Effort, Optimism and Sales Performance: Rethinking the Role of Manager Support

Varied forms of organizational resources (i.e., manager support) and self-regulated resources (i.e., effort and optimism) available to salespeople combine to influence salesperson performance. Using insights from organizational support theory and social exchange theory, this paper proposes an interactive relationship whereby manager support will differentially interact with effort and optimism in influencing salesperson performance. More specifically, our overarching research propositions are: manager support (1) positively moderates the link between sales effort and performance and (2) negatively moderates the link between optimism and performance. The empirical results obtained, from a sample of 81 B2B field salespeople in an emerging market, provide support for both the propositions. This research reveals important insights into how sales performance is shaped by the interplay of external and internal resources available to salespeople. Key implications are discussed.