Salesperson-Manager Role-Relationship and Its Impact on Salesperson Performance: A Relational Identity Approach

This research focuses on the salesperson-manager relational identification and the proposed framework permits a more clear understanding of what the relationship with the manager means to individual salespeople. A hypothesized model is developed on the foundation provided by recent research on relational identity (Sluss and Ashforth 2007), along with relational identification, predicated on the role-relationship between two individuals in a workplace. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 107 salespeople and their respective sales managers within a business-to-business context. A hierarchical regression method was used to analyze the data. Findings demonstrate that strong relational identification with managers can enhance the potential of salespeople and stimulate their motivation to work hard. The negative interactive effect of psychological identification on the relationship between salesperson-manager relational identification and salesperson effort also offers a new learning opportunity for managers.