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Making the Customer Orientation of Salespeople Unsustainable—The Moderating Effect of Emotional Exhaustion

Author

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  • Lifang Shu

    (School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China)

  • Haiying Wei

    (School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China)

  • Leiqing Peng

    (School of Business Administration, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, Guangzhou 510320, China)

Abstract

Customer orientation of salespeople usually leads to a sustainable positive effect on job performance, yet previous research has usually focused on the benefits of functional customer orientation, and less is known about its relational customer orientation’s outcomes. Based on conservation of resources theory, this research focuses on both types of customer orientation, functional and relational customer orientation, and investigates the moderating effect of emotional exhaustion on the relationship between customer orientation and adaptive selling behavior. We collected 282 valid questionnaires from frontline salespeople in China. Results showed that functional/relational customer orientation was positively correlated with salespeople’s adaptive selling behavior. Salespeople’s emotional exhaustion moderates the main effect: when emotional exhaustion is high, the relationship between functional/relational customer orientation and adaptive selling behavior is substantially weakened. This study contributes to a further understanding of the sustainable operation environment for customer orientation, and provides practical implications regarding the attainment of sustainable outcomes of customer orientation.

Suggested Citation

  • Lifang Shu & Haiying Wei & Leiqing Peng, 2019. "Making the Customer Orientation of Salespeople Unsustainable—The Moderating Effect of Emotional Exhaustion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:735-:d:202166
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Odiegwu, Chinwendu Laurentia & Enyioko, Newman Chintuwa (PhD), 2022. "Influence of Sustainable Shipping on Organizational Effectiveness of Shipping Companies in Port Harcourt, Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(8), pages 74-92, August.

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