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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.
Keywords: salesperson motivation; goal orientations; personality; customer orientation
Building and maintaining customer relationships is viewed as critical to the long-term success of the firm. Short-term, transaction-based selling is rapidly being replaced by relationship selling (Bauer, Baunchalk, Ingram, and LaForge 1998), and customers are demanding more from salespeople (Rackham and DeVincentis 1999). Several scholars have noted the importance of relationship marketing (e.g., Reinartz and Kumar 2003) and the role that salespeople play in the formation of customer relationships (e.g., Speier and Venkatesh 2002). Relationship marketing requires that sellers become knowledgeable about customer needs and requirements (Frankwick, Porter, and Crosby 2001). Because salespeople represent the primary point of customer contact for the firm, they are in an excellent position to learn about ever-changing customer needs (Chonko, Dubinsky, Jones, and Roberts 2003).
Although organizations ultimately learn through their individual members (Argyris and Schön 1978), research regarding individual-level learning and motivational processes in business contexts has been scarce. Discussing the imbalance of macro (i.e., firm-level) learning versus micro (i.e., individual-level) learning theory, Hurley (2002) recently commented that "attempts at building a learning organization should start with an understanding of how adults learn and develop rather than elaborate ideas about competitive strategy, market research, and information dissemination" (p. 271). Recent developments in the goal orientation literature offer much to the study of individual learning. This is especially true in the sales literature, where progress has been made in relating learning and performance goal orientations to sales force behavior. This research holds promise in developing strategies...