Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Personal Values in the Relationship between Salesperson Personality Traits and Sales Performance

Abstract

In the personal sales process, salespeople's technical competence and their personal characteristics and values ​​are reflected in their sales performance as a trigger of their interactions with customers. Although Personality and personal values ​​can be used interchangeably, they are interactive but independent structures and play a significant role in the personal selling process. This study focuses on determining the mediating role of values ​​between personality and performance as a reflection of this role. The article examines both direct and intermediary contextual relationships on the sales performance of structures. As a result of the analysis performed with the PLS method, personality and values ​​were formally measured (formative) sales performance reflectively. Hypothesis tests for the interaction mentioned above reveal that the relationships between both are positive and significant.

Keywords

• personality traits
• values
• sales performance
• pls
• structural equation

Satış Elemanlarının Kişilik Özellikleri ve Satış Performansı İlişkisinde Kişisel Değerlerin Aracı Etkisinin Analizi

Abstract

Kişisel satış sürecinde satış elemanlarının teknik yeterliliği ile birlikte sahip oldukları kişilik özellikleri ve değerler, müşteri ile olan etkileşimlerinin bir tetikleyicisi olarak satış performanslarına yansımaktadır. Kişilik ve değerler birbirlerinin yerine geçen kavramlar olarak kullanılagelse de, etkileşimli ama bağımsız yapılardır ve kişisel satış sürecinde ciddi bir öneme sahiptirler. Mevcut makale söz konusu önemin bir yansıması olarak değerlerin kişilik ve performans arasında aracılık rolünü belirlemeye odaklanmıştır. Makale yapıların satış performansı üzerinde hem doğrudan hem de aracı bağlamlı ilişkileri incelemektedir. PLS yöntemi ile gerçekleştirilen analiz neticesinde kişilik ve değerler formatif (biçimlendirici) satış performansı ise reflektif olarak ölçülmüştür. Yukarıda belirtilen etkileşime yönelik hipotez testleri, aradaki ilişkilerin pozitif ve anlamlı olduğu sonucunu ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• Kişilik Özellikleri
• Değerler
• Satış Performansı
• PLS
• Yapısal Eşitlik

References

1. Abdullah, I., Omar, R., & Rashid, Y. (2013). Effect of personality on organizational commitment and employees’ performance: Empirical evidence from banking sector of Pakistan. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 18(6), 759-766.
2. Allport, G. W., & Odbert H. S., (1936). Trait-names: A psycho-lexical study, Psychological Monographs, 47(1), i
3. Anglim, J., Sojo, V., Ashford, L. J., Newman, A., & Marty, A. (2019). Predicting employee attitudes to workplace diversity from personality, values, and cognitive ability. Journal of Research in Personality, 83, 103865.
4. Anselmi, K., & Zemanek, J. E. (1997). Relationship selling: How personal characteristics of salespeople affect buyer satisfaction. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12(2), 539.
5. Ardiansah, M. N., Chariri, A., & Januarti, I. (2019). Empirical study on customer perception of e-commerce: Mediating effect of electronic payment security. Jurnal Dinamika Akuntansi, 11(2), 122-131.
6. Asendorpf, J. B., & Wilpers, S. (1998). Personality effects on social relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1531–1544.
7. Awadh, A. M., & Wan Ismail, W. (2012). The impact of personality traits and employee work-related attitudes on employee performance with the moderating effect of organizational culture: the case of Saudi Arabia. Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 1(10), 108-127.
8. Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The big five personality dimensions and job performance: a meta‐analysis. Personnel psychology, 44(1), 1-26.

9. Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1993). Autonomy as a moderator of the relationships between the big five personality dimensions and job performance. Journal of applied Psychology, 78(1), 111.
10. Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Judge, T. A. (2001). Personality and performance at the beginning of the new millennium: What do we know and where do we go next?. International Journal of Selection and assessment, 9(1‐2), 9-30.
11. Bartkus, K. R., Peterson, M. F., & Bellenger, D. N. (1989). Type A behavior, experience, and salesperson performance. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 9(2), 11-18.
12. Behrman, D. N., & Perreault Jr, W. D. (1982). Measuring the performance of industrial salespersons. Journal of Business Research, 10(3), 355-370.
13. Bergeman, C. S., Chipuer, H. M., Plomin, R., Pedersen, N. L., McClearn, G. E., Nesselroade, J. R., Costa, P. T. Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1993). Genetic and environmental effects on Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness: an adoption/twin study. Journal of Personality, 61, 159–179.
14. Bilsky, W., & Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Values and personality. European journal of personality, 8(3), 163-181.
15. Brown, B. N. (2004). The Apprentice: The portrayal on influences that affect sales performance (Doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University).
16. Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern methods for business research, 295(2), 295-336.
17. Choi, Y., & Lee, D. (2014). Psychological capital, big five traits, and employee outcomes. Journal of Managerial Psychology.
18. Churchill Jr, G. A., Ford, N. M., Hartley, S. W., & Walker Jr, O. C. (1985). The determinants of salesperson performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of marketing research, 22(2), 103-118.
19. Cialdini, R.B., 1984. Influence: how and why people agree to things. New York: Quill
20. Coelho, F., & Sousa, C. (2011). From goal orientations to employee creativity and performance: evidence from frontline service employees. Grupo de Estudos Monetários e Financeiros, 8, 1-57.
21. Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
22. Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis For The Behavioral Sciences. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988.
23. Coltman, T., Devinney, T. M., Midgley, D. F., & Venaik, S. (2008). Formative versus reflective measurement models: Two applications of formative measurement. Journal of Business Research, 61(12), 1250-1262.
24. Costa, P. T. Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1998). Trait theories of personality. In D. F. Barone, M. Hersen, & V. B. Van Hasselt (Eds.), Advanced personality (pp. 103–121). New York: Plenum Press.
25. Costa, P. T. Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (2001). A theoretical context for adult temperament. In T. D. Wachs, & G. A. Kohnstamm (Eds.), Temperament in context (pp. 1–21). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
26. Cvetkoska, V., & Iliev, F. (2016, September). Criteria of Successful Career in Sales: Sales Managers Perspective. In 2016 ENTRENOVA Conference Proceedings.
27. Demirutku, K., & Sümer, N. (2010). Temel değerlerin ölçümü: Portre değerler anketinin Türkçe uyarlaması. Türk Psikoloji Yazıları, 13(25), 17-25.
28. Diamantopoulos, A., Riefler, P., & Roth, K. P. (2008). Advancing formative measurement models. Journal of business research, 61(12), 1203-1218.
29. Dijkstra, M. T., van Dierendonck, D., Evers, A., & De Dreu, C. K. (2005). Conflict and well‐being at work: The moderating role of personality. Journal of Managerial Psychology.
30. Dijkstra, T. K., & Henseler, J. (2015). Consistent and asymptotically normal PLS estimators for linear structural equations. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 81(1), 10-23.
31. Dijkstra, T. K., & Henseler, J. (2015). Consistent partial least squares path modelling. MIS Quarterly, 39(2), 297-316.
32. Dirilen‐Gümüş, Ö., Cross, S. E., & Dönmez, A. (2012). Who voted for whom? Comparing supporters of O bama and M c C ain on value types and personality traits. Journal of applied social psychology, 42(12), 2879-2900.
33. Dubinsky, A. J., Kotabe, M., Lim, C. U., & Wagner, W. (1997). The impact of values on salespeople's job responses: A cross-national investigation. Journal of Business Research, 39(3), 195-208.
34. Egan, T. M. (2005). Creativity in the context of team diversity: Team leader perspectives. Advances in developing human resources, 7(2), 207-225.
35. Franke, G. R., & Park, J. E. (2006). Salesperson adaptive selling behavior and customer orientation: a meta-analysis. Journal of marketing Research, 43(4), 693-702.
36. Fried, E. I. (2017). What are psychological constructs? On the nature and statistical modelling of emotions, intelligence, personality traits and mental disorders. Health psychology review, 11(2), 130-134.
37. Fornell, C., & Cha, J. (1994). Partial least squares. Advanced methods of marketing research, 407, 52-78.
38. Furnham, A., Petrides, K. V., Tsaousis, I., Pappas, K., & Garrod, D. (2005). A cross-cultural investigation into the relationships between personality traits and work values. The Journal of Psychology, 139(1), 5-32.
39. Furnham, A., & Fudge, C. (2008). The five factor model of personality and sales performance. Journal of Individual Differences, 29(1), 11-16.
40. Gammoh, B. S., Mallin, M. L., & Pullins, E. B. (2014). The impact of salesperson-brand personality congruence on salesperson brand identification, motivation and performance outcomes. Journal of Product & Brand Management. Garson GD. Partial Least Squares: Regression & Structural Equation Models. 2016 Ed. Asheboro: Statistical Associates Publishers; 2016. 1–262 P.
41. Gim, G. C., Desa, N. M., & Ramayah, T. (2015). Competitive psychological climate and turnover intention with the mediating role of affective commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, 658-665.
42. Gelissen, J., & de Graaf, P. M. (2006). Personality, social background, and occupational career success. Social Science Research, 35(3), 702-726.
43. Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative" description of personality": the big-five factor structure. Journal of personality and social psychology, 59(6), 1216.
44. Goff, B. G., Boles, J. S., Bellenger, D. N., & Stojack, C. (1997). The influence of salesperson selling behaviors on customer satisfaction with products. Journal of retailing, 73(2), 171-183.
45. Guilford, J. P. (1959). Personality, McGraw-Hill, New York.
46. Gümüş, Ö. Y., & Dönmez, A. T. D. (2009). Kültür, değerler, kişilik ve siyasal ideoloji arasındaki ilişkiler: Kültürlerarası bir karşılaştırma (Türkiye-ABD) (Doctoral dissertation, Ankara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Psikoloji (Sosyal Psikoloji) Anabilim Dalı).
47. Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152.
48. Hair, J. F., Henseler, J., Dijkstra, T. K., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). Common beliefs and reality about partial least squares: comments on Rönkkö and Evermann.
49. Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage publications.
50. Hair Jr, J. F., Howard, M. C., & Nitzl, C. (2020). Assessing measurement model quality in PLS-SEM using confirmatory composite analysis. Journal of Business Research, 109, 101-110.
51. Hajhoseiny, S., Fathi, Z., & Shafiei, H. (2019). Are those with darker personality traits more willing to corrupt when they feel anxious?. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 12(3).
52. Henseler, J., Dijkstra, T. K., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C.M.,Diamantopoulos,A.,Straub,D.W.,Ketchen, D. J., Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., & Calantone, R.J. 2014.
53. Henseler, J. (2017). Partial least squares path modeling. In Advanced methods for modeling markets (pp. 361-381). Springer, Cham.
54. Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial management & data systems.
55. Helmy, I., & Wiwoho, G. (2020). The link between individual factors and salesperson performance in microfinance institutions. Management Science Letters, 10(14), 3387-3394.
56. Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial management & data systems.
57. Herjanto H., Franklin D., (2019). Investigating salesperson performance factors: A systematic review of the literature on the characteristics of effective salespersons, Australasian Marketing Journal, pp. 104-112.
58. Herringer, L. G. (1998). Relating values and personality traits. Psychological Reports, 83(3), 953-954.
59. Howell, R. D., Breivik, E., & Wilcox, J. B. (2007). Reconsidering formative measurement. Psychological methods, 12(2), 205.
60. Hurtz, G. M., & Donovan, J. J. (2000). Personality and job performance: The Big Five revisited. Journal of applied psychology, 85(6), 869.
61. Jang, K. L., McCrae, R. R., Angleitner, A., Rieman, R., & Livesley, W. J. (1998). Heritability of facet-level traits in a cross-cultural twin sample: support for a hierarchical model of personality. Journal of Personality traits and Social Psychology, 74, 1556–1565.
62. Jaramillo, F., & Marshall, G. W. (2004). Critical success factors in the personal selling process: An empirical investigation of Ecuadorian salespeople in the banking industry. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
63. Jaramillo, F., Locander, W. B., Spector, P. E., & Harris, E. G. (2007). Getting the job done: The moderating role of initiative on the relationship between intrinsic motivation and adaptive selling. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 27(1), 59-74.
64. Kazmi, S. H. A. Impact of Destination Service Quality on Revisit Intention in Tourism Syed Hasnain Alam Kazmi*, Mohsin Raza**, Junaid Ahmed*** Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Karachi, Pakistan.* DHA Suffa University, Pakistan.
65. Kethüda, Ö., & Bilgin, Y. (2017). Satış elemanlarının satış ve müşteri yönlülüklerinin maaş şekline ve satış eğitimine göre değerlendirilmesi. Uluslararası Yönetim İktisat ve İşletme Dergisi, 13(13), 487-497.
66. Klesel, M., Schuberth, F., Henseler, J., & Niehaves, B. (2019). A test for multigroup comparison using partial least squares path modeling. Internet research.
67. Koşar, A. (2020). Satış Elemanlarının Performansının Eysenck’in Kişilik Tipleri Sınıflamasına Göre İncelenmesi. Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 18(02), 51-63.
68. Lilienfeld, S. O., Watts, A. L., Murphy, B., Costello, T. H., Bowes, S. M., Smith, S. F., ... & Tabb, K. (2019). Personality disorders as emergent interpersonal syndromes: Psychopathic personality as a case example. Journal of personality disorders, 33(5), 577-622.
69. Lilford, N., Vigar-Ellis, D., & Nel, D. (2014). Big Five personality traits and financial salesperson performance: An application of Chernoff faces. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 19(2), 146-154.
70. Loveland, J. M., Lounsbury, J. W., Park, S. H., & Jackson, D. W. (2015). Are salespeople born or made? Biology, personality, and the career satisfaction of salespeople. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
71. Madran, C., & Akdoğan, T. (2010). SATICILARIN KİŞİLİKLERİ İLE PERFORMANSLARININ İLİŞKİSİ; BEŞ FAKTÖR MODELİNE GÖRE BİR ANALİZ. Journal of the Cukurova University Institute of Social Sciences, 19(1).
72. Mallalieu, L. (2006). Consumer perception of salesperson influence strategies: an examination of the influence of consumer goals. Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 5(3), 257-268.
73. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. Jr. (1990). Personality in adulthood. New York: Guilford Press.
74. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. Jr. (1996). Toward a new generation of personality theories: theoretical contexts for the five-factor model. In J. S. Wiggins (Ed.), The five factor model of personality (pp. 51–87). New York: The Guilford Press.
75. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. Jr. (1999). A five-factor theory of personality. In L. A. Pervin, & O. P. John (Eds.),Handbook of personality: theory and research (2nd ed.) (pp. 139–153). New York: Guilford Press
76. McCrae, R. R., Costa, P. T. Jr., Ostendorf, F., Angleitner, A., Hrebickova, M., Avia, M. D., Sanz, J., Sanches-Bernardos, M. L., Kusdil, M. E., Woodfield, R., Saunders, P. R., & Smith, P. B. (2000). Nature over nurture: temperament, personality, and life span development. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(1), 173–186.
77. Msweli-Mbanga P., Lin C.T., (2003). Redefining performance of direct sales people, South African Journal of Business Management, Vol 34 (3), 29-40.
78. Myszkowski, N., Storme, M., & Tavani, J. L. (2019). Are reflective models appropriate for very short scales? Proofs of concept of formative models using the Ten‐Item Personality Inventory. Journal of personality, 87(2), 363-372.
79. Ng, T. W., & Feldman, D. C. (2012). A comparison of self-ratings and non-self-report measures of employee creativity. Human Relations, 65(8), 1021-1047.
80. Obeid, M., Salleh, Z., & Nor, M. N. M. (2017). The mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between personality traits and premature sign-off. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 21(2), 1-17.
81. Olalekan, A.U. (2009). The Behavior Of Salespersons And Sales Performance In Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation. IFE Psychol.: Int. J. 17 (2), 220-243.
82. Olver, J. M., & Mooradian, T. A. (2003). Personality traits and personal values: A conceptual and empirical integration. Personality and individual differences, 35(1), 109-125.
83. Organ, D. W., & Lingl, A. (1995). Personality, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior. The journal of social psychology, 135(3), 339-350.
84. Parks, L., & Guay, R. P. (2009). Personality, values, and motivation. Personality and individual differences, 47(7), 675-684.
85. Parks-Leduc, L., Feldman, G., & Bardi, A. (2015). Personality traits and personal values: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(1), 3-29.
86. Rammstedt Beatrice, John O. P., “Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German”, Journal of Research in Personality 41 (2007), pp. 203–212.
87. Riemann, R., Angleitner, A., & Strelau, J. (1997). Genetic and environmental influences on personality: a study of twins reared together using the self-and-peer report NEO-FFI scales. Journal of Personality, 65, 449–475.
88. Ringle, C. M., Da Silva, D., & de Souza Bido, D. (2014). Modelagem de equações estruturais com utilização do SmartPLS. Revista Brasileira de Marketing, 13(2), 56-73.
89. Roccas, S., Sagiv, L., Schwartz, S. H., & Knafo, A. (2002). The big five personality factors and personal values. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 28(6), 789-801.
90. Sarstedt, M., Henseler, J., & Ringle, C. M. (2011). Multigroup analysis in partial least squares (PLS) path modeling: Alternative methods and empirical results. In Measurement and research methods in international marketing. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
91. Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., Smith, D., Reams, R., & Hair Jr, J. F. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): A useful tool for family business researchers. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5(1), 105-115.
92. Schwartz, S. H. (2003). A proposal for measuring value orientations across nations. Questionnaire package of the european social survey, 259(290), 261.
93. Schwartz, S. H. (2016). Basic individual values: Sources and consequences. Handbook of value: Perspectives from economics, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and sociology, 63-84.
94. Schwepker Charles H., Ingram T. N. (1996), “Improving Sales Performance Through Ethics The Relationship Between Salesperson Moral Judgment and Job Performance”, Journal of Business Ethics Vol. 15, 1996, pp. 1151-1160.
95. Seevers, M. T., Skinner, S. J., & Kelley, S. W. (2007). A social network perspective on sales force ethics. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 27(4), 341-353.
96. Spiro, R. L., & Weitz, B. A. (1990). Adaptive selling: Conceptualization, measurement, and nomological validity. Journal of marketing Research, 27(1), 61-69.
97. Sujan, H., Weitz, B. A., & Kumar, N. (1994). Learning orientation, working smart, and effective selling. Journal of marketing, 58(3), 39-52.
98. Swenson, M. J., & Herche, J. (1994). Social values and salesperson performance: an empirical examination. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(3), 283-289.
99. Tehseen, S., Sajilan, S., Gadar, K., & Ramayah, T. (2017). Assessing cultural orientation as a reflective-formative second order construct-a recent PLS-SEM approach. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 6(2), 38.
100. Thien, L. M., Thurasamy, R., & Abd Razak, N. (2014). Specifying and assessing a formative measure for Hofstede’s cultural values: a Malaysian study. Quality & Quantity, 48(6), 3327-3342.
101. Tuncer, B. (2019). Satış Temsilcilerinin Girişimci Kişilik Özelliklerinin Kuşak Farklılıklarına Göre İncelenmesi: Muğla İli Örneği. Girişimcilik İnovasyon ve Pazarlama Araştırmaları Dergisi, 3(5), 14-29.
102. Vinchur, A. J., Schippmann, J. S., Switzer III, F. S., & Roth, P. L. (1998). A meta-analytic review of predictors of job performance for salespeople. Journal of applied psychology, 83(4), 586.
103. Weitz, B. A., & Bradford, K. D. Stephen B. Castleberry, and John F. Tanner, Jr.(2009), Selling: Building Partnerships. Journal title.
104. Williams, K. C., & Spiro, R. L. (1985). Communication style in the salesperson-customer dyad. Journal of marketing Research, 22(4), 434-442.
105. Wolfradt, U., & Dalbert, C. (2003). Personality, values and belief in a just world. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(8), 1911-1918.
106. Young, M. (2006). The effect of values, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy on ethical decision-making.
107. Zuckerman, M. (1998). Psychobiological theories of personality. In D. F. Barone, M. Hersen, & V. B. Van Hasselt (Eds.), Advanced personality (pp. 123–154). New York: Plenum Press.