ABSTRACT

Purpose: The goal of this paper is to investigate whether salesperson proactive behavior mediates the relationship between sales manager servant leadership and salesperson overall performance rating by the sales manager. Moreover, it examines whether salesperson customer orientation and political skill moderate the sales manager servant leadership − salesperson proactive behavior ─ salesperson overall performance. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical analysis is based on dyadic data from 181 industrial salespeople and their sales managers in a range of different industries (including both manufacturing and service industries). To analyze the multilevel moderated mediation process, this investigation uses Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM). Findings: Sales manager servant leadership was positively related to salespeople overall performance rating through their proactive behavior except when their customer orientation was low. Moreover, this relationship between sales manager servant leadership and overall performance rating through proactive work behavior was stronger the greater the salespeople consumer orientation and political skill. Research implications: The study suggests that sales manager servant leadership is indirectly related to salesperson overall performance rating through salesperson proactive behavior. The findings also support subsequent research on salesperson values, skills, and behaviors as moderators in the servant leadership – proactive behavior – overall performance rating relationship. Understanding how these salesperson factors interact with sales management leadership to produce organizational outcomes (e.g., stress, engagement, organizational commitment) are questions that sales researchers may wish to pursue via further study. Practical implications: Sales managers should employ servant leadership to stimulate salespeople proactive work behavior. This study clearly indicates the salespeople need to adopt customer orientation and to have political skill. Hence, sales managers need to try to improve the customer orientation and the political skill of their salespeople through selection procedures or training programs. Originality/value: The relationship between sales manager servant leadership and salesperson overall performance through proactive work behavior has not been addressed and tested in the literature to date.

摘要

目的：本文的目的是调查销售人员的前摄行为是否介导销售经理仆人领导与销售经理对销售人员的整体绩效评估之间的关系。此外，它还检查了销售人员的客户导向和政治技巧是否适度了销售经理仆人的领导-销售人员的前摄行为-销售人员的整体绩效。设计/方法/方法：实证分析基于来自不同行业（包括制造业和服务业）的181个行业销售人员及其销售经理的二元数据。为了分析多级调解过程，本研究使用多级结构方程模型（MSEM）。发现：销售经理仆人的领导力通过他们的积极行为与销售人员的整体绩效评价呈正相关，除非他们的客户导向度较低。此外，通过积极的工作行为，销售经理仆人领导与整体绩效等级之间的关系越强，则销售人员的消费者倾向和政治技巧越强。研究意义：该研究表明，销售经理仆人的领导力通过销售人员的积极行为与销售人员的整体绩效评级间接相关。研究结果还支持了有关销售人员的价值观，技能和行为的后续研究，这些行为是仆人领导的主持人–积极行为–总体绩效评级关系。了解销售人员因素如何与销售管理领导层互动以产生组织成果（例如压力，敬业度，组织承诺）是销售研究人员可能希望通过进一步研究追求的问题。实际影响：销售经理应聘请仆人领导来激发销售人员积极主动的工作行为。这项研究清楚地表明，销售人员需要采用以客户为导向并具有政治技巧。因此，销售经理需要尝试通过选择程序或培训计划来改善客户导向和销售人员的政治技巧。独创性/价值：迄今为止，尚未通过文献记载和测试过销售经理仆人领导与销售人员通过积极的工作行为获得的整体绩效之间的关系。