Salesperson Performance, Pay, and Job Satisfaction: Tests of a Model Using Data Collected in the United States and Japan

Abstract

A causal model of salesperson performance and satisfaction is tested using data collected in Japan and the United States. The model seems to work well for both cultural groups, that is, comparable levels of variance are explained. However, the data appear to fit the model differently across samples; culture appears to moderate the relationships among constructs. Pay and valence for pay play a more central role for the Americans than the Japanese. Value congruence has a strong influence on job satisfaction for the Japanese, but not the American sales representatives. These findings confirm both the conventional wisdom that financial incentives are crucial in the United States, and the anecdotal evidence that closer supervision and corporate culture will be more useful sales management tools in Japan.