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Contrary to the intuition that salespeople gravitate toward big-whale sales opportunities, in reality they often avoid them. To study this phenomenon, the authors integrate contingent decision-making and conservation-of-resources theories to develop and test a framework of salespeople's decision making when prospecting. Study 1 reveals that the performance impact of salesperson initial judgment of opportunity magnitude follows an inverted U shape, indicating that salespeople's avoidance of large opportunities results from rational benefit–cost analyses due to their conservation of resources. Interestingly, salespeople use a calibration decision-making strategy (i.e., calculating expected benefits by accounting for conversion uncertainty) at the portfolio rather than prospect level, in solution- but not product-selling contexts. Ignoring this calibration effect can lead to under- or overestimation of conversion rates of up to 100%. Study 2 shows that salespeople's past performance success and experience bias this calibration. Simulations reveal that when high performers or inexperienced salespeople believe their portfolio magnitude is large and conversion uncertainty low, they are less concerned about resource conservation and improve their quota attainment by 50%. Study 3 confirms the theoretical mechanism. These findings shed new lights on salespeople's decision making and suggest ways for sales professionals to improve effectiveness when prospecting.

Supervisory styles Are Key predictors of graduate students’ innovation performance (GSIP), but the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship require further exploration. Based on the job demands-resources model and conservation of resources theory, this study analyzed the influence of supervisory styles on GSIP, including the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) and the moderating role of harmonious academic passion (HAP). Questionnaires were completed by 400 graduate students from a Chinese university. The results indicated that (1) both supportive and directive supervisory styles (SSS and DSS) were positively related To GSIP, (2) PsyCap fully mediated the relationship between SSS and GSIP, and (3) HAP significantly moderated the effect of DSS but exhibited no moderating influence on the effect of SSS. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of why, how and when supervisory styles influence GSIP. Implications for both theory and practice as well as the limitations of this research are discussed.