The Link between Number of Sales Accounts and Salespeople s Performance

영업사원의 거래처 수와 영업성과 간의 관계에 관한 연구

Purpose - Previous research has shown that a very high level and a very low level of job scope can both be more stressful than intermediate levels of job scope. This study investigates the potential positive and negative effects of the number of accounts handled by sales personnel. The primary objective of this paper is to examine how the number of accounts salespeople handle affects their stress and performance. Research design, data, and methodology - This research conducted the data collection using a survey of salespeople in the pharmaceutical industry. I sent the survey to 420 salespeople, and received 318 usable responses. To assess measurement reliability and validity, I ran an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. I also employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to test all hypothesized effects in AMOS and also measured the interaction variable using Ping’s (1996) approach. Results - These results show that there are linear and non-linear effects of the number of accounts handled by the salesperson on both role ambiguity and role conflict. First, the number of accounts handled by a salesperson is positively related to role ambiguity and role conflict. Second, the effect of the number of accounts handled on role ambiguity and role conflict decreases as the number of accounts handled by the salesperson increases. Third, as accounts increase from a low level, role stress increases; when the number of accounts reaches an optimal level, role stress decreases; and when the number of accounts increases to a high level, it can be detrimental to the salesperson s role stress. Fourth, while product complexity is positively related to role ambiguity, brand strength is negatively related to both role ambiguity and role conflict. Fifth, the greater the brand strength, the weaker the relationship will be between the number of accounts handled and salesperson role ambiguity. Finally, role ambiguity is positively related to salesperson performance. Conclusion