Sales Management’s Influence on Employment and Training in Developing an Ethical Sales Force

Critical Role of Leadership on Ethical Climate and Salesperson Behaviors

“…Ultimately, company leaders are interested in understanding the role they play in creating a workplace environment characterized by high levels of satisfaction and performance -without compromising ethical guidelines. Our findings also have important implications for academics interested in understanding whether company leaders who are considerate and supportive to employees (Ingram et al, 2007) or those who set the boundaries about how ethical issues should be addressed (Schwepker and Good, 2007) are more effective in creating an ethical climate.…”

“…Recently, Ingram et al (2007) conceptualized a model of transformational leadership style and control systems to assess the impact on ethical climate. Schwepker and Good's (2007) study showed that sales manager's ethical attitude influence hiring and training decisions which in turn impacts salesperson's ethical behavior. There have been calls to research the role of top leadership in the organizations with a view to provide a 'top-down' perspective (e.g., Ferrell et al, 2007;Schwepker and Good, 2007 defining salesperson's ethics perceptions and actions.…”

“…Schwepker and Good's (2007) study showed that sales manager's ethical attitude influence hiring and training decisions which in turn impacts salesperson's ethical behavior. There have been calls to research the role of top leadership in the organizations with a view to provide a 'top-down' perspective (e.g., Ferrell et al, 2007;Schwepker and Good, 2007 defining salesperson's ethics perceptions and actions. For instance, the domino-effect notion suggests that leadership cascades from higher to lower levels on the firm's hierarchy (Bass et al, 1987).…”

Impact of Brand Communication on Customer Brand Loyalty: A Study on Mobile Service Providers

“…Schwepker and Good (2007b) found that when organization's climate is ethical, sales managers are more likely to have positive attitudes about ethics. Ethical climate has also been positively linked with salesforce outcomes which can have an influence on ethical behaviour.…”

“…Ethical climate is a broad term as it includes employee perceptions of ethical codes of conduct, ethical policies, their enforcement and punishment for unethical behavior (Schwepker and Good, 2007b). The study on 240 sales managers by Schwepker Jr. and Good (2004a) revealed that company's ethical climate has positive influence on salesforce customer orientation.…”