Operationalizing salesperson performance with secondary data: aligning practice, scholarship, and theory

Willy Bolander (), Nawar N. Chaker (), Alec Pappas () and Daniel R. Bradbury ()
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Willy Bolander: College of Business, Florida State University
Nawar N. Chaker: E.J. Ourso College of Business. Louisiana State University
Alec Pappas: College of Business, Florida State University
Daniel R. Bradbury: College of Business, Florida State University

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2021, vol. 49, issue 3, No 3, 462-481

Abstract: Abstract Despite the large body of research that examines the determinants of salesperson performance, significant variation exists regarding how scholars can operationalize salesperson performance using secondary, firm-provided data. Moreover, this variation often exists without explanation or justification. We explore the issue in three parts. First, we conduct practitioner surveys to discover various salesperson performance operationalizations (SPOs) in use by salespeople and sales managers. Second, using a carefully constructed and theoretically driven evaluative framework, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on salesperson performance that encompasses over thirty years of empirical research on the subject; this review allows us to better understand the SPOs that scholars use. Third, we compare these practitioner and scholarly perspectives to create a comprehensive conceptual model of the different types of SPOs. The model highlights theoretical insights and provides guidance to scholars and reviewers related to the selection of appropriate SPOs for meeting specific research objectives.

Keywords: Salesperson performance; Literature review; Secondary data; Outcome measures; Conceptualization; Operationalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11747-020-00752-0

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