Effects of Effort, Territory Situation, and Rater on Salesperson Evaluation

Abstract

AbstractThe need to incorporate effort and territory situation information in salesperson performance evaluations is acknowledged widely. However, previous research has found consistently that many firms and sales researchers fail to do this. One stream of research suggests that this failure is due to a general judgmental bias called the fundamental attribution error. This study investigates the use of a spreadsheet format to facilitate the processing of performance information as a means for overcoming the attributional bias. Research results are quite promising. Using a role-playing methodology, both sales manager and salesperson evaluators incorporated effort and territory situation factors in their performance evaluations. Directions for future research and implications for sales management practice are discussed.