In a series of three studies, a four-level hierarchical model of personality was employed to identify the antecedents and three validating criteria of a newly developed trait labeled job resourcefulness (JR). JR is defined as an enduring disposition to garner scarce resources and overcome obstacles in pursuit of job-related goals. Across three service contexts, JR was shown to predict customer orientation, self-rated performance, and supervisor-rated performance. The results also revealed that the hierarchical model accounted for more variance in performance ratings than one version of the 5-Factor Model of personality. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for selecting high-performing service employees.

Several scholars have noted the importance of relationship marketing and the critical role that salesperson knowledge plays in the formation of buyer-seller relationships. However, research on salesperson learning motivations has been relatively scarce compared with research on firm-level learning orientations. One promising stream of research in this area is salesperson goal orientation. Drawing from previous work in control theory, the authors extend previous research in this area by proposing relationships between personality influencers, goal orientations, customer/selling orientation, and overall work satisfaction. Their hypotheses are tested using data obtained from a sample of 190 real estate agents. The results provide support for their hypothesized model. Specifically, learning orientation is shown to positively influence customer orientation, while performance orientation is shown to positively influence selling orientation.

No abstract

No abstract