance
Article
  • Apr 2014
The concept of customer orientation (CO) is a focal construct in marketing and sales literature. Saxe and Weitz introduced CO to contrast the traditional high-pressure approach to sales (selling orientation). This study synthesizes empirical evidence from 1982 to 2013 to provide insight into the antecedents and consequences of both CO and selling orientation (SO). A conceptual meta-analytic model based on research into interpersonal motive models is proposed and tested using effect sizes from 126,790 salesperson survey responses to advance theory development on our understanding of how SO and CO behaviours affect organizations. Findings show that adaptive selling mediates the impact of both SO and CO which has important practical implications for hiring and training salespeople. Furthermore, this study shows that goal orientations are antecedents of SO and CO and that the impact of SO on job performance varies by customer type.
View
An Empirical Test of the Consequences of Behavior- and Outcome-Based Sales Control Systems
Article
  • Oct 1994
  • J MARKETING
In a previous volume of this journal, the authors presented a behavior versus outcome sales control continuum based on methods of monitoring, directing, evaluating, and compensating the salesperson's efforts and results. They empirically test their propositions about how control system perceptions influence salespeople on a diverse sample of sales representatives. They find that the predicted effects of control philosophy on affective and motivational states are generally supported whereas the effects on sales strategies or performance outcomes are not. Organizational culture differences are also observed.
View