Formal salesforce controls and service-sales ambidexterity: the moderating role of salespeople's grit

Abstract

PurposeThe study examines the effects of behavior-based and outcome-based control systems on service-sales ambidexterity, role conflict, emotional exhaustion and job performance in salespeople.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from 704 salespeople in Ghana. The proposed hypotheses are tested through the structural equations modeling technique.FindingsThe study finds that both behavior-based and outcome-based controls have positive and significant effects on service-sales ambidexterity in salespeople. Similarly, the study discovers that service-sales ambidexterity has a positive and significant impact on both role conflict and emotional exhaustion in salespeople. The study also finds that role conflict and emotional exhaustion both have a negative impact on job performance. Finally, the study finds that salespeople's grit moderates the negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and job performance.Practical implicationsThe results imply that while salespeople's service-sales ambidexterity may be beneficial to their individual and firm performance, it may also lead to role conflict and emotional exhaustion.Originality/valueThe current study demonstrates how control mechanisms can lead to service-sales ambidexterity in salespeople and how this can lead to role conflict and emotional exhaustion.

The mediating role of employee ambidexterity and work engagement for talent management and medical representatives’ performance in Indonesian pharmaceutical companies

“…According to earlier research, factors such as employee ambidexterity (Amenuvor et al, 2023), work engagement (Asghar et al, 2020), and talent management (Graham et al, 2023) can boost sales success. These elements all interact and influence one another in intricate ways.…”