Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:08:33.111Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relationships among perceptions of organizational politics (POPs), work motivation and salesperson performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2015

Wen-Wei Yen
Wen-Wei Yen*
Affiliation:
Chungyu Institute of Technology, Keelung, Taiwan
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Salespersons differ from office workers in office time, work pressure and salary structure, thus their perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) and work motivations may also differ. Based on literature review and the expectancy theory of motivation, this study proposes three hypotheses: (1) POPs is positively related to salesperson performance, (2) POPs is positively related to salesperson work motivation and (3) there is mediator effect for work motivation in the relationship between POPs and salesperson performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted on four representative companies from the list of product manufacturers and service providers in Taiwan. The POPs and work motivation questions were answered by the salespersons, whereas the salespersons’ performance questions were assessed by the sales managers. A total of 850 questionnaires were distributed with 510 valid responses returned for hypotheses testing. The results support the three hypotheses, suggesting POPs can lead to improved salesperson performance, and this effect is mediated through work motivation. This new finding disagrees with the orthodox finding within the literature, which states that POPs and job performance for office workers are negatively correlated. The inconsistency may be ascribed to different work motivations between two groups of organizational members.

Keywords

expectancy theory of motivationperceptions of organizational politics (POPs)salesperson performancework motivation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , March 2015 , pp. 203 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aime, F., Meyer, C. J., & Humphrey, S. E. (2010). Legitimacy of group rewards: Analyzing legitimacy as a condition for the effectiveness of group incentive designs. Journal of Business Research, 63, 60–66.Google Scholar
Anari, N. N. (2012). Teachers’ emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Journal of Workplace Learning, 24(4), 256–269.Google Scholar
Babakus, E., Cravens, D. E., Grant, K., Ingram, T. N., & LaForge, R. W. (1996). Investigating the relationships among sales management control, sales territory design, salesperson performance, and sales organization effectiveness. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13, 345–363.Google Scholar
Baldauf, A., & Cravens, D. W. (2002). The effect of moderators on the salesperson behavior performance and salesperson outcome performance and sales organization effectiveness relationships. European Journal of Marketing, 36, 1367–1388.Google Scholar
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.Google Scholar
Beersma, B., Hollenbeck, J. R., Humphrey, S. E., Moon, H., Conlon, D. E., & Ilgen, D. R. (2003). Cooperation, competition, and team performance: Towards a contingency approach. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 572–590.Google Scholar
Brown, M., & Heywood, J. S. (2002). (Eds.) Paying for performance: An international comparison. New York: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. P., & Pritchard, R. D. (1976). Motivation theory in industrial and organizational psychology. In M. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 63–130). Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Chen, Y. Y., & Fang, W. (2008). The moderating effect of impression: Management on the organizational politics-performance relationship. Journal of Business Ethics, 79, 263–277.Google Scholar
Churchill, G. A., Ford, N. M., Hartley, S. W., & Walker, O. C. (1985). The determinants of salesperson performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 22, 103–118.Google Scholar
Cohen, A., & Liu, Y. (2011). Relationships between in-role performance and individual values, commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior among Israeli teachers. International Journal of Psychology, 46(4), 271–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferris, K. R. (1977). A test of the expectancy theory as motivation in an accounting environment. The Accounting Review, 52(3), 605–614.Google Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Adams, G., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., & Ammeter, A. P. (2002). Perceptions of organizational politics: Theory and research directions. In F. J. Yammarino & F. Dansereau (Eds.), Research in multi-level issues: Volume 1. The many faces of multi-level, issues (pp. 179–254). Oxford, England: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Frink, D. D., Galang, M. C., Zhou, J., Kacmar, M. K., & Howard, J. L. (1996). Perceptions of organizational politics: Prediction, stress-related implications, and outcomes. Human Relations, 49, 233–266.Google Scholar
Ferris, G. R., & Kacmar, K. M. (1992). Perceptions of organizational politics. Journal of Management, 18, 93–116.Google Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Russ, G. S., & Fandt, P. M. (1989). Politics in organizations. Hillsdale, Lawrence, NJ: Elbaum.Google Scholar
Ferris, G. R., & Treadway, D. C. (2012). (Eds.) Politics in organizations: Theories and research considerations. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geiger, M. A., & Cooper, E. A. (1996). Using expectancy theory to assess student motivation. Issues in Accounting Education, 11(1), 113–129.Google Scholar
Greenberg, J., & Baron, R. A. (1997). Behavior in organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Harris, K. J., & Kacmar, K. M. (2005). Easing the strain: The buffer role of supervisors in the perceptions of politics-strain relationship. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 337–354.Google Scholar
Harris, R. B., Harris, K. J., & Harvey, P. (2007). A test of competing models of the relationships among perceptions of organizational politics, perceived organizational support, and individual outcomes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 147, 631–655.Google Scholar
Harrison, D. A., & Humphrey, S. E. (2010). Designing for diversity or diversity for design? Tasks, interdependence, and within-unit differences at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 328–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heneman, H. G., & Schwab, E. P. (1972). Evaluation of research on expectancy predictions of employee performance. Psychological Bulletin, 78, 1–9.Google Scholar
Homan, A. C., Hollenbeck, J. R., Humphrey, S. E., van Knippenberg, D., Ilgen, D. R., & van Kleef, G. A. (2008). Facing differences with an open mind: Openness to experience, salience of intra-group differences, and performance of diverse work groups. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 1204–1222.Google Scholar
Humphrey, S. E., Hollenbeck, J. R., Meyer, C. J., & Ilgen, D. R. (2007). Trait configurations in self-managed teams: A conceptual examination of the use of seeding to maximize and minimize trait variance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 885–892.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Humphrey, S. E., Moon, H., Conlon, D. E., & Hoffman, D. A. (2004). Decision making and behavioral fluidity: How focus on completion and emphasis on safety changes over the course of projects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 93, 14–27.Google Scholar
Humphrey, S. E., Morgeson, F. P., & Mannor, M. J. (2009). Developing a theory of the strategic core of teams: A role composition model of team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 48–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Humphrey, S. E., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A meta-analytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1332–1356.Google Scholar
Hochwarter, W. A., Kacmar, C., Perrewé, P. L., & Johnson, D. (2003). Perceived organizational support as a mediator of the relationship between politics perceptions and work outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 438–456.Google Scholar
Jamal, M. (1997). Job stress, satisfaction and mental health: An empirical examination of self employed and non-self employed Canadians. Journal of Small Business Management, 35(4), 48–57.Google Scholar
Jensen, J. M., Conlon, D. E., Humphrey, S. E., & Moon, H. (2011). The consequences of completion: How level of completion influences information concealment by decision makers. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41, 401–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, M. D., Hollenbeck, J. R., Humphrey, S. E., Ilgen, D. R., Jundt, D. K., & Meyer, C. J. (2006). Cutthroat cooperation: Asymmetrical adaptation of team reward structures. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 103–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, W. J., & Kim, K. (1994). Performance, attribution, and expectancy linkages in personal selling. Journal of Marketing, 58, 68–81.Google Scholar
Kacmar, K. M., Bozeman, D. P., Carlson, D. S., & Anthony, W. P. (1999). An examination of the perceptions of organizational politics model: Replication and extension. Human Relations, 52, 383–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kacmar, K. M., & Carlson, D. S. (1997). Further validation of the perceptions of politics scales (POPS): A multiple sample investigation. Journal of Management, 23, 627–658.Google Scholar
Kunz, A. H., & Pfaff, D. (2002). Agency theory, performance evaluation and hypothetical construct of intrinsic motivation. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 27(2), 275–295.Google Scholar
Kuvaas, B. (2006). Work performance, affective commitment, and work motivation: The roles of pay administration and pay level. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 27(2), 365–385.Google Scholar
Lam, S. Y. W., & Tam, C. H. W. (2003). Motivation of survey employees in construction projects. Journal of Geospatial Engineering, 5(1), 61–66.Google Scholar
Lawler, E. (1971). Pay and organization effectiveness: A psychological view. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Low, G. S., Cravens, D. W., Grant, K., & Moncrief, W. C. (2001). Antecedents and consequences of salesperson burnout. European Journal of Marketing, 35, 587–611.Google Scholar
Marschke, E., Preziosi, R., & Harrington, W. J. (2010). How sales personnel view the relationship between job satisfaction and spirituality in the workplace. Paper presented at Allied Academies Conference, Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict, International Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.Google Scholar
Miao, C. F., & Evans, K. R. (2007). The impact of salesperson motivation on role perceptions and job performance: A cognitive and affective perspective. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 27(1), 89–101.Google Scholar
Miller, B. K., Rutherford, M. A., & Kolodinsky, R. W. (2008). Perceptions of organizational politics: A meta-analysis of outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 22, 209–222.Google Scholar
Mintzberg, H. (1985). The organizations as a political area. Journal of Management Studies, 22, 133–154.Google Scholar
Moon, H., Conlon, D. E., Humphrey, S. E., Quigley, N., Devers, C. E., & Nowakowski, J. M. (2003). Group structure and incrementalism in organizational decision-making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 92, 67–79.Google Scholar
Moon, H., Hollenbeck, J. R., Humphrey, S. E., Ilgen, D. R., West, B. J., Ellis, A. P. J., & Porter, C. O. L. H. (2004). Asymmetric adaptability: Dynamic team structures as one-way streets. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 681–695.Google Scholar
Morgeson, F. P., & Humphrey, S. E. (2006). The work design questionnaire (WDQ): Developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1321–1339.Google Scholar
Nasri, W., & Charfeddine, L. (2012). Motivating salespeople to contribute to marketing intelligence activities: An expectancy theory approach. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4, 168–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, R. L. (1974). Expectancy theory predictions of salesmen’s performance. Journal of Marketing Research, 11, 243–253.Google Scholar
Oliver, R. L., & Anderson, E. (1994). An empirical test of the consequences of behavior and outcome-based sales control systems. Journal of Marketing, 58, 53–67.Google Scholar
Oliver, R. L., & Anderson, E. (1995). Behavior- and outcome-based sales control systems: Evidence and consequences of pure-form and hybrid governance. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 15(4), 1–15.Google Scholar
Pal, D., & Dasgupta, S.K. (2012). Work motivation vis-a-vis organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 38(2), 352–360.Google Scholar
Parker, C. P., Dipboye, R. L., & Jackson, S. L. (1995). Perceptions of organizational politics: An investigation of antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management, 21, 891–912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearce, L. (2010). Managerial compensation based on organization performance. Journal of industrial Relation, 52, 3–28.Google Scholar
Pfeffer, J. (1992). Managing with power: politics and influence in organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Ployhart, R. E., & Vandenburg, R. J. (2010). Longitudinal research: The theory, design, and analysis of change. Journal of Management, 36(1), 94–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poon, J. M. L., & Bangi, M. (2003). Situational antecedents and outcomes of organizational politics perceptions. Journal of Management Psychology, 18, 138–155.Google Scholar
Porter, L. W., & Lawler, R. E. (1973). Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism. Psychological Bulletin, 80, 151–176.Google Scholar
Randall, M. L., Cropanzano, R., Borman, C. A., & Birjulin, A. (1999). Organizational politics and organizational support as predictors of work attitudes, job performance, and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 159–174.Google Scholar
Rosen, C. C., Levy, P. E., & Hall, R. J. (2006). Placing perceptions of politics in the context of the feedback environment, employee attitudes, and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 211–220.Google Scholar
Shamir, B. (1983). A note on tipping and employee perceptions and attitudes. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 56, 255–259.Google Scholar
Summers, J. K., Humphrey, S. E., & Ferris, G. R. (2012). Team member change, flux in coordination, and performance: Effects of strategic core roles, information transfer, and cognitive ability. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 314–338.Google Scholar
Teas, R. K. (1981). An empirical test of models of salespersons’ job expectancy and instrumentality perceptions. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 209–226.Google Scholar
Teas, R. K., & McElroy, J. C. (1986). Causal attribution and expectancy estimates: A framework for understanding the dynamics of salesforce motivation. Journal of Marketing, 50, 75–86.Google Scholar
Tien, F. F. (2000). To what degree does the desire for promotion motivate faculty to perform research. Research in Higher Education, 41, 723–752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyagi, P. K. (1982). Perceived organizational climate and the process of salesperson motivation. Journal of Marketing Research, 19, 240–254.Google Scholar
Valle, M., & Perrewé, P. L. (2000). Do politics perceptions relate to political behaviors? Tests of an implicit assumption and expanded model. Human Relations, 53, 359–386.Google Scholar
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., de Witte, H., Feather, N. T. (2005). Understanding unemployed people’s job search behavior, unemployment experience and well-being: A comparison of expectancy-value theory and self-determination theory. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 268–286.Google Scholar
Varghese, J. (2011). Relationship orientation: The key to success in personal selling. International Journal of Research in Finance & Marketing, 7, 46–58.Google Scholar
Vigoda, E. (2000). International politics in public administration system: An empirical examination of its relationship with job congruence, organizational citizenship behavior, and in-role performance. Public Personnel Management, 29, 185–211.Google Scholar
Vigoda-Gadot, E., & Talmud, I. (2010). Organizational politics and job outcomes: The moderating effect of trust and social support. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(11), 2829–2861.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vinchur, A. J., Schippmann, J. S., Switzer, F. S., & Roth, P. L. (1998). A meta-analysis review of predictors of job performance for salespeople. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 586–597.Google Scholar
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Walker, O. C., Churchill, G. A., & Ford, N. M. (1977). Motivation and performance in industrial selling: Present knowledge and needed research. Journal of Marketing Research, 14, 156–168.Google Scholar
Wamsley, G. L., & Zald, M. N. (1973). The political economy of public organizations. Public Administration Review, 33(1), 62–73.Google Scholar
Warren, R. (1989). Motivation and productivity in the construction industry. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.Google Scholar
Witt, L. A. (1998). Enhancing organizational goal congruence: A solution to organizational politics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 666–674.Google Scholar
Witt, L. A., Kacmar, K. M., Carson, D. S., & Zivnuska, S. (2002). Interactive effects of personality and organizational politics on contextual performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 911–921.Google Scholar
Yahcouchi, G. (2009). Employees’ perceptions of Lebanese managers’ leadership styles and organizational commitment. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 4(2), 127–140.Google Scholar
Yilmaz, C. (2002). Salesperson performance and job attitudes revisited: An extended model and efforts of potential moderators. European Journal of Marketing, 36, 1389–1414.Google Scholar
Yilmaz, C., & Hunt, S. (2001). Salesperson cooperation: The influence of relational, task, organizational, and personal factors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29, 335–357.Google Scholar
Zhou, J., & Ferris, G. R. (1995). The dimensions and consequences of organizational politics perceptions: A confirmatory analysis. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 1747–1764.Google Scholar
Zivnuska, S., Kacmar, K. M., & Witt, L. A. (2004). Interactive effects of impression management and organizational politics on job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 627–640.Google Scholar