The Effects of Organizational Structure on Selling Behaviors
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Authors
Chakrabarty, Subhra
Widing II, Robert
Bagnied, Mohsen
Issue Date
2015
Type
Journal Article
Peer-Reviewed
Peer-Reviewed
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Abstract
A national random sample of industrial salespeople was surveyed to assess the effects of centralization
and formalization on selling behaviors. The responses from 241 salespeople were analyzed using ordinary
least squares regression. The results indicated that hierarchy of authority positively affected job
codification and rule observation. Job codification and rule observation had negative effects on customer
orientation and adaptive selling. Since customer orientation and adaptive selling improved salesperson
performance, it appears that sales managers engaged in strict monitoring and directing of salespeople’s
activities may be hurting their productivity by stifling their creativity to be customer oriented and
adaptive. Apparently, salespeople preferred a decentralized and less bureaucratic organizational structure
to implement the marketing concept and to tailor their sales messages to the uniqueness of each selling
situation. However, for young and inexperienced salespeople, the negative effect of job codification and
rule observation on adaptive selling became non-significant. Thus, the structure of selling organizations
may need to be altered based on the age and experience of salespeople. Based on the findings, managerial
implications and directions for future research were provided.
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Volume
7
Issue
1