我该留下还是该走?绩效压力对主管底线心态和销售人员高度警惕的决策、情绪衰竭和敬业度的级联影响

IF 2 4区 管理学 Q3 BUSINESS
Barron W. Brown, Jennifer A. Locander, William B. Locander
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引用次数: 2

摘要

摘要目的实现或超过绩效目标的压力伴随着B2B组织中的许多销售职位。销售主管面临着来自高管的压力,要求他们达到销售目标、超过配额并增加市场份额。这种压力可能导致主管采用底线思维(SBLM)。当这种情况发生时,主管往往只关注实现底线结果。当主管以这种心态管理销售人员时,可能会导致他们的销售人员经历心理和情绪压力。个别销售人员可能通过采用功能失调的决策行为来应对SBLM带来的压力。具有讽刺意味的是,用于缓解SBLM带来的压力的功能失调的决策技巧实际上可能会增加销售人员的情绪疲惫。在这种压力和结果驱动的环境中,销售人员可能会以牺牲其他优先事项为代价,如他们的情绪健康,将他们的努力导向实现某些目标。当销售人员经历情绪衰竭时,可能会产生各种负面结果。在本研究中,我们调查了情绪衰竭是否影响销售人员的认知和情绪投入以及寻求替代就业机会的意图。从本质上讲,本研究评估了从组织高管到组织渠道再到销售主管和销售人员的绩效压力的潜在涓滴效应。实证研究了SBLM如何影响销售人员的决策、情绪衰竭、工作敬业度和离职意愿。方法我们提出了一个假设关系的理论模型,并使用274名企业对企业(B2B)销售人员的样本进行了测试。样本是通过Qualtrics Panel获得的,项目经理负责对数据进行初步清理,以提高数据收集和分析过程中的客观性。调查对象接受了多项筛选问题和注意力检查,以提高数据质量。调查中使用的所有结构都改编自以前的研究,并使用7点likert量表进行测量。进行了验证性因素分析来评估所有结构的测量特性,并利用结构方程建模(即AMOS 26)来测试我们模型中的假设关系。研究结果强调了假设的组织绩效压力的涓滴效应对销售主管和销售人员的多重负面影响。具体而言,我们的研究结果表明:(1)来自组织高管的绩效压力会引发SBLM,(2)SBLM会鼓励销售人员的过度警觉决策,(3)过度警觉决策是情绪衰竭的有力预测因素,以及(4)情绪疲惫的销售人员的认知和情绪工作投入水平较低,寻求替代工作的意愿较高。有趣的是,虽然情绪参与度较低的销售人员往往有更大的离职意向,但销售人员的认知参与度与离职意向没有显著关系。实际意义本研究的发现对B2B销售组织具有重要意义。销售主管和主管需要了解“推销、推销、推销”的心态如何会损害销售人员的整体情绪健康。本研究强调了组织环境如何影响销售人员的行为和情绪福利,并提供了经验证据,表明组织环境有可能影响销售人员行为和组织结果。持续强调底线目标可能会使销售队伍的长期活力面临风险。因此,组织高管和销售主管应注意如何传达理想的绩效结果,以避免SBLM和压倒个别销售人员。从本质上讲,组织高管必须小心,不要向销售主管过分强调提高绩效目标的愿望,销售主管在与个别销售人员沟通时,必须避免不断强调实现底线结果的情况。相反,销售经理应该考虑减少基于结果的衡量标准(如销售额),并使用基于行为的衡量标准来评估销售人员的绩效(如与客户有效沟通和为客户提供服务)。此外,销售经理应努力与个别销售人员建立真实、开放的合作关系,避免家长式的管理风格。建立以相互尊重为特征的职业关系可以使管理者在实现盈利和建立一支成熟、自信和有竞争力的销售队伍之间取得适当的平衡。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Cascading Impact of Performance Pressure on Supervisor Bottom-Line Mentality and Salesperson Hypervigilant Decision Making, Emotional Exhaustion, and Engagement
ABSTRACT Purpose Pressure to achieve or exceed performance goals accompanies many sales positions in business-to-business (B2B) organizations. Sales supervisors experience pressure from executives to hit sales targets, exceed quotas, and increase market share. Such pressures may result in supervisor adoption of a bottom-line mentality (SBLM). When this occurs, supervisors tend to focus solely on achieving bottom-line results. When supervisors manage the sales force with this mentality, it may cause their salespeople to experience mental and emotional stress. Individual salespeople are likely to cope with the stress induced by SBLM by employing dysfunctional decision-making behaviors. Ironically, the dysfunctional decision-making techniques used to alleviate the stress engendered by SBLM may actually increase salesperson emotional exhaustion. In this stressful and results-driven environment, salespeople may direct their efforts toward obtaining certain goals at the expense of other priorities, such as their emotional well-being. When salespeople experience emotional exhaustion, various negative outcomes may result. In the present study, we investigate whether emotional exhaustion affects salesperson cognitive and emotional engagement and intentions to seek alternative employment opportunities. Essentially, this study assesses the potential trickle-down effect of performance pressure from organizational executives down organizational channels to sales supervisors and the sales force. Empirically, we examine how SBLM affects salesperson decision making, emotional exhaustion, job engagement, and turnover intention. Methodology A theoretical model of our hypothesized relationships is presented and tested using a sample of 274 business-to-business (B2B) salespeople. The sample was obtained through Qualtrics Panels, and a project manager was utilized to conduct an initial cleaning of the data to improve objectivity during data collection and analysis. Survey respondents were subjected to multiple screening questions and attention checks to enhance data quality. All constructs used in the survey were adapted from previous research and were measured using 7-point likert scales. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the measurement properties of all constructs, and structural equation modeling (i.e. AMOS 26) was utilized to test the hypothesized relationships in our model. Findings The results highlight multiple negative repercussions of the hypothesized trickle-down effect of organizational performance pressure on sales supervisors and the sales force. Specifically, our findings show that (1) performance pressure from organizational executives incites SBLM, (2) SBLM encourages hypervigilant decision making in salespeople, (3) hypervigilant decision making is a strong predictor of emotional exhaustion, and (4) emotionally exhausted salespeople have lower levels of both cognitive and emotional job engagement and higher intentions to seek alternative employment. Interestingly, while salespeople with lower levels of emotional engagement tend to have greater turnover intentions, salesperson cognitive engagement is not significantly related to turnover intentions. Practical Implications The findings from this study have important implications for B2B sales organizations. Sales executives and supervisors need to understand how the “sell, sell, sell” mentality may harm the overall emotional well-being of their salespeople. The present research highlights how the organizational environment influences the behaviors and emotional welfare of the sales force and provides empirical evidence showing that the organizational context has the potential to influence salesperson behaviors and organizational outcomes. Persistently emphasizing bottom-line goals may put the long-term vitality of the sales force at risk. Therefore, organizational executives and sales supervisors should be mindful of how they communicate desirable performance outcomes to avoid SBLM and overwhelming individual salespeople. Essentially, organizational executives must be careful not to overemphasize the desire for increased performance goals to sales supervisors, and sales supervisors must avoid continuously highlighting the attainment of bottom-line outcomes when communicating with individual salespeople. Instead, sales managers should consider reducing outcome-based measures (e.g. sales volume) and using behavior-based measures (e.g. effectively communicating with and servicing customers) to assess salesperson performance. Additionally, sales managers should strive to create an authentic, open partnership with individual salespeople and avoid a paternalistic management style. Establishing professional relationships characterized by mutual respect may enable managers to achieve an appropriate balance between attaining bottom-line results and building a mature, confident, and competitive salesforce. Originality/Contribution To our knowledge, this is the first article to introduce a form of dysfunctional decision-making (i.e. hypervigilant decision making) to the sales literature. This research is also one of the first to examine SBLM in a sales context. Understanding the impact of SBLM is an emerging research interest in the management literature but considering it through a sales lens is unique. Our findings emphasize the importance of SBLM in B2B organizational environments and provide fruitful avenues for future research in this area. The present study contributes to the sales literature by examining the impact of SBLM on salesperson hypervigilant decision making and the impact of hypervigilant decision making on emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, this study adds to existing research on salesperson engagement and emotional exhaustion by showing how emotional exhaustion negatively affects both the emotional and cognitive engagement of B2B salespeople. Our findings also reinforce previous research by corroborating the inverse relationship between salesperson engagement and turnover intentions.
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来源期刊
CiteScore
2.20
自引率
35.70%
发文量
22
期刊介绍: The Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing® encourages diversity in approaches to business marketing theory development, research methods, and managerial problem solving. An editorial board comprised of outstanding, internationally recognized scholars and practitioners ensures that the journal maintains impeccable standards of relevance and rigorous scholarship. The Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing features: •basic and applied research that reflects current business marketing theory, methodology, and practice •articles from leading researchers covering topics of mutual interest for the business and academic communities
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