Exploring the influence of sales management practices on the industrial salesperson: A multi-source hierarchical linear modeling approach

Abstract

Despite the importance of sales management practices (e.g., compensation, organization design) as critical determinants of salespeople's role stress, attitudes and outcomes, remarkably very few studies are available in the area. Unless the effects of sales management practices are determined, sales practitioners may rely on less efficient and less effective practices. The vast majority of previous studies relies on single-source data and has overlooked the multilevel nature of organizations when modelling relationships of interest. To address these gaps, this study examines the behavioral and psychological effects of sales management practices by applying a multilevel analytic approach to data gathered from two different data sources, sales managers and salespeople, respectively.