Psychological Climate Perceptions Research Articles

Addressing concerns with salesperson competitive psychological climate, sales performance, and turnover intention: The role of threat and learning orientation

Salesperson perceptions of competitive psychological climate (CPC) has been the focus of research that has revealed both positive (sales performance) and negative (turnover intention) main effects. This finding is counterintuitive, as in non-sales settings research has shown that increased perceptions of competition among co-workers leads to increased turnover intentions and reduced performance. Thus, we investigate what mechanism may explain this prior finding, and potentially show a less effective side of CPC in sales. Our research is based on cognitive appraisal theory and a sample that includes survey responses of 219 salespeople, paired with objective sales performance outcomes. We find that, indeed, when tested in the same model, a salesperson's increased perception of CPC improves sales performance, but also drives greater turnover intention. Further investigation uncovers that when CPC increases salesperson threat appraisal the mediating effect results in a negative impact on sales performance and an increase of the magnitude of turnover intentions. As a buffer, we find that learning orientation moderates the impact of the CPC to threat appraisal relationship. Our findings offer new insights on CPC in sales, thus identifying drawbacks of managerial actions that may drive salesperson CPC assessments.

Dual distribution systems: Investigating their effects on independent manufacturers’ representatives’ perceptions of manufacturers

This study investigates how manufacturers’ (principals’) use of dual distribution systems—house accounts and house territories managed by in-house salespeople—influence independent manufacturers’ representatives’ (IMRs’) perceptions of sales controls, psychological climate, and overall satisfaction. Research on the use and effects of dual distribution selling systems has previously focused nearly exclusively on the perspective of manufacturers (principals). The study is based on a nationally representative sample of IMR practitioners, is grounded in and proceeds from the opposing dyadic perspective (the IMR [agency] view), and generates new and useful strategic insights related to how best to manage critical manufacturer-IMR relationships. The study reveals that manufacturers’ use of house territories, outside the domain of the focal IMR imposed favorable effects on IMR’s perceptions of sales controls and psychological climate, and contributed directly to higher IMR satisfaction with the principals they represent. House accounts inside IMR territories negatively influenced IMR perceptions of sales controls and psychological climate, and contributed directly to lower IMR satisfaction with the principals. Managerial implications and future research opportunities are developed and discussed.

Who matters to shared psychological climate perceptions? An investigation of social network tie types and attributes

Psychological climate perceptions are related to important employee attitudes and behaviors, yet our knowledge of how such perceptions develop is relatively limited. Building upon work that has found that employees’ interaction with coworkers influences similarity in employees’ psychological climate perceptions, we focus on how network ties (advice, friendship) and their attributes (trust, expertise) are related to shared psychological climate perceptions. We use social information processing theory to argue that employees who have friendship and advice ties characterized by high levels of trust and expertise will have similar perceptions of the psychological climate. Using social network data from 61 employees in an information technology organization, we find that employees have psychological climate perceptions similar to those of friends whom they perceive to have high levels of trustworthiness and expertise, but not to those of low-trust or low-expertise friendship ties or advice ties. Our results challenge the notion that interaction in and of itself shapes psychological climate perceptions and instead suggest that certain ties with certain attributes are more important. In addition, we bring a sociological perspective into the highly ‘psychologized’ human resource management literature and contribute to social network research exploring social influence.

Agreement and Discrepancy Between Supervisor and Clinician Alliance: Associations with Clinicians' Perceptions of Psychological Climate and Emotional Exhaustion.

Despite increasing interest in supervision as a leverage point for bolstering public mental health services, the potential influence of supervisory alliance on organizations and direct service providers remains understudied, particularly in the context of supporting evidence-based treatment (EBT) use. This study examined agreement and discrepancy between supervisor and clinician ratings of alliance associated with clinicians' perceptions of psychological climate and emotional exhaustion. Results indicated that discrepancies in alliance ratings were common and associated with clinicians' perceptions of psychological climate. These findings have important implications for collaboration among supervisors and clinicians within a community mental health organizational context and the provision of EBTs.

Study of Organizational Environment, Incentives and Promotion and its Effect on Employee`s Motivation

Motivation is an important factor for organizational growth. This study was undertaken with two primary goals in mind. Our first objective was to address the need for a quantitative review of the relationships between psychological climate and individual-level outcomes. This was accomplished using meta-analytic procedures to generate a correlation matrix among the five psychological climate categories and the outcome variables that have been researched in prior psychological climate studies. Our second goal was to examine alternative structural models that describe the effects of psychological climate perceptions on employee attitudes (such as satisfaction, commitment, and job involvement), motivation, and performance. The study tells that motivation is the force that characterized people’s determination and efforts at work. We also examined the relationship between employee motivation with the organizational environment, wages, incentive & benefits and promotion. For this purpose, four independent variables of organizational environment, wages, incentive & benefits and promotion were used. We see their impact on employee motivation, for this purpose different statistical tools and techniques were applied that includes sampling, data collection techniques and methods. With the help of questionnaire and SPSS software, we found the impact of independent variables on dependent variable. Motivation plays a vital role in the organization to retain its employees with work and company. Manger can increase the job satisfaction of employees by motivating them with these factors.

Strategic management of salespeople when promoting new products

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of salespeople when selling new products (namely, electronic goods) in a business-to-business context by incorporating the organizations’ perceived psychological climate into goal orientation theory.Design/methodology/approach– The current study uses the goal orientation theory to examine the performance of 158 salespeople based on new electronic product sales. Organizational psychological climate perceptions (i.e. customer orientation, sales supportiveness and sales innovativeness) are included as variables that can moderate salespeople’s performance. This study used partial least squares to examine its proposed model.Findings– This study found that the learning goal orientation and the performance-prove goal orientation positively affect salespeople’s self-efficacy to sell new products, whereas a performance-avoid goal orientation negatively affects efficacy. In addition, new product selling self-efficacy itself has a positive influence on new product sales performance. As for the moderator, sales supportiveness and customer orientation have the ability to moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and performance.Practical implications– This study has implications for sales managers or product managers who are responsible for promoting new products. First, this study’s findings suggest that managers should consider employing performance-prove goal-oriented staff and learning goal oriented staff to sell new products. Second, management can attempt to develop a more supportive climate for the sales team, such as assisting the team in obtaining needed resources from other departments. Finally, management needs to let salespeople know that they are doing their best to understand what new products existing and potential customers will need in the near future.Originality/value– This current research is one of the first to examine how the perceived psychological climates of organizations (i.e. sales supportiveness, sales innovativeness and customer orientation) may moderate salespeople’s performance when selling new products. Second, this research examines how different types of goal orientation affect salespeople’s self-efficacy when selling new products. Previous results have not always been consistent regarding the influence of a performance-prove goal orientation. Last but not least, this study tests how new product selling self-efficacy mediates the relationships between goal orientations and new product sales performance as scholars have suggested that more research into the mediating role of self-efficacy is needed.

A Meta‐analytic Integration and Test of Psychological Climate Dimensionality

There is no consensus as to what constructs should be considered to be psychological climate. Further, there is no clear taxonomy of psychological climate, although the climate literature suggests that psychological climate perceptions should form higher‐order (i.e., abstract, broad) dimensions. Two meta‐analyses have been conducted to evaluate higher‐order frameworks, but neither study tested the psychometric structure of their hypothesized models. The current meta‐analysis estimated the intercorrelations and criterion‐related validity of 23 psychological climate constructs in order to test the theoretical frameworks proposed by prior meta‐analyses. Confirmatory factor analyses supplemented by a method analogous to item‐to‐scale correlations indicated little empirical support for the a priori frameworks. Results suggest that that psychological climate may be parsimoniously represented by two dimensions. Task climate was most strongly indicated by supervisor goal setting, innovation, and organizational responsiveness. Relational climate was most strongly indicated by work group warmth and social rewards. A path analysis was estimated to test whether job satisfaction partially mediated the association between psychological climate and the outcomes of job performance, turnover intentions, and psychological well‐being. Results provide guidance to researchers and practitioners interested in measuring perceptions of the work environment. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Killing two birds with one stone: Cross-selling during service delivery

Operational efficiency is a central goal of service firms. The past decade witnessed the replacement of people with IT systems in service industries, yet the spotlight recently shifted to how frontline employees (FLEs) might perform a dual role by achieving sales and service goals simultaneously. This study examines the predictive ability of three well-established constructs (psychological climate perceptions, leader–member exchange, and employee self-efficacy) to model sales and service performance empirically across a range of service settings. The authors also examine the moderating impacts of environmental dynamism and employee experience, to identify the conditions in which climate, leader–manager exchange, and self-efficacy have greater or weaker impacts on FLEs' ability to meet both sales and service targets. The results indicate the significance of all three main effects in driving sales and service performance and support the moderating effects of environmental dynamism and experience.

New insights into the climate–attitudes–outcome framework: Empirical evidence from the Australian service sector

Drawing on the climate–attitudes–outcome framework, this article examines the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between psychological climate perceptions (i.e., service climate, team support, and job security) and the job performance of frontline service employees. The authors further consider whether the link between psychological climate perceptions and job satisfaction may be moderated by three core self-evaluation traits of frontline service staff (emotional labor, self-efficacy, and personal achievement orientation). A survey of 874 frontline service employees reveals that service climate, team support, and job security indirectly contribute to job performance through job satisfaction. When more emotional labor deep acting is performed, the effects of the service climate on job satisfaction grow stronger. However, the effects of team support and job security on job satisfaction are not contingent on self-efficacy or personal achievement orientation, respectively.

The Role of Psychological Climate on Public Sector Employees' Organizational Commitment: An Empirical Assessment for Three Occupational Groups

ABSTRACT In an effort to understand how proximal work environment shapes public sector employees' work attitudes, this study examined how perceptions of psychological climate were related to the extent of affective commitment in three occupational groups: clerical, professional, and managerial/executive. Data were gathered from 267 employees in 11 New York State agencies. Results indicated that the strength of association between measures of psychological climate and affective commitment varied across occupational groups. Implications of these results with respect to developing effective strategies for enhancing public sector employees' organizational commitment are discussed in detail.

High-performance HR practices and OCB: a cross-level investigation of a causal path

This study investigates the relationships between high-performance human resource (HR) practices and individual outcome variables from a cross-level perspective. It also identifies the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between psychological climate and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Drawing on a sample of 576 employees from 11 manufacturing plants in Taiwan, our results show that psychological climate perceptions are positively and significantly associated with job satisfaction and OCB, and job satisfaction mediates the relationship between psychological climate perceptions and OCB at the individual level. At the plant level, high-performance HR practices have a positive and significant relationship only with job satisfaction. The theoretical and managerial implications and contributions of these findings are discussed.

Moderator effects of organizational tenure on the relationship between psychological climate and affective commitment

PurposePrevious research is equivocal about: whether affective organizational commitment increases or decreases with increasing tenure; and which psychological climate variables correlated with affective commitment are important as tenure increases. The study's purpose is to examine whether the relationship between psychological climate and affective commitment is moderated by tenure.Design/methodology/approachThe total workforce of a public sector agency in Western Australia (n=1,117) was surveyed with a response rate of 53 per cent. The moderating role of tenure was examined for employees with less than one year's tenure (n=87), one to nine years (n=232) and more than nine years (n=258).FindingsAffective commitment was found to be stronger for employees with longer tenure; however, perceptions of psychological climate appear to be less positive for these employees. The finding of a moderation effect for tenure appeared to be attributable to the importance of supervisor involvement to affective commitment for employees with one to nine years' tenure.Practical implicationsBuilding affective commitment is an important issue for managers as it is strongly related to withdrawal cognitions and employee turnover. The findings of the study suggest that the criteria against which an organization is assessed by employees tends to shift with time and impacts on affective commitment.Originality/valueThe three‐way relationship between tenure, psychological climate and affective commitment has received little attention. The findings of the study suggest that the strength of affective commitment may depend on the extent to which the specific interests and capabilities of individual employees at different stages of tenure are met.

A comparative study of the effects of ‘best practice’ HRM on worker outcomes in Malaysia and England local government

This paper presents the findings of a cross-cultural comparison of the effects of ‘best practice’ HRM using employees from a matched sample of local government service departments in England and Malaysia (England n = 569, Malaysian n = 453). The paper tests the universal ‘best practice’ thesis, and also assesses the perceived level of up-take of HR practices in the two samples. The research also considers the effects of the psychological climate and employees' perceptions of trust on five work-related outcomes, namely job satisfaction, motivation, organizational citizenship behaviour, stress and quit intentions. The findings reveal that the Malaysian workers perceived the up-take of HR practices to be higher in comparison to their counterparts in England. A less consistent pattern emerged with regards to perceptions of climate. OLS regression revealed that consistent with the universal thesis, a bundle of HR practices significantly predicted employee outcomes in the hypothesized directions in both samples. Therefore, these findings provide strong support for the universal thesis.

Psychological Climate, Organizational Commitment and Morale: Implications for Army Captains' Career Intent

The purpose of this research was to examine how work experiences contribute to junior officers' intentions to leave the Army. Specifically, we hypothesized that psychological climate perceptions have direct and indirect effects on intent to leave through affective commitment and morale and that affective and continuance commitment interact to predict intent to leave the Army. The sample for this study was 649 captains who responded to an Army-wide survey, the Fall 2002 Sample Survey of Military Personnel. Results demonstrate support for full mediation, indicating that psychological climate impacts intent to leave the Army by influencing captains' affective commitment and morale. The psychological climate dimension of leadership had the largest impact on affective commitment, morale, and intent to leave the Army. Affective commitment did not interact with continuance commitment to predict intent to leave. Implications for Army retention policies and leadership are discussed.

How sales controls affect job-related outcomes: the role of organizational sales-related psychological climate perceptions

In this study, the authors propose a theory that incorporates the mediating effects of three important organizational sales-related psychological climate perceptions (e.g., the organization’s customer orientation, sales innovativeness, and sales supportiveness) to explain how sales force controls affect sales-related outcomes. Based on a survey of 293 salespeople and using path analysis, the authors find that the inclusion of these psychological climate perceptions allows for explanatory improvement in linking sales controls to salesperson job satisfaction and performance. These results complement previous studies in that formal controls were found to affect outcomes directly. However, they also provide important insight into the indirect effects of sales controls—through salespeople’s perceptions of managerial commitment to making the salespeople effective (i.e., the sales-related psychological climate).

Organizational climate systems and psychological climate perceptions: A cross‐level study of climate‐satisfaction relationships

Research has consistently demonstrated that both individual‐level climate perceptions and organizational climate are related to job satisfaction; however, little work has investigated their relative importance in a single study. Using a sample of 1,076 employees from 120 branches of a US‐based bank, the relative importance of individual‐ and unit‐level climate on individual satisfaction was examined. Cross‐level results of hierarchical linear models indicated that individuals' perceptions of the climate accounted for a large percentage of variance in individuals' satisfaction. Further, unit‐level climate systems accounted for a small but significant portion of individual satisfaction above and beyond individuals' perceptions of the climate. These results suggest that the overall climate in a work unit has some influence on individual attitudes, after accounting for individuals' idiosyncratic perceptions of the climate.

Racial diversity in professional selling: an empirical investigation of the differences in the perceptions and performance of African‐American and Caucasian salespeople

PurposeAlthough a significant number of employment fields and categories have followed the trend of increasing the number of minority employees in their profession, professional selling remains a profession dominated by the presence of Caucasian males. Racial minorities and their performance in a professional selling environment have yet to be examined in depth. Understanding why there are so few African‐Americans in professional selling is important. However, analyzing and comprehending what these salespeople accomplish once they obtain professional sales positions should also be of considerable interest, which this paper seeks to examine.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing a sample of 294 African‐American and Caucasian salespeople, the present manuscript empirically examines a variety of important work‐related perceptions and behaviors, and the performance levels of separate races of salespeople, to determine whether differences exist based on the race of the salesperson.FindingsResults indicate that African‐American and Caucasian salespeople do not exhibit significant differences in terms of their psychological climate perceptions, customer relationship effort, and overall performance. Additionally, the results indicate that racial similarity between the sales manager and the sales representative significantly influences the aforementioned perceptions and performance of salespeople.Originality/valueManagerial implications suggest that managerial‐level training should be utilized to create sales atmospheres that create equal opportunities for all salespeople. Sales executives will also be able to utilize the results from the present study as evidence that separate races of salespeople appear to be equally qualified to perform the job.

Relationships between psychological climate perceptions and work outcomes: a meta‐analytic review

AbstractIn this study, meta‐analytic procedures were used to examine the relationships between individual‐level (psychological) climate perceptions and work outcomes such as employee attitudes, psychological well‐being, motivation, and performance. Our review of the literature generated 121 independent samples in which climate perceptions were measured and analyzed at the individual level. These studies document considerable confusion regarding the constructs of psychological climate, organizational climate, and organizational culture and reveal a need for researchers to use terminology that is consistent with their level of measurement, theory, and analysis. Our meta‐analytic findings indicate that psychological climate, operationalized as individuals' perceptions of their work environment, does have significant relationships with individuals' work attitudes, motivation, and performance. Structural equation modeling analyses of the meta‐analytic correlation matrix indicated that the relationships of psychological climate with employee motivation and performance are fully mediated by employees' work attitudes. We also found that the James and James (1989) PCg model could be extended to predict the impact of work environment perceptions on employee attitudes, motivation, and performance. Despite the number of published individual‐level climate studies that we found, there is a need for more research using standardized measures so as to enable analyses of the organizational and contextual factors that might moderate the effects of psychological climate perceptions. Finally, we argue for a molar theory of psychological climate that is rooted in the psychological processes by which individuals make meaning or their work experiences. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predicting collective climates: assessing the role of shared work values, needs, employee interaction and work group membership

Previous research has debated whether the collective climates, produced through cluster analysis of psychological climate perceptions, are representative of meaningful organizational collectives or simply statistical artifacts. In this study we examined the extent to which collective climates are comprised of individuals with similar interpretive schemata such as work values and need strength or consist of individuals who share work group or interaction group membership. Measures of psychological climate, work values, need strength, and employee interaction patterns were collected from the management and administrative staff of a manufacturing organization. Results supported the symbolic interactionist perspective to the formation of collective climates. We found clear evidence that collective climates are related to employee interaction groups. Employee interaction based on sensemaking and information seeking activities was most strongly related to shared climate perceptions. There was also some evidence that individuals with similar levels of need strength share collective climate membership. Implications of these results on the debate over the use of collective climates are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Self-Categorization and Identity Construction Associated with Managing Diversity

This study investigated the self-categorization of library employees (N= 254) in response to the question: Do you consider yourself to be a member of an underrepresented group? Approximately 15% of the affirmative responses to this question were from white majority group members. Consistent with predictions based on categorization and labeling theories (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1997), these “nontraditional” underrepresented group members were found to have lower reported job satisfaction, poorer perceptions of psychological climate and procedural justice, worse leader–member exchange quality, and more negative reactions to diversity-related issues than employees classified as traditionally underrepresented or not underrepresented. Relations between nontraditional identity and two diversity outcomes (consistency of diversity definitions and practices; general attitudes about diversity) were completely mediated by procedural justice perceptions. Results are discussed in terms of labeling theory and social control in identity representation, with implications for effectively managing diversity and organizational change.