Marketing Controls and Dysfunctional Employee Behaviors: A Test of Traditional and Contingency Theory Postulates

The author examines two different theories—traditional and contingency—of negative employee responses to marketing control systems. Traditional control theory draws on the humanistic perspective to suggest that controls have negative consequences because they limit employee autonomy and signal a lack of trust in employees. Contingency theory, on the other hand, posits that employee response depends on the degree to which the control used fits the job context. The author examines two types of job contexts, namely, task and supervision. Tasks are characterized along two dimensions, namely, performance documentation and procedural knowledge. Supervision is captured by three factors—the degree to which employees perceive that they are allowed to participate, that supervisors are knowledgeable about their performance, and that supervisors are considerate. Using dysfunctional behaviors as the focal negative response, the author finds stronger support for the traditional perspective compared with the contingency perspective.