Managing Salesperson Motivation in a Territory Realignment |
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| Authors: | Kirk Smith Eli Jones Edward Blair |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Kirk Smith (Ph.D., University of Houston) is an Associate Professor of Marketing and the Department Chair at Boise State University. Before joining academia, he spent eight years in industrial sales and sales management. His research interests are primarily in the area of personal selling, sales management, and the use of technology to facilitate sales relationships.;2. Eli Jones (Ph.D., Texas A&3. M University) is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and the Director of Curriculum and Research in the Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston. He has published in the Journal of Personal Selling &4. Sales Management and Marketing Education Review, as well as in numerous regional and national conference proceedings. Before entering academia, he worked in sales and sales management for three Fortune 100 consumer products manufacturers.;5. Edward Blair (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is a Professor of Marketing and the Department Chair at the University of Houston. He has published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, and other journals. |
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| Abstract: | Although typically undertaken to improve aggregate sales force performance, the realignment of sales territories can be quite de-motivational to individual salespersons. Findings of two studies reported here demonstrate that salesperson motivation and performance can be positively influenced by the managerial actions taken during the implementation phase of a territory realignment. Actions based on expectancy theory were found to be more effective for salespeople whose territory realignment increased sales potential, and justice-based actions were more effective for salespersons experiencing a reduction in territory potential. |
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