The effect of working relationship quality on salesperson performance and job satisfaction: Adaptive selling behavior in Korean automobile sales representatives

Purpose This study aims to review the published empirical research on relationship orientation in banking and insurance services. The objective of the study is to understand whether a strong customer–sales representative relationship contributes to sales effectiveness and to know the significance of relational behaviors in developing and maintaining long-term relationship. Design/methodology/approach Through Boolean search, a systematic review with narrative synthesis was conducted. Relevant electronic bibliographic databases and reference lists of pertinent review articles were searched. Screening and eligibility of articles were based on participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes (PICO) model and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews) guidelines. Findings A total of 22 papers were finalized for the study, and results reveal that customer orientation behavior and adaptive selling behavior of sales representatives improve relationship quality, culminating in higher customer satisfaction, enhanced loyalty and escalated commitment, whereas selling orientation diminishes the relationship quality. The attributes of sales person especially contact intensity, contact frequency and client knowledge augment sales effectiveness and longstanding relationship with the customers. Practical implications This paper would provide valuable insights for financial sales representatives, academicians and practitioners of relationship marketing in the area of banking and insurance services. Personalization and customizations are important aspects of the provision of social benefits that strengthen competitive advantage. Originality/value Although the relevance of relationship marketing has been acknowledged, the conceptual base of relationship orientation in banking and insurance services has received only limited attention.

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Empathy, nonverbal immediacy, and salesperson performance: the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing ◽

10.1108/jbim-03-2015-0048 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 654-667 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Yam B. Limbu ◽

C. Jayachandran ◽

Barry J. Babin ◽

Robin T. Peterson

Keyword(s):

Perspective Taking ◽

Sales Force ◽

Nonverbal Immediacy ◽

Salesperson Performance ◽

Content Type ◽

Adaptive Selling ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Adaptive Selling Behavior ◽

Outcome Performance

Purpose Previous studies that examined the role of empathy and nonverbal immediacy on business-to-business (B2B) salesperson performance is limited in scope and yielded inconclusive evidence. Grounded in Plank and Greene’s (1996) framework of salesperson effectiveness, this paper aims to empirically investigate the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior through which empathy and nonverbal immediacy influence sales force performance and the form of empathy (cognitive or affective) that has the most beneficial role in improving relationship (versus outcome) salesperson performance. Design/methodology/approach Using cross-sectional data that were collected from 422 pharmaceutical sales representatives, this study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings Adaptive selling behavior mediates the effect of perspective taking empathy and empathic concern on relationship performance. However, the impact of empathy on outcome performance is not significant through adaptive selling behavior, but perspective taking empathy has a direct influence on outcome performance. Contrary to expectations, nonverbal immediacy is not mediated by adaptive selling behavior but has a direct and positive impact on relationship performance. Research limitations/implications The results of this study have several implications for recruitment, training and assessment of salespeople in a B2B context. Based on the empirical evidence, it is highlighted that firms may use different forms of empathy and nonverbal cues to promote adaptive selling behavior that impact sales force performance (i.e. outcome or relationship). Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which simultaneously examines the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior in the relationship between three antecedent variables that relate to sales force empathy and nonverbal communication (i.e. perspective taking empathy, empathic concern and nonverbal immediacy) and two aspects of B2B sales performance (relationship and outcome).

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An investigation of sales managers’ aggressiveness in B2B sales leadership: The sequential mediation model of emotional exhaustion and adaptive selling

Management Science Letters ◽

10.5267/j.msl.2021.4.005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2243-2254

Author(s):

Bilal Ahmad ◽

Muhammad Imad ud Din Akbar ◽

Mirza Huzaifa Asif ◽

Naila Nureen

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Emotional Labor ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Conservation Of Resources ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Sales Managers ◽

Salesperson Performance ◽

Adaptive Selling ◽

Adaptive Selling Behavior ◽

Relationship Of

The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of sales managers’ aggressiveness on ethical sales leadership and salesperson performance in B2B context, taking into consideration the sequential mediation of emotional labor and adaptive selling behavior. Sales managers spend most of their time in solving salesforce-related issues, while empirical studies have largely neglected such factors that can have negative consequences on salesforce-related tasks. In order to overcome this gap in the literature, we draw from conservation of resources (COR) theory to introduce and establish an advanced theoretical paradigm. The authors tested the model through 336 responses from B2B salesperson-manager dyads. The findings of the study reveal that sales managers’ aggressiveness has a negative association with ethical sales leadership. Also, sales managers’ aggressiveness is positively related to emotional exhaustion and negatively related to salesperson performance. Consequently, we found significant serial mediation of ethical sales leadership and adaptive selling behavior between the relationship of sales managers’ aggressiveness and salesperson performance. In last, manager decisiveness is playing as a significant moderator in the study. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

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The Relationship between Salesperson’s Adaptive Selling Behavior, Rapport, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment in the Distribution Channel

Indian Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.17485/ijst/2016/v9is(1)/109845 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Hae-Soo Pyun

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Organizational Commitment ◽

Distribution Channel ◽

Adaptive Selling ◽

Adaptive Selling Behavior ◽

The Relationship

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The moderating role of sales experience in adaptive selling, customer orientation and job satisfaction in a unionized setting

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing ◽

10.1108/jbim-08-2018-0233 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (8) ◽

pp. 1724-1735 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Harindranath R.M. ◽

Bharadhwaj Sivakumaran ◽

Jayanth Jacob

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Customer Orientation ◽

Emerging Market ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Content Type ◽

Adaptive Selling ◽

Job Experience ◽

Adaptive Selling Behavior

Purpose The principal purpose of this study is to examine the moderating influence of selling experience on the following two relationships – adaptive selling and job satisfaction and customer orientation and job satisfaction – using unionized salespeople as respondents. It also tests for the mediating role of adaptive selling in the customer orientation–job satisfaction relationship. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses data from a survey conducted on 208 pharmaceutical unionized salespeople from 46 pharmaceutical firms in India. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. Moderation hypotheses were estimated using process macro and the Johnson–Neyman technique. Findings The data fitted the model well. This research found that customer orientation drove adaptive selling behavior and job satisfaction, and that adaptive selling influenced job satisfaction (all positively); it was found that adaptive selling partially mediated the relationship between customer orientation and job satisfaction. Results revealed that job experience negatively moderated the adaptive selling behavior–job satisfaction and customer orientation–job satisfaction relationships. Practical implications The results show that pharma firms may hire young recruits and, importantly, measure their customer orientation and adaptive selling levels. For the purposes of training to enhance customer orientation and adaptive selling, pharma firms may send only their less experienced salespersons. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this study could be the first to examine the interaction of job experience and customer-directed selling behaviors such as adaptive selling and customer orientation on job satisfaction. Moreover, this is possibly the only study in this domain that uses unionized salespeople in an emerging market (India).

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Key Drivers of Salesperson Performance: The Role of Sales Antecedents and Moderating Effect of Customer Directed Extra Role Behavior

Asian Journal of Economics Business and Accounting ◽

10.9734/ajeba/2020/v15i130205 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 22-34

Author(s):

Bilal Ahmad ◽

Muhammad Imad ud Din Akbar

Keyword(s):

Salesperson Performance ◽

Adaptive Selling ◽

Role Behavior ◽

Sales Team ◽

Managerial Implications ◽

Adaptive Selling Behavior ◽

And Performance ◽

The Relationship ◽

Moderating Role

The salespersons are considered as one of the important sources while interacting between the company and its prospective customers. The purpose is to develop and test the model that involves salespersons performance in the pharmaceutical sector of Pakistan. Specifically, the study demonstrates the effects of salesperson creativity, adaptive selling behaviour, selling experience and customer directed extra-role behavior on salesperson performance. Adaptive selling behaviour has been taken as a mediator in this study. Individual salespersons in different pharmaceutical companies are the population of this study. Total 500 questionnaires were distributed among the salespersons, 367 useful responses were analyzed through structural education modeling (SEM). The results revealed that salesperson creativity has a positive and significant impact on adaptive selling behavior and performance. Furthermore, salespersons experience has significant impact on salesperson’s performance. Moreover, the adaptive selling behavior has positive and significant impact on salesperson’s performance. The research finding shows that the moderating role is stronger on the relationship among creativity, adaptive selling behaviour and salesperson performance but it is weaker on the relationship between salesperson experience and salesperson performance. This study is helpful to understand some indicators that could be highly influential on salesperson’s performance. The findings of this paper have some managerial implications for improvising sales team performance.

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Factors influencing on salesperson performance in information service industry

10.31237/osf.io/ugcre ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh

Keyword(s):

Data Analytics ◽

Service Industry ◽

Customer Orientation ◽

Information Service ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Academic Publishing ◽

Salesperson Performance ◽

Adaptive Selling ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Adaptive Selling Behavior

To examine major factors that influencing on salesperson performance in information service industry, especially academic publishing and data analytics companies, researcher proposed research model and hypotheses. A full measurement model was tested by CFA analysis and modeling procedure. Then, structural equation model was tested. Models fit the data well. Proposed hypotheses were supported and interpreted. Factors influencing on salesperson performance in information service industry, especially academic publishing and data analytics companies includes adaptive selling behavior, customer orientation, guanxi. It’s found that customer orientation, adaptive selling behavior, “ganqing” (apart of “guanxi”) has positive influence on salesperson performance, whereas “renqing” (apart of “guanxi”) has positive to adaptive selling behavior, but not support salesperson performance. Besides, customer orientation is proved to have strong positive impact on adaptive selling in relationship toward salesperson performance in this industry. Not only the customer orientation but the relationship between salesperson and his buyer's representatives have strong influence on his selling behavior and performance. The social relationship between salesperson and his customer's representative have strong affect on salesperformance than his adaptive selling behavior and customer orientation. It's the implication for manager to encourage their salespeople to develop emotional attachment among parties networking in order to improve their salesperson performance strategically. The research also affỉrmed the significance of customer orientation on adaptive selling behavior, toward their positive influence on salesperson performance in information industry, especially academic publishing and data analytics companies. It then suggested salesperson consider the effects of favors exchanges or reciprocity with his business partner. Therefore, sales manager can identify and orient salespeople the relevant treatment strategy for their customers, in order to improve sales performance.

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