How Ethical Leadership and Ethical Self-Leadership Enhance the Effects of Idiosyncratic Deals on Salesperson Work Engagement and Performance

Ashish Kalra (), Rakesh Singh (), Vishag Badrinarayanan () and Aditya Gupta ()
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Ashish Kalra: University of Dayton
Rakesh Singh: Institute of Management Technology
Vishag Badrinarayanan: Texas State University
Aditya Gupta: Texas State University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 196, issue 1, No 9, 169-188

Abstract: Abstract To meet the shifting needs and preferences of the contemporary sales workforce, sales organizations are deploying idiosyncratic deals (I-deals), or mutually beneficial individualized workplace arrangements between salespeople and the organization. However, research is lacking on how, and under what conditions, I-deals facilitate work engagement and performance among salespeople. In this study, based on analysis of data gathered from 221 business-to-business salespeople, we demonstrate that I-deals are positively related to two foci of salesperson work engagement (i.e., social engagement and change engagement) and salesperson performance. Furthermore, we find that ethical self-leadership, which is driven by ethical leadership, functions as an internal self-governance mechanism that strengthens the impact of I-deals on salesperson work engagement. Based on these results, we delineate novel theoretical and practical implications on the role of I-deals in facilitating effective sales talent management.

Keywords: Idiosyncratic deals; Social engagement; Change engagement; Salesperson performance; Ethical leadership; Ethical self-leadership (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05717-9

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