Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Commitment and involvement: Assessing a salesforce typology

  • Published:
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Varying levels of organizational commitment and job involvement generate a salesperson typology which is empirically assessed. Ten hypotheses are tested using a national sample of 235 industrial salespeople. Eight of the hypotheses are supported Significant differences in salesperson effort, performance and turnover propensities are identified for four salesperson categories.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, Erin, and Richard L. Oliver. 1987. “Perspectives on Behavior Based Versus Outcome-Based Salesforce Control Systems.”Journal of Marketing 51 (October): 76–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angle, Harold L., and James L. Perry. 1981. “An Empirical Assessment of Organizational Commitment and Organizational Effectiveness.”Administrative Science Quarterly 26 (March): 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, Scott J., and Terry S. Overton. 1977. “Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Survey.”Journal of Marketing Research (August): 396–340.

  • Ashforth, Blake E., 1985. “Climate Formation: Issues and Extensions.”Academy of Management Review 10 (4): 837–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bateman, Thomas S., and Dennis W. Organ. 1983. “Job Satisfaction and The Good Soldier: The Relationship Between Affect and Employee Citizenship.”Academy of Management Journal 26.: 587–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behrman, Douglas N., and William D. Perreault, Jr. 1982. “Measuring the Performance of Industrial Salespersons”Journal of Business Research 10 (September): 355–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, Gary J. 1985. “A Multiple Study, Investigation of the Dimensionality of Job Involvement.”Journal of Vocational Behavior 27 (August): 19–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, Gary L., and Kimberly B. Boal. 1987. “Conceptualizing How Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment Affect Turnover and Absenteeism.”Academy of Management Review 12 (2): 288–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, Gary L., and Kimberly B. Boal. 1989. “Using Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment Interactively to Predict Turnover.”Journal of Management 15 (1): 115–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blessington, Mark. 1989. “Five Ways to Make Team Selling Work (Really!).”Business Month (August): 71–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bragg, Arthur. 1989. “Is a Mentor Program in Your Future?”Sales & Marketing Management (September): 54–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1990. “Shell-Shocked on the Battlefield of Selling.”Sales & Marketing Management (July): 52–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busch, Paul. 1980. “The Sales Manager’s Bases of Social Power and Influence Upon the Salesforce.”Journal of Marketing 44 (Summer): 91–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chonko, Lawrence B. 1986. “Organizational Commitment in the Salesforce.”Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 6 (November): 19–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, Gilbert A., Jr., Neil M. Ford, and Orville C. Walker, Jr. 1978. “Predicting a Salesperson’s Job Effort and Performance: Theoretical, Empirical, and Methodological Consideration.” Paper Presented at the AMA/MSI Sales Management Workshop, Boston, MA (April)

  • Churchill, Gilbert A., Jr., Neil M. Ford, Steven W. Hartley, and Orville C. Walker, Jr. 1985. “The Determinants of Salesperson Performance: A Meta-Analysis.”Journal of Marketing Research XXII (May): 103–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comer, James M., and Alan J. Dubinsky. 1985.Managing the Successful Salesforce. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.

  • Cron, William L., and John W. Slocum, Jr. 1986. “The Influence of Career Stages on Salespeople’s Job Attitudes, Work Perceptions, and Performance.”Journal of Marketing Research 23 (May): 119–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cron, William L., Alan J. Dubinsky, and Ronald E. Michaels. 1988. “The Influence of Career Stages on Components of Salesperson Motivation.”Journal of Marketing 52 (January): 78–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, Dan R., William D. Todor, and David M. Krackhardt. 1982. “Turnover Overstated: The Functional Taxonomy”Academy of Management Review 7 (1): 117–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darden, William R., Ronald Hampton, and Roy D. Howell. 1989. “Career Versus Organizational Commitment: Antecedents and Consequences of Retail Salespeoples’ Commitment.”Journal of Retailing 65 (1): 80–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubinsky, Alan J., Roy D. Howell, Thomas N. Ingram, and Danny N. Bellenger. 1986. “Salesforce Socialization.”Journal of Marketing 50 (October): 192–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubinsky, Alan J., and Steven W. Hartley. 1986. “A Path-Analytic Study of a Model of Salesperson Performance.”Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science 14 (1): 36–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubinsky, Alan J., and Francis J. Yammarino. 1985. “Job-Related Responses of Insurance Agents: A Multi-Firm Investigation.”Journal of Risk and Insurance 52 (3): 501–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, Cynthia D., and Richard Gittelson. 1983. “A Meta-Analysis of the Correlates of Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity.”Journal of Applied Psychology 68: 320–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, Neil M., Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr., and Orville C. Walker, Jr. 1985. “Differences in the Attractiveness of Alternative Rewards Among Industrial Salespeople: Additional Evidence.”Journal of Business Research 13 (April): 123–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Futrell, Charles M., and A. Parasuraman. 1984. “The Relationship of Satisfaction and Performance to Sales Turnover.”Journal of Marketing 48 (Fall): 33–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, Herbert, and Jeanne Greenberg. 1990.What It Takes To Succeed In Sales. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hackman, I.R., and G.R. Oldham. 1975. “Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey.”Journal of Applied Psychology 60 (April): 159–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hafer, John C. 1986. “An Empirical Investigation of the Salesperson’s Career Stages Perspective.”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 12 (Fall): 52–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, Douglas T., James G. Goodale Samuel Rabinowitz, and Marilyn A. Morgan. 1978. “Effects of Top-Down Departmental and Job Change Upon Perceived Employee Behavior and Attitudes: A Natural Field Experiment.”Journal of Applied Psychology 63 (February): 62–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, Shelby D., 1976.Marketing Theory. Columbus, OH: Grid.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, Shelby D., Lawrence B. Chonko, and Van R. Wood. 1985. “Organizational Commitment in Marketing.”Journal of Marketing 49 (Winter): 112–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, Shelby D., Van R. Wood, and Lawrence B. Chonko. 1989. “Corporate Ethical Values and Organizational Commitment in Marketing.”Journal of Marketing 53 (July): 79–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, Thomas N.., Danny N. Bellenger. 1983. “Personal and Organizational Variables: Their. Relative Effect on Reward Valences of Industrial Salespeople.”Journal of Marketing Research 20 (May): 198–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackofsky, Ellen F., and Lawrence H. Peters. 1983. “Job Turnover Versus Company Turnover: Reassessment of the March and Simon Participation Hypothesis.”Journal of Applied Psychology 63 (3): 490–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jolson, Marvin A. 1974. “The Salesman Career Cycle”Journal of Marketing 38 (July): 39–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, Mark W., Rajan Varadarajan, Charles M. Futrell, and Jeffrey Sager. 1987. “The Relationship Between Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among New Salespeople”Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 7 (November): 29–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Ellen J., and Leigh Lawton. 1990. “Men and Women in the Industrial Salesforce: A Longitudinal Study.” InAmerican Marketing Association Educators’ Conference Proceedings. Eds. William Bearden et al.

  • Krayer, Karl J. 1986. “Using Training to Reduce Role Conflict and Ambiguity.”Training and Development Journal 40 (November): 49–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Learning International. 1989. “What Does Salesforce Turnover Cost You?”

  • Lee, Thomas W., and Richard T. Mowday. 1987. “Voluntarily Leaving An Organization: An Empirical Investigation of Steeres and Mowday’s Model of Turnover.”Academy of Management Journal 30 (4): 721–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, George H., Jr. 1985. “The Relationships Between Job Attitudes, Personal Characteristics, and Job Outcomes: A Study of Retail Store Managers.”Journal of Retailing 61 (1): 35–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marketing Times. 1990. “A New Look at Salesforce Turnover: Is It a Problem with No Solution?” (January/February).

  • Michaels, Ronald E., William L. Cron, Alan J. Dubinsky, and Erich A. Joachimsthaler. 1988. “The Influence of Formalization on the Organizational Commitment and Work, Alienation of Salespeople and Industrial Buyers.”Journal of Marketing Research 25 (November): 376–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mobley, William H. 1982.Employee Turnover: Causes, Consequences, and Control. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moncrief, William C. 1986. “Selling Activity and Sales Position Taxonomies for Industrial Salesforces.”Journal of Marketing Research 23 (August): 261–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, Michael H., Ramon Avila, and Eugene Teeple. 1990. “Sales Management As An Entrepreneurial Activity.”Personal Selling and Sales Management X (2): 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J.C. 1978.Psychometric Theory. 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Podskoff, Philip M., and Dennis W. Organ. 1986. “Self-Reports in Organizational Research: Problems and Prospects.”Journal of Management 12 (Winter): 531–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, Lyman W., and Richard M. Steers. 1973. “Organizational Work and Personal Factors in Employee Turnover and Absenteeism.”Psychological Bulletin, 80: 151–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, Lyman W., Robert M. Steers, Richard T. Mowday, and Paul V. Boulian. 1974. “Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians.”Journal of Applied Psychology 59 (October): 603–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinowitz, Samuel, and Douglas T. Hall. 1977. “Organizational Research on Job Involvement.”Psychological Bulletin 84: 265–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, Donna M. 1987. “Commitment and the Organization: The Organization Man Revisited.”Academy of Management Review 12 (July): 460–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rusbult, Carly E., and Dan Farrell. 1983. “A Longitudinal Test of the Investment Model: The Impact of Job Satisfaction, Job Commitment, and Turnover of Variations in Rewards, Costs, Alternatives, and Investments.”Journal of Applied Psychology 63 (3): 429–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sager, Jeffrey K., and Mark W. Johnston. 1989. “Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational Commitment: A Study of Salespeople.”Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management 9 (Spring): 30–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sales and Marketing Management 1989. “Survey of Selling Cost.” (February).

  • Siegel, Alan L., and Robert A. Ruh. 1973. “Job Involvement, Participation in Decision Making, Personal Background, and Job Behavior.”Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 9: 318–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, Orville C. Jr., Gilbert A. Churchill Jr., and Neil M. Ford. 1972. “Reactions to Role Conflict: The Case of the Industrial Salesman.”Journal of Business, Administration 3 (Spring): 601–609

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, Orville C. Jr., Gilbert A. Churchill Jr., and Neil M. Ford. 1979. “Where Do We Go From Here? Selected Conceptual and Empirical Issues Concerning the Motivation and Performance of the Industrial Salesforce.”Issues in Sales Management: State-of-the-Art and Future Research Needs. Eds. Gerald Albaum and Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. Eugene, OR: Division of Research, College of Business Administration, University of Oregon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, Yoash, and Yoan Vardi. 1980. “Relationship Between Job, Organization, and Career Commitments and Work Outcomes: An Integrative Approach.”Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 26 (August): 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Memphis State University, Memphis, USA

    Thomas N. Ingram & George H. Lucas

  2. Hofstra University, Hempstead, USA

    Keun S. Lee

Authors
  1. Thomas N. Ingram
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Keun S. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. George H. Lucas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ingram, T.N., Lee, K.S. & Lucas, G.H. Commitment and involvement: Assessing a salesforce typology. JAMS 19, 187–197 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02726495

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02726495

Keywords

Search

Navigation