Examining the Incremental Validity and Adverse Impact of Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness on Job Performance

Using archival data from a large home improvement organization, the current study examined the incremental validity of conscientiousness over cognitive ability in predicting different performance criteria. Also, the study examined the effects of conscientiousness and cognitive ability on adverse impact. Results indicated that conscientiousness provided incremental validity over cognitive ability in the prediction of several performance criteria. Specifically, conscientiousness had the highest increases in validity over cognitive ability in the prediction of contextual performance factors (e.g., contextual performance, customer service orientation, dealing with others). However, the addition of conscientiousness failed to ameliorate the adverse impact associated with cognitive ability. In addition, limitations of the study and future directions of research are addressed.     

消费者一定偏爱“笑脸”吗?产品外观中的表情元素对消费者的影响

表情是产品拟人化外观设计中重要元素。产品正面或负面的拟人化“表情” (表达正面或负面情感的表情)会影响到消费者对产品的感知。人际交往相关理论验证了正面表情对消费者的积极影响, 并认为负面表情不利于消费者与产品的互动。但是在现实市场中我们却看到, 消费者有时却更喜爱展现负面表情的产品, 营销领域的产品拟人化研究鲜有关注到产品表情的错位影响。具体而言, 在拟人化营销研究领域, 以下三个研究问题尚待探讨: 产品表情有怎样的具体体现及市场效用; 产品表情对消费者行为和态度影响的心理机制为何; 以及来自于消费者特质和产品因素的调节效应。回答以上问题能够进一步拓展和丰富营销领域的拟人化理论, 同时也将从实践上为产品外观设计提供建议和指导。     

The impact of salesperson credibility-building statements on later stages of the sales encounter

Salespeople frequently attempt to build credibility on their first encounter with a customer. Because customers actively evaluate persuasive messages, it is important to understand their reactions to credibility-building tactics and how these reactions shape the sales interaction. Accordingly, this study investigates customers' reactions to two types of credibility-building statements – benevolence and expertise – using a multistep qualitative analysis of sales transactions in the life insurance industry, along with surveys before and after the sales encounter. Empirical results show that customers are more likely to react positively to credibility-building statements that match their buying style expectations. Furthermore, when customers react positively to a credibility-building tactic, salespeople are more likely to continue using that tactic when addressing customer objections. However, whereas benevolence tactics for addressing customer objections lead to stronger relational outcomes, the findings indicate that expertise tactics do not. Thus, matching sales tactics with customers' buying style expectations is beneficial in the early stages of the sales encounter, but customer objections are best addressed with benevolence tactics, regardless of customers' buying style.     

The good,the bad and the effective: a meta-analytic examination of selling orientation and customer orientation on sales performance

The concept of customer orientation (CO) is a focal construct in marketing and sales literature. Saxe and Weitz introduced CO to contrast the traditional high-pressure approach to sales (selling orientation). This study synthesizes empirical evidence from 1982 to 2013 to provide insight into the antecedents and consequences of both CO and selling orientation (SO). A conceptual meta-analytic model based on research into interpersonal motive models is proposed and tested using effect sizes from 126,790 salesperson survey responses to advance theory development on our understanding of how SO and CO behaviours affect organizations. Findings show that adaptive selling mediates the impact of both SO and CO which has important practical implications for hiring and training salespeople. Furthermore, this study shows that goal orientations are antecedents of SO and CO and that the impact of SO on job performance varies by customer type.     

Mixed interpretations of sales proposal signals

Long-term relationships with customers are critical determinants of a sales organization’s success. However, research tends to assess relational approaches from the salesperson or sales organization’s perspective and often neglects to capture customers’ perspectives which lead to the evaluative success or failure of buyer–seller relationships. This study assesses the seller’s bid-related signals from the buyer’s perspective following their selection or rejection of a business-to-business sales proposal. The authors adopt a theories-in-use approach, utilizing 54 depth-interviews with decision-makers from 33 buyer organizations. Within this data set, findings reveal three bid signals that are represented across both selection and rejection outcomes (i.e. mixed interpretations by buyers). These signals are the seller’s usage of price concessions, sales proposal specificity, and comparative customer examples. To better understand the mechanisms which influence buyers’ mixed interpretations of these signals, the authors utilize the newly-advanced qualitative pivoting technique to identify contextual variables across cases that influence the buyer’s positive or negative signal interpretation.     

消费者态度满意与行为忠诚关系的一致与分离

态度满意是指消费者对产品可感知的效果与期望值之间的差异函数, 行为忠诚是指消费者重复购买的次数。本文将二者关系分作两类, 一类是低满意低忠诚、高满意高忠诚的一致性关系, 另一类是低满意高忠诚、高满意低忠诚的分离性关系, 在此基础上, 进一步介绍了相关理论研究, 主要包括线性关系和约束关系研究。文章最后指出, 未来研究应加强对态度满意的价值属性、结构一致性、社会属性等的研究, 以提高消费者态度满意对行为忠诚的预测力。     

Measuring Customer Service Orientation Using a Measure of Interpersonal Skills: A Preliminary Test in a Public Service Organization

Organizations are placing increased emphasis on identifying individuals with customer service orientation. In the present investigation we test whether interpersonal skills, as measured through Holland and Baird's (1968) Interpersonal Competence Scale, provides a narrow, yet valid, measure of customer service orientation. Data were collected from a sample of bus transit operators. Interpersonal skills was positively related to operator self-reported performance, but was not related to supervisor ratings or objective measures of performance. Implications for the study and use of broad versus narrowly defined personality constructs in organizational settings are discussed.     

Effects of top-performer rewards on fellow salespeople: a double-edged sword

Rewarding top performers is of strategic importance to the sales organization. Top-performing salespeople not only contribute significantly to the success of their firm but may also motivate the skill development of peer salespeople. However, both academic research and anecdotal evidence suggest that top performer rewards can boomerang by damaging peer salespeople's morale and productivity, although the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions remain unclear. Using a sample of salespeople and their managers from financial investment firms in Taiwan, the authors uncover both positive and negative effects of top-performer rewards. Specifically, it is found that when behavior control is employed, top-performer rewards are positively associated with perceived top-performer customer-relationship-building competence only when overall organizational justice is high. By contrast, when organizational justice is low and behavior control is employed, top-performer rewards give rise to perceived favoritism. Moreover, in large sales units, top-performer rewards are much less likely associated with perceived favoritism when organizational justice is high. It is through the perceived top-performer customer-relationship-building competence and perceived favoritism that top-performer rewards have a double-edged sword effect on fellow salespeople's selling skills, opportunism, and sales performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Forecasting the influence of customer-related micro-events on employees’ emotional,attitudinal and physiological responses

The affective events theory proposes that daily events elicit affective reactions on workers that, over time, influence affective and judgement-driven behaviours. It also suggests that this relation is moderated by dispositions and appraisals. On the other hand, the social interaction model argues that the impact of emotions is moderated by how individuals regulate them. This study aimed to: (1) investigate what customer-related events elicit affect; (2) test the moderating role of workers’ susceptibility for emotional contagion on the relation events-affect; and (3) explore whether affective states influence cardiovascular efficiency and turnover intentions. We conducted a longitudinal study in an inbound call centre by following 48 workers during 10 working days, gathering 267 events and 1,232 affective reactions. We combined diaries, questionnaires and physiological data. Data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. We extracted 13 event categories and, using artificial neural networks (ANN), found support for the moderating role of emotional contagion. At daily level, fear was the stronger predictor of cardiovascular efficiency, whereas anger was the stronger predictor of turnover. ANN models showed satisfactory predictive values (R²_Turnover = .51, p < .01; R²_{Cardiovascular efficiency} = .32, p < .01). The importance of results for theory and practice is discussed.     

数字化交互平台产品的客户体验旅程与投入关系

基于利益相关者营销、自反与身份演化、螺旋等理论,系统探讨企业如何在消费旅程中针对数字化交互平台(DIP)产品提供定制和丰富的客户体验以增加客户投入,进而与其他参与者共同创造价值。分别针对消费旅程中DIP产品参与者价值共创的连续性,DIP产品的客户体验旅程的结构与生成,DIP产品的客户体验旅程双元的张力及调和机理,DIP产品的客户投入的结构、管理与有效性,DIP产品的客户体验旅程和客户投入的相互关系等问题进行深入研究,为企业提出相应的实务性策略和建议。