ABSTRACT

Purpose

The premise of this article is to investigate the role of neutralization techniques by business-to-business salespeople as they influence ethical views and impact unethical behaviors, performance, and relationships. Research has previously noted the prevalence and impacts of excuse-making by individuals. Identified as neutralization techniques, these practices have been linked to salespeople in both academic and practitioner literature, but remain chiefly unexplored in terms of impacts on individual outcome measures.

Methodology

The data used in this research are from a sample of 240 business-to-business salespeople collected electronically by using the online platform of a national data broker. A scenario presented a typical sales activity previously determined to be unethical. The salespeople were asked to evaluate the level of harm (Moral Intensity) of an activity described in a scenario and indicate their agreement/disagreement with possible justifications (Neutralization techniques). The two most common types are denial of injury where the accused claims there is no harm resulting from the unethical act and appeal to higher loyalties which involves the unethical actor claiming the unethical behavior was committed on behalf of loyalty to some other party, rather than the norms guiding expected ethical behavior. Self-reports were made about their ethical/unethical behaviors, relationship quality with customers and estimates of their performance in their sales position. All constructs as shown in the Figure were combined in a structural equation model. SPSS/Amos software was used to conduct multivariate analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the measurement properties of each construct, while structural equation modeling was applied to evaluate the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

Moral intensity was found to directly reduce unethical behaviors as moderated by neutralization techniques (excuses). Unethical behaviors were negatively related to relationship quality and value enhancing behavior performance. The results from this study lend credence to ethical decision-making models and serve to extend our understanding of them, specifically as applied to business-to-business salespeople. In particular, we learn more about the role of neutralization techniques in affecting the ethical decision-making of salespeople.

In terms of the theoretical contribution, this study explores a seller’s perspective of moral intensity, neutralization techniques, and important sales behaviors and outcomes to extend findings reported in previous studies. Previous research suggests that unethical behaviors by salespeople can negatively impact both their performance in creating customer value and the quality of their customer relationships. This study extends previous research as to how neutralization techniques may work in this process and relate salesperson unethical behavior negatively to relationship quality among a broader sample of business-to-business salespeople.

Research Implications

Our research strengthens the importance of moral intensity in ethical decision-making by finding it is negatively related to business-to-business salespeople’s unethical behavior. Salespeople’s “detachment” from the company does not appear to lessen the power of moral intensity in ethical decision-making within the organization. Excuses or neutralization techniques are found to moderate the relationship between moral intensity and unethical behavior such that excuses may reduce the perceived harmfulness or moral intensity and be less likely to dissuade unethical behavior. The salesperson who uses excuses for unacceptable behavior is less likely to let the seriousness of harm resulting from a behavior deter him or her from acting unethically.

This study adds to our research regarding ethical decision-making by examining associated outcomes such as relationship quality and performance which have received little attention concerning ethical decision-making in business-to-business sales research. While salesperson behavior performance has received research attention, little focus has been placed specifically on factors considered by buyers as the most important activities salespeople can do to add value to a customer relationship (i.e., value enhancing behavior performance). While sound moral judgment will result in positive value enhancing behaviors, unethical behavior, presumably resulting from immoral judgment, is associated with lower levels of salesperson value enhancing behavior.

Practical Implications

The study makes a practical contribution through an improved understanding of how a seller’s ethical perspective relates to their use of excuses and their ethical behaviors, relationships and performance with customers. The findings underscore the importance of engaging in activities to reduce unethical behavior, which is critical given it can detrimentally affect relationship quality. Because unethical behavior may be perceived by some salespeople as a shortcut to achieve desired ends, organizations will benefit from taking steps to increase moral intensity perceptions and reduce the use of neutralization techniques to help salespeople understand the connection between what they may consider inconsequential indiscretions (e.g., misleading a customer on a delivery date; overpromising, etc.) and relationship quality, thus reducing the chances salespeople will commit such questionable acts. An improved understanding of business-to-business salespeople’s perspectives of the variables under study can potentially improve the hiring and training of salespeople to adopt high moral ethics, avoid excuse-making, commit less frequent unethical behavior, build customer relationships and improve sales performance.

Originality/Value/Contribution of the paper

The originality and value of this study rest with proposed connections between three prevalent issues in business-to-business sales organizations. Moral intensity, interpretations of the potential harm of sales actions, the ongoing existence of excuse-making, and their connections between unethical behaviors and relationship performance provide valuable and unique insights into business-to-business selling behaviors and seller consequences.

中文翻译：

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停止找借口：减少不道德行为并提高绩效和关系质量

摘要

目的

本文的前提是调查企业对企业销售人员中和技术的作用，因为它们影响道德观点并影响不道德的行为、绩效和关系。先前的研究已经注意到个人找借口的普遍性和影响。这些做法被确定为中和技术，在学术和实践文献中都与销售人员相关联，但在对个人结果测量的影响方面仍然主要未被探索。

方法

本研究中使用的数据来自使用国家数据经纪人的在线平台以电子方式收集的 240 名企业对企业销售人员的样本。一个场景展示了以前被确定为不道德的典型销售活动。要求销售人员评估情景中描述的活动的危害程度（道德强度），并表明他们同意/不同意可能的理由（中和技术）。两种最常见的类型是否认伤害，被告声称不道德行为不会造成伤害，以及诉诸更高的忠诚度，这涉及不道德行为者声称不道德行为是代表对另一方的忠诚，而不是代表对另一方的忠诚。指导预期的道德行为的规范。对他们的道德/不道德行为、与客户的关系质量以及他们在销售职位上的表现进行了自我报告。如图所示的所有构造都组合在一个结构方程模型中。采用SPSS/Amos软件进行多变量分析。验证性因子分析用于评估每个构造的测量特性，而结构方程模型用于评估假设关系。

发现

道德强度被发现可以直接减少通过中和技术（借口）缓和的不道德行为。不道德行为与关系质量和价值提升行为表现负相关。这项研究的结果为道德决策模型提供了可信度，并有助于扩展我们对它们的理解，特别是应用于企业对企业的销售人员。特别是，我们更多地了解了中和技术在影响销售人员道德决策方面的作用。

在理论贡献方面，本研究探讨了卖方对道德强度、中和技术以及重要的销售行为和结果的观点，以扩展先前研究中报告的发现。先前的研究表明，销售人员的不道德行为会对他们在创造客户价值方面的表现和客户关系的质量产生负面影响。本研究扩展了先前的研究，即中和技术如何在此过程中发挥作用，并将销售人员的不道德行为与更广泛的企业对企业销售人员样本之间的关系质量产生负面影响。

研究意义

我们的研究发现道德强度与企业对企业销售人员的不道德行为负相关，从而加强了道德强度在道德决策中的重要性。销售人员与公司的“脱离”似乎并没有削弱组织内道德决策中道德强度的力量。借口或中和技术被发现可以缓和道德强度和不道德行为之间的关系，因此借口可以减少感知的有害性或道德强度，并且不太可能劝阻不道德行为。为不可接受的行为找借口的销售人员不太可能让行为造成的严重伤害阻止他或她做出不道德的行为。

这项研究通过检查相关结果（例如关系质量和绩效）增加了我们关于道德决策的研究，这些结果在企业对企业的销售研究中很少受到关于道德决策的关注。虽然销售人员的行为表现受到了研究的关注，但很少有人特别关注购买者认为是销售人员可以为客户关系增加价值的最重要活动（即增值行为表现）。虽然良好的道德判断会导致积极的价值提升行为，但可能由不道德判断引起的不道德行为与较低水平的销售人员价值提升行为有关。

实际影响

该研究通过更好地理解卖家的道德观点如何与他们使用借口以及他们的道德行为、关系和与客户的表现相关联，做出了实际贡献。研究结果强调了参与活动以减少不道德行为的重要性，因为它可能对关系质量产生不利影响，这一点至关重要。由于一些销售人员可能将不道德行为视为实现预期目标的捷径，组织将受益于采取措施提高道德强度感知并减少使用中和技术以帮助销售人员了解他们可能认为无关紧要的轻率行为之间的联系（例如，在交货日期误导客户；过度承诺等）和关系质量，从而减少销售人员做出此类可疑行为的机会。更好地理解企业对企业销售人员对所研究变量的看法，可以潜在地改善销售人员的招聘和培训，以采取高尚的道德操守，避免找借口，减少不道德行为，建立客户关系并提高销售业绩。

论文的原创性/价值/贡献

本研究的独创性和价值在于提出的企业对企业销售组织中三个普遍问题之间的联系。道德强度、对销售行为潜在危害的解释、借口的持续存在，以及它们在不道德行为和关系绩效之间的联系，为企业对企业的销售行为和卖家后果提供了宝贵而独特的见解。