IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v118y2020icp452-462.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How salesperson traits and intuitive judgments influence adaptive selling: A sensemaking perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Locander, David A.
  • Locander, Jennifer A.
  • Weinberg, Frankie J.

Abstract

Although the increasing complexity of selling environments has been widely recognized, we know little about how salespeople manage the cognitive demands associated with information processing and decision-making during a sales encounter. Drawing on the Sensemaking Intuition Model and Dual Process Theory, we examine unique influences of salesperson traits and reliance on intuition as contributing to a sensemaking mechanism in the adaptive selling process. Further, we consider the moderating role that reliance on intuition has on the relationships between salesperson traits and adaptive selling. Survey results from 250 business-to-business salespeople produce well-fitting confirmatory and structural models that identify positive direct influences of cognitive empathy, trait competitiveness, and reliance on intuition in the adaptive selling process. Moderation analyses reveal that reliance on intuition reduces the positive impact of empathy, highlighting the complexity that salesperson traits and reliance on intuition introduce to the adaptive selling process.

Suggested Citation

  • Locander, David A. & Locander, Jennifer A. & Weinberg, Frankie J., 2020. "How salesperson traits and intuitive judgments influence adaptive selling: A sensemaking perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 452-462.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:118:y:2020:i:c:p:452-462
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320304550
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alice F. Stuhlmacher & Matthew V. Champagne, 2000. "The Impact of Time Pressure and Information on Negotiation Process and Decisions," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 9(6), pages 471-491, November.
    2. Wang, Guangping & Netemeyer, Richard G., 2004. "Salesperson creative performance: conceptualization, measurement, and nomological validity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 805-812, August.
    3. Bryan W. Hochstein & William J. Zahn & Willy Bolander, 2017. "Exploring the unintended negative impact of an ethical climate in competitive environments," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 621-635, December.
    4. Behrman, Douglas N. & Perreault, William Jr., 1982. "Measuring the performance of industrial salespersons," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 355-370, September.
    5. Chase Thiel & Zhanna Bagdasarov & Lauren Harkrider & James Johnson & Michael Mumford, 2012. "Leader Ethical Decision-Making in Organizations: Strategies for Sensemaking," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(1), pages 49-64, April.
    6. Murphy, William H., 2004. "In pursuit of short-term goals: anticipating the unintended consequences of using special incentives to motivate the sales force," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(11), pages 1265-1275, November.
    7. Prior, Daniel D. & Keränen, Joona & Koskela, Sami, 2018. "Sensemaking, sensegiving and absorptive capacity in complex procurements," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-90.
    8. De Dreu, Carsten K. W., 2003. "Time pressure and closing of the mind in negotiation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 280-295, July.
    9. Groza, Mark D. & Groza, Mya Pronschinske, 2018. "Salesperson regulatory knowledge and sales performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 37-46.
    10. Mangus, Stephanie M. & Bock, Dora E. & Jones, Eli & Folse, Judith Anne Garretson, 2020. "Examining the effects of mutual information sharing and relationship empathy: A social penetration theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 375-384.
    11. Chelariu, Cristian & Johnston, Wesley J. & Young, Louise, 2002. "Learning to improvise, improvising to learn: a process of responding to complex environments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 141-147, February.
    12. Groza, Mark D. & Locander, David A. & Howlett, Charles H., 2016. "Linking thinking styles to sales performance: The importance of creativity and subjective knowledge," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4185-4193.
    13. Kwak, Hyokjin & Anderson, Rolph E. & Leigh, Thomas W. & Bonifield, Scott D., 2019. "Impact of salesperson macro-adaptive selling strategy on job performance and satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 42-55.
    14. Miao, C. Fred & Evans, Kenneth R., 2014. "Motivating industrial salesforce with sales control systems: An interactive perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(6), pages 1233-1242.
    15. Fuller, Christie M. & Simmering, Marcia J. & Atinc, Guclu & Atinc, Yasemin & Babin, Barry J., 2016. "Common methods variance detection in business research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 3192-3198.
    16. de Dreu, Carsten K. W. & Carnevale, Peter J. D. & Emans, Ben J. M. & van de Vliert, Evert, 1994. "Effects of Gain-Loss Frames in Negotiation: Loss Aversion, Mismatching, and Frame Adoption," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 90-107, October.
    17. Seriki, Olalekan K. & Nath, Pravin & Ingene, Charles A. & Evans, Kenneth R., 2020. "How complexity impacts salesperson counterproductive behavior: The mediating role of moral disengagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 324-335.
    18. Dane, Erik & Rockmann, Kevin W. & Pratt, Michael G., 2012. "When should I trust my gut? Linking domain expertise to intuitive decision-making effectiveness," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 187-194.
    19. Marshall, Greg W. & Goebel, Daniel J. & Moncrief, William C., 2003. "Hiring for success at the buyer-seller interface," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 247-255, April.
    20. Karl E. Weick & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe & David Obstfeld, 2005. "Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 409-421, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Usman, Muhammad & Khalid, Adeel & Saeed, Munazza & Shafique, Shoaib & Babalola, Mayowa T. & Ren, Shuang, 2024. "Invigorating the spirit of being adaptive: Examining the role of spiritual leadership in adaptive selling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    2. Kopalle, Praveen K. & Kuusela, Hannu & Lehmann, Donald R., 2023. "The role of intuition in CEO acquisition decisions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Ross Gilbert, Jonathan & Krush, Michael T. & Trainor, Kevin J. & Wayment, Heidi A., 2022. "The (quiet) ego and sales: Transcending self-interest and its relationship with adaptive selling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 326-338.
    4. Liu, Weihua & Zhang, Jiahui & Shi, Yangyan & Lee, Paul Tae-Woo & Liang, Yanjie, 2022. "Intelligent logistics transformation problems in efficient commodity distribution," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Pappas, Alec & Fumagalli, Elena & Rouziou, Maria & Bolander, Willy, 2023. "More than Machines: The Role of the Future Retail Salesperson in Enhancing the Customer Experience," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(4), pages 518-531.
    6. Rajeev Kumra & Praveen Kumar Sharma, 2022. "Mediating role of trust in the impact of perceived empathy and customer orientation on intention to continue relationship in Indian banks," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(4), pages 372-386, December.
    7. Chang, Woojung, 2022. "The effectiveness of AI salesperson vs. human salesperson across the buyer-seller relationship stages," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 241-251.
    8. Khalid, Adeel & Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Usman, Muhammad & Waqas, Muhammad & Ishizaka, Alessio, 2024. "Managerial latitude and adaptive selling: Important roles of salesperson perceived control and work centrality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Locander, David A. & Darrat, Mahmoud A. & Babin, Barry J., 2023. "Examining the impact of salesperson orientation on creative selling, passive deviance, and organizational outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Park, Hyewon & Hur, Won-Moo & Kang, Seongho, 2023. "Contribution of sales control in salespeople’s creative selling: Work engagement as a mediator," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Tongyu Meng & Jamie Newth & Christine Woods, 2022. "Ethical Sensemaking in Impact Investing: Reasons and Motives in the Chinese Renewable Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1091-1117, September.
    4. Sahadev, Sunil & Chang, Kirk & Malhotra, Neeru & Kim, Ji-Hee & Ahmed, Tanveer & Kitchen, Philip, 2024. "Psychological empowerment and creative performance: Mediating role of thriving and moderating role of competitive psychological climate," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    5. Ross Gilbert, Jonathan & Krush, Michael T. & Trainor, Kevin J. & Wayment, Heidi A., 2022. "The (quiet) ego and sales: Transcending self-interest and its relationship with adaptive selling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 326-338.
    6. Valerie Good & Douglas E. Hughes & Ahmet H. Kirca & Sean McGrath, 2022. "A self-determination theory-based meta-analysis on the differential effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on salesperson performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 586-614, May.
    7. Lyngdoh, Teidorlang & Liu, Annie H. & Sridhar, Guda, 2018. "Applying positive psychology to selling behaviors: A moderated–mediation analysis integrating subjective well-being, coping and organizational identity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 142-153.
    8. Kalra, Ashish & Briggs, Elten & Schrock, Wyatt, 2023. "Exploring the synergistic role of ethical leadership and sales control systems on salesperson social media use and sales performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    9. Edwards, John & Miles, Morgan P. & D'Alessandro, Steven & Frost, Mark, 2022. "Linking B2B sales performance to entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial selling actions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 585-593.
    10. Ohiomah, Alhassan & Andreev, Pavel & Benyoucef, Morad & Hood, David, 2019. "The role of lead management systems in inside sales performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 163-177.
    11. Romain Franck & Maud Dampérat, 2023. "Influence of sales support technologies on salesperson performance: A study of interpersonal and intrapersonal mediators [Influence des technologies d’aide à la vente sur les performances du commer," Post-Print halshs-04159504, HAL.
    12. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Lionel Garreau, 2014. "Exploring the dynamics of ethical judgment : the sensemaking-based evolution model," Post-Print halshs-01009708, HAL.
    13. Hai-Trung Nguyen & Hao-Chieh Lin & Shao-Chi Chang, 2023. "The emergence of TMT learning goal orientation: contextual effects of TMT demographic diversity on TMT cognitive processes," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 26-54, February.
    14. Daniella Laureiro-Martinez, 2014. "Cognitive Control Capabilities, Routinization Propensity, and Decision-Making Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 1111-1133, August.
    15. Siyuan Yu & Yang Zhang & Jin Yu & Xuanzhi Yang & Abbas Mardani, 2021. "The Moderating Impact of Organizational Identity Strength between Strategic Improvisation and Organizational Memory and Their Effects on Competitive Advantage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    16. Alavi, Sascha & Wieseke, Jan & Guba, Jan H., 2016. "Saving on Discounts through Accurate Sensing – Salespeople's Estimations of Customer Price Importance and Their Effects on Negotiation Success," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 40-55.
    17. Agnihotri, Arpita & Bhattacharya, Saurabh & Gupta, Suraksha, 2023. "Do morally disengaged employees withdraw from customer-oriented citizenship behavior in response to customers’ uncivil behavior?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    18. Rayburn, Steven W. & Badrinarayanan, Vishag & Anderson, Sidney T. & Gupta, Aditya, 2021. "Continuous techno-training and business-to-business salesperson success: How boosting techno-efficacy enhances sales effort and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 66-78.
    19. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Lionel Garreau, 2014. "The dynamics of ethical judgment : an essay of modelization," Post-Print halshs-01009718, HAL.
    20. Verbeke, W.J.M.I. & Dietz, H.M.S. & Verwaal, E., 2010. "Drivers of Sales Performance: A Contemporary Meta-Analysis," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2010-031-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:118:y:2020:i:c:p:452-462. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.