Sales Control Systems and Salesperson Commitment: The Moderating Role of Behavior Uncertainty

Miao Li, Luluo Peng and Guijun Zhuang
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Miao Li: School of Management, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
Luluo Peng: School of Business, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
Guijun Zhuang: School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Although sales control has been identified by previous literature as an effective tool to promote salesperson commitment, unclear categorization of the focal variables makes existing findings confounding. This paper aims to provide more nuanced understanding about the relation between sales control systems and salesperson commitment by categorizing sales control into outcome control, activity control, and capability control. Moreover, we explore the moderating role of behavioral uncertainty, which includes sales cycle uncertainty and behavioral content uncertainty. Using a sample of 208 salespersons in China, we find the following results: (1) sales cycle uncertainty weakens the positive impact of outcome control on salesperson commitment and the negative relationship between activity control and salesperson commitment; (2) behavioral content uncertainty strengthens the positive link between outcome control and salesperson commitment and the negative impact of activity control on salesperson commitment; and (3) both sales cycle uncertainty and behavioral content uncertainty strengthen the positive relationship between capability control and salesperson commitment. This research enriches knowledge about sales control systems and offers insights into the important contextual role of behavior uncertainty that has been largely ignored by prior research in the sales force control literature.

Keywords: sales force control systems; behavior uncertainty; salesperson commitment; outcome control, activity control; capability control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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