Sales intra-functional flexibility: Its relationship to performance and moderating effects on role stressors

Abstract

Building on strategic flexibility literature and social exchange theory, we identify sales department intra-functional flexibility (SIF) as an important driver of sales organization success. Using primary data from 229 sales organizations, we find that sales teams with greater levels of SIF report greater levels of sales and customer performance. In addition, findings show that customer orientation positively moderates SIF's relationship with customer performance, but negatively moderates its effect on the relationship with sales performance. We find mixed results with regard to the benefits of SIF in conditioning the effect of salesperson role stress to firm performance. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed and avenues for future research are proposed.