The influence of ethical climate on marketing employees' job attitudes and behaviors

In this study, two data sets were used to test the validity of the Babin, Boles, and Robin (Babin BJ, Boles JS, Robin DP. Representing the perceived ethical work climate among marketing employees. J Acad Mark Sci 2000;28(3):345-358.) measure of ethical work climate and its relationship with role stress, pay satisfaction, supervisor satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, and turnover. The results indicated that ethical work climate is a multidimensional construct and that its dimensions influence marketing employees' job attitudes and job behaviors. Facets of job satisfaction and organizational commitment mediated the relationship between ethical work climate and turnover intentions and turnover.     

The influence of task characteristics and job-related characteristics on retail salesperson selling orientation

This study examines the influence of task characteristics and job-related characteristics on the level of customer orientation exhibited by retail salespeople. The task characteristics examined are task variety, task autonomy, task identity and feedback. The job-related characteristics included in the study are job satisfaction, work motivation, organizational commitment, job involvement, role conflict, and supervisor–employee relationship. A survey using a self-administered close-ended questionnaire was conducted on retail salespeople from five major retailers in Singapore. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the above factors, with the exception of role conflict, have significant influence on the customer orientation of retail salespeople. The six most important predictors of the customer orientation of retail salespeople identified by multiple regression analysis were task identity, organizational commitment, autonomy, education level, job satisfaction, and supervisor–employee relationship.     

Generation Y employees' retail work experience: The mediating effect of job characteristics

This research examines Generation Y employees' retail work experience. Based upon Brown and Peterson's [Brown SP, Peterson RA, Antecedents and consequences of salesperson job satisfaction: meta-analysis and assessment of causal effects. J Mark Res 1993; 30: 63-77; Brown SP, Peterson RA, The effect of effort on sales performance and job satisfaction. J Mark 1994; 58: 70-80.] job satisfaction model, Gen Y employees work experience framework encompasses the work environment variables of role conflict, role ambiguity, supervisory support, and work involvement to predict job performance, job satisfaction, and, ultimately, retail career intention. Drawing from the job crafting perspective in management theory [Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001], this research tests the mediating effect of job characteristics between work environment and job outcomes using structural equation modeling. Study participants were members of a national sample of students (n = 803) from 14 universities in the United States. The findings indicate that job characteristics have a critical mediating role on the relationships for Gen Y employees, suggesting a paradigm shift from passive to active employees who craft their jobs, roles, and selves within a retail organizational context.     

The Virtuous Influence of Ethical Leadership Behavior: Evidence from the Field

This study examines a moderated/mediated model of ethical leadership on follower job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. We proposed that managers have the potential to be agents of virtue or vice within organizations. Specifically, through ethical leadership behavior we argued that managers can virtuously influence perceptions of ethical climate, which in turn will positively impact organizational members’ flourishing as measured by job satisfaction and affective commitment to the organization. We also hypothesized that perceptions of interactional justice would moderate the ethical leadership-to-climate relationship. Our results indicate that ethical leadership has both a direct and indirect influence on follower job satisfaction and affective commitment. The indirect effect of ethical leadership involves shaping perceptions of ethical climate, which in turn, engender greater job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. Furthermore, when interactional justice is perceived to be high, this strengthens the ethical leadership-to-climate relationship.     

促销人员工作满意度影响因素分析

通过相关理论分析,从个人特性、心理需求、工作方式三个角度阐述促销人员的行为特征,结合其行为特征分析工作满意度的影响因素,认为影响促销人员工作满意度的主要因素包括:内部沟通、外部沟通、角色模糊与角色冲突、培训与晋升、薪酬与激励及感知的尊重和公平。     

Workplace Guanxi: Its Dispositional Antecedents and Mediating Role in the Affectivity–Job Satisfaction Relationship

This paper examines dispositional sources of workplace guanxi and the mediating role of workplace guanxi on the affectivity and job satisfaction relationship. Data were collected from 808 respondents in multiple industries in a city in China’s northeast. The study found that both positive affectivity and negative affectivity have an effect on supervisor–subordinate guanxi and co-worker guanxi, which supports the proposition that workplace guanxi has a dispositional source. Supervisor–subordinate guanxi has a positive relationship with job satisfaction, although co-worker guanxi is not significantly related to job satisfaction. The research also found a mediating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on the affectivity and job satisfaction relationship, which suggests that supervisor–subordinate guanxi can extend the influence of affectivity to job satisfaction. Taken together, these results suggest that in a high power distance country such as China, supervisor–subordinate guanxi plays a more important role than co-worker guanxi in influencing job satisfaction. Theoretically, this study suggests the as yet unexplored possibility of dispositional antecedents of workplace guanxi and the role of workplace guanxi on the relationship between dispositions and workplace attitudes such as job satisfaction.     

Critical Role of Leadership on Ethical Climate and Salesperson Behaviors

Leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for ethical climate in organizations. In recent years, there has been an increased skepticism about the role played by corporate executives in developing and implementing ethics in business practices. Sales and marketing practices of businesses, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, have come under increased scrutiny. This study identifies a type of leadership style that can help firms develop an ethical climate. Responses from 333 salespeople working for a North American subsidiary of an international pharmaceutical company were used to analyze the impact of instrumental leadership on ethical climate. We also examined the effect of ethical climate on effort, satisfaction with the supervisor, and job satisfaction. Managerial implications are provided.     

Antecedents and consequences of role stress of retail sales persons

Given the central proposition in services marketing that service excellence is largely determined by the interaction between customer contact personnel and customers, we examine the antecedents and consequences of role stress in a retail context both from the employee and the customer perspective. We investigate the impact of the service control versus the empowerment model on role ambiguity and role conflict and we look at the effect of these role stressor on commitment towards the organization and to delivering service quality by retail sales persons. Finally, we explore the impact on customer perceived service quality. Empirical findings reveal, among other things, that both formalization and empowerment reduce role ambiguity. Role ambiguity in turn is negatively associated with both organizational commitment and commitment to quality. The latter type of commitment has a positive impact on customer perceived quality.     

Boundary-spanning activity,role dynamics,and job satisfaction: A longitudinal study

Boundary-spanning activity and its effects on role conflict and ambiguity and job satisfaction were studied in a large manufacturing organization. Longitudinal data were collected 11 months apart from 132 managerial, engineering, and supervisory employees. A corrected cross-lagged correlational analysis suggests no casual relationships between boundary-spanning activity and role conflict and ambiguity. Causal, positive relationships are suggested, however, between boundary-spanning activity and satisfaction with work, promotions, supervision, co-workers, and overall job satisfaction.     

Understanding Retail Managers’ Role in the Sales of Products and Services

This research investigates the influence of retail chain-level activities (e.g., district supervisor directives and policies) and store manager behaviors on the sale of physical products versus services. Using data gathered within a U.S.-based retail automotive parts chain, the authors discover that to sell services, especially in competitive environments, store managers should focus on sales planning and transformative leadership behaviors, which accentuate both the long-term planning horizon and the effects of managerial actions. In less competitive environments though, a more transactional approach (e.g., selling orientation) can be effective for selling services. Alternatively, to sell products, store managers’ selling effort appears to be the most important driver of success, and a transformative leadership approach may be detrimental when the retailer faces a high level of direct competition. In total, the findings suggest that corporate chain activities, such as the level and clarity of store managers’ goals and supervisor monitoring, influence store manager behaviors, which in turn affect the sale of physical products and services.     

Fostering creative selling through ethics. An emotion-based approach

Research on salesperson creativity remains as one of the most under-researched topics in the sales literature despite the evidence that encouraging creativity in the sales domain is a source of competitive advantage. This paper aims to fill this research gap by exploring the influence of perceived ethical climate on salesperson creative performance, paying special attention to the role that emotions play in this process. Data provided by 176 supervisor–salesperson dyads confirm that the trust/responsibility dimension of an ethical climate is positively related to salesperson creative selling by increasing salespeople's organizational pride. Similarly, the perception of unethical selling practices negatively affects salesperson organizational pride, reducing the expression of creative behaviors. Moreover, the negative effect of unethical selling practices on creative performance is stronger (more negative) when salespeople's identification with an organization increases. Managerial implications and future research directions are also addressed.     

Positive affectivity under work overload: Evidence of differential outcomes

We argue that, although positive affectivity (PA) provides intraindividual benefits when experiencing stress, this resilience to stressors does not necessarily translate into improved evaluations by others. In the context of our research, different outcomes in response to increased role overload are expected on the basis of prior theoretical and empirical research. We found that, under conditions of high role overload, those with high PA did not experience reduced job satisfaction (Study 1). However, supervisor‐rated performance decreased in the context of heightened role overload for those high in PA (Study 2). Thus, PA may help the individual cope, but it may not convert to increased performance ratings as reported by one's supervisor. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross-Domain Effects of Ethical Leadership on Employee Family and Life Satisfaction: the Moderating Role of Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors

Drawing on the work–family enrichment theory, the present study investigates the cross-domain effects of ethical leadership on employees’ family and life satisfaction. Moreover, it focuses on the mediating role of work–family enrichment (WFE) and the moderated mediation process of family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ family and life satisfaction. Using a sample of 371 employees and their immediate supervisors in China, we found that WFE mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and employee-rated and supervisor-rated family and life satisfaction. Moreover, FSSB positively moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and WFE, such that the relationship was strengthened when FSSB were higher. Furthermore, the mediations of WFE between ethical leadership and employee-rated and supervisor-rated family and life satisfaction were also positively moderated by FSSB, such that the indirect effects were stronger when FSSB were higher. The theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are further discussed.     

A meta-analysis of the relationship between perceived organizational support and job outcomes: 20 years of research

Anecdotal comments from practitioners and extant empirical research suggests a tenuous link between perceived organizational support and desired employee outcomes. Accordingly, in this study the authors conduct a meta-analysis examining the effects of perceived organizational support on four employee outcomes: organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and intention to leave. The authors also examine the extent to which these effects are moderated by job type (frontline vs. non-frontline employee). Findings from the study indicate that perceived organizational support has a strong, positive effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment; a moderate, positive effect on employee performance; and a strong, negative effect on intention to leave. Study findings also indicate that the effects of perceived organizational support are more pronounced for non-frontline employees.     

Perceived threats of terrorism and job performance: The roles of job-related anxiety and religiousness

This study investigates the relationship between employees' perceptions of the threat of terrorism and job performance, as well as a potential mediating effect of job-related anxiety and a moderating effect of religiousness on this relationship. Multisource, time-lagged data from employees and their supervisors in Pakistan reveal that an important reason that perceived threats of terrorism diminish job performance is the anxiety that employees experience at work. Employees' religiousness buffers the negative effect of perceived threats of terrorism on job-related anxiety though, such that the relationship is mitigated when their religiousness is high. Finally, the results indicate the presence of moderated mediation: the indirect effect of perceived threats of terrorism on job performance is not as strong at higher levels of religiousness. In external environments in which terrorism presents a credible threat, organizations can therefore consider the religiousness of their employees as a resource for countering their anxiety.     

Guanxi with Supervisor and Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

This study aims to explore the role of informal leader–member interactions in managing counterproductive work behavior (CWB) in a non-Western context. We propose that under the Chinese background, guanxi with supervisor increases employees’ job satisfaction, which further reduces their CWB. Partial least square structural equation modeling with a sample of 272 Chinese employees confirms this mediating effect of job satisfaction. However, we also find that job satisfaction passes the effect of guanxi with supervisor on to CWB targeting people, but not to CWB targeting the organization. Implications for research on CWB and guanxi with supervisor are discussed.     

Service climate and employee service performance: exploring the moderating role of job stress and organizational identification

Drawing on a sample of 368 frontline employees and 45 managers from five Chinese banks, this study examined the relationship between service climate and frontline employee service performance, including in-role and extra-role performance, and the difference of this relationship considering the moderating role of employee's emotional experience (job stress and organizational identification). Empirical results indicated the positive effect of service climate on service performance as hypothesized. Moreover, job stress negatively moderated the relationship between service climate and extra-role performance, while organizational identification positively moderated the climate–performance relationship.     

Compensation disparity between locals and expatriates: Moderating the effects of perceived injustice in foreign multinationals in China

A large compensation gap exists between local and expatriate employees in foreign multinationals in China. A survey in the Suzhou area confirmed that local employees regarded their compensation vis-à-vis that of expatriates as unfair. Trustworthiness of expatriates by locals showed a stronger effect on their evaluation of expatriates than on their job satisfaction and organizational commitment, whereas perceived compensation received by locals showed the opposite pattern. Trustworthiness of expatriates moderated the negative effect of perceived distributive injustice on evaluation of expatriates, whereas perceived compensation moderated the relationships between perceived distributive injustice and job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment.     

Are performance appraisals a bureaucratic exercise or can they be used to enhance sales‐force satisfaction and commitment?

In some sales organizations the performance appraisal is treated as a bureaucratic exercise. As such, sales managers may essentially conduct appraisals in an arbitrary and perfunctory manner. This behavior could be based on the belief that conducting performance appraisals requires considerable amounts of time and effort, generates few rewards, and adds considerably to the manager's level of conflict and stress. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships existing between performance appraisals, salesperson organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. If various characteristics of performance appraisals that build commitment and satisfaction could be identified, then managers may be more capable of using performance appraisals that yield positive results. A survey of 185 retail salespeople and 58 retail sales managers provided the data required to evaluate the relationship between satisfaction, commitment, and various aspects of performance appraisals. The results of the study indicate that managerially mediated factors may be used to enhance salesperson job satisfaction and organizational commitment. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of leader-member exchange on turnover among retail buyers

Many studies have analyzed employee turnover. The study expands our understanding of turnover by including leader-member exchange in a model of turnover among retail buyers. Controlling turnover is especially important among retail buyers where it can exceed 30%. The results indicate that leader-member exchange influences turnover indirectly through certain facets of job satisfaction (supervisor satisfaction and pay raise satisfaction).