“Be myself” or “Be friends”? Exploring the mechanism between self-construal and sales performance

Zhimei Zang (), Xiaoyan Wang (), Hairu Yang () and Chuanming Chen ()
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Zhimei Zang: Central South University
Xiaoyan Wang: City University of Hong Kong
Hairu Yang: Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, China
Chuanming Chen: Nanjing University

Asian Business & Management, 2022, vol. 21, issue 1, No 4, 82-105

Abstract: Abstract This research examines the roles of salespeople’s self-construals in shaping customer orientation (CO) and influencing sales performance. Using data from 362 salespersons from 48 firms in China, we find that salespeople with independent self-construal only focus on task-oriented activities (i.e., functional CO). In contrast, salespeople with interdependent self-construal show a stronger inclination to establish personal relationships with customers (i.e., relational CO) when completing functional tasks. Moreover, the interaction between the two self-construals positively impacts functional CO, but not relational CO. Finally, when levels of market volatility increase, functional CO more positively influences sales performance while relational CO less positively influences sales performance. These findings guide firms’ salespeople selection and management. Furthermore, when firms motivate salespeople to adopt their preferred CO, they need to devote particular attention to market volatility, which moderates the effectiveness of CO on sales performance.

Keywords: Independent self-construal; Interdependent self-construal; Functional customer orientation; Relational customer orientation; Sales performance; Market volatility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1057/s41291-020-00115-1

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