Some variables affecting a constituent's evaluations of and behavior toward a boundary role occupant

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of three factors on a constituent's evaluation of a salesman and his behavior toward him: (a) the effectiveness of an organization's outputting function (outputting effectiveness); (b) the reported willingness of outsiders to accept its outputs (outsider receptiveness); and (c) the obedience of salesmen to bargaining tactics issued by constituents. Each subject served as a constituent, directing the strategy of his salesman in negotiation with a buyer (outsider). The roles of the salesman and buyer were enacted by the experimenter. The study revealed that constituent evaluations of a salesman and behavior toward him are best predicted as the result of two main effects, outputting effectiveness and salesman obedience. Outsider receptiveness had no appreciable effect. Subjects receiving information that the system was outputting effectively, as compared to those learning that it was outputting ineffectively, evaluated the salesman's performance and other attributes more positively, granted him more autonomy, and expressed more trust in him. Salesmen thought to be obedient were also evaluated more positively, granted more autonomy, and trusted more.