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Managing New Salespeople’s Ethical Behaviors during Repetitive Failures: When Trying to Help Actually Hurts

Author

Listed:
  • Willy Bolander

    (Florida State University)

  • William J. Zahn

    (University of Houston)

  • Terry W. Loe

    (Kennesaw State University)

  • Melissa Clark

    (Berry College)

Abstract

Despite acknowledgment that performance failure among new salespeople is a prevalent issue for organizations, researchers do not fully understand the consequences of repetitive periods of failure on new salespeople’s unethical selling behaviors. Further, little is known about how a sales force’s reward structure and managerial attempts to intervene following failure affect new salespeople’s behavior. Combining an experiment with longitudinal growth models, we show that repetitive periods of failure increase unethical behaviors, and interventions intended to remind the salesperson to behave in the customer’s best interests attenuate this effect under a non-contingent reward structure. However, counter to managerial assumptions, under a contingent reward structure these customer-oriented interventions actually backfire by amplifying the original relationship between repetitive failure and unethical behaviors. The results have potentially important managerial implications for those who manage new salespeople learning how to sell or during other failure-prone periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Willy Bolander & William J. Zahn & Terry W. Loe & Melissa Clark, 2017. "Managing New Salespeople’s Ethical Behaviors during Repetitive Failures: When Trying to Help Actually Hurts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 519-532, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:144:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2817-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2817-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ning Li & William Murphy, 2012. "A Three-Country Study of Unethical Sales Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 219-235, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Lussier & Nathaniel N. Hartmann & Willy Bolander, 2021. "Curbing the Undesirable Effects of Emotional Exhaustion on Ethical Behaviors and Performance: A Salesperson–Manager Dyadic Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(4), pages 747-766, April.
    2. Lussier, Bruno & Philp, Matthew & Hartmann, Nathaniel N. & Wieland, Heiko, 2021. "Social anxiety and salesperson performance: The roles of mindful acceptance and perceived sales manager support," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 112-125.

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