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An escalation of commitment perspective on allocation-of-effort decisions in professional selling

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Abstract

Salesforce compensation theory assumes that given proper design of the incentive structure, salespeople will rationally allocate effort to maximize returns to their firm and themselves. However, faced with large sunk investments over long selling cycles, salespeople continue to commit resources to opportunities with little or no chance of being won, to the exclusion of viable leads. This article theoretically explores and empirically tests this over-investment effect under four potentially moderating conditions using a large multinational corporation’s industrial salesforce. The findings from this field study indicate that escalation of commitment is more likely to occur in non-strategic accounts and accounts not involving channel partners. In addition, salespeople with lower ability demonstrate greater escalation of commitment. The study indicates that without targeted managerial intervention, salespeople will over-invest precious selling resources in unprofitable, unwinnable opportunities.

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Notes

  1. We thank a reviewer for suggesting this approach.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express our appreciation for the anonymous reviewers, whose input contributed considerably to the development of the final manuscript. Additionally, we acknowledge the input and suggestions of Bill Bogner and Ed Rigdon, both of Georgia State University. The first author would like to thank Rachel, Lily, Annabel, and Benjamin Mayberry for their love and patience.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3991, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3991, USA

    Robert Mayberry & Naveen Donthu

  2. Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality and Tourism, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27412, USA

    James Sanders Boles

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  1. Robert Mayberry
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Correspondence to Robert Mayberry.

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Mayberry, R., Boles, J.S. & Donthu, N. An escalation of commitment perspective on allocation-of-effort decisions in professional selling. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 46, 879–894 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-018-0591-8

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