The Role of Perceived Equity and Justice in Managing the Modern Sales Force

People have been concerned about equitable and just treatment for thousands of years. Salespeople are no exception. Perceptions of equity can affect a salesperson’s attitudes and behaviors. The present study investigated the role perceptions of equity and justice play in a salesperson’s organizational commitment and intent to seek new employment. Results suggest that the higher-order needs of promotion, recognition, and incentives equity were most important to a salesperson’s organizational commitment and intent to turnover. Additionally, contrary to previous research, distributive (outcomes based) justice was found to be more important to a salesperson’s organizational commitment and intent to turnover than procedural justice. The unique nature of outside sales may best explain this contrary finding. Implications of the above findings for sales managers are also discussed.