Motivation to Become a Direct Salesperson and Its Relationship with Wo

rk outcomes

by Thomas R. Wotruba & pradeep K. Tyagi

直销通路管理报告指导教授﹕陈得发教授学生 :王昭雄学号﹕ 8941812中华民国九十一年五月八日

Full-time vs. part-time salespeople comparison on job satisfaction, performance, and turnover in direct selling--- by Thomas R. Wotruba

Implications for management and future research

Further insights can undoubtedly be gained by incorporating other variables suggested in performance and turnover models, such as organizational commitment and pre-employment expectations.

SummaryTwenty-six possible job characteristics that define work motivations were studied, and were found to group in five work motivation patterns. Three of these patterns related significantly with a variety of work outcomes, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and turnover.Such information is useful to guide management in recruiting salespeople with high priority for those work motivations that relate to desirable work outcome.Researchers may variable in future studies of turnover and other work outcomes.

IntroductionA recent report noted that more than $8 billion in annual sales in produced by more than 5 million Americans who sell for direct Selling companies, though salesperson turnover in a typical DS firm often exceeds 100% per year (Biggart 1989).

The flexibility of DS jobs and their easy accessibility can make these positions attractive to people with a variety of work motivations. Thus, some might take on a DS job to earn income while others might view it as a means of building self-esteem, marking friend, proving one’s entrepreneurial skills, or simply learning about the business world.

Focus of this study The study is an exploratory attempt to identify the various work

motivations important to persons taking on DS sale jobs.

Research Questions1. Are there different and identifiable work motivations which describe why people become DS salespeople ?

If the answer to question 1 is yes, then:

2. Are particular work motivations for joining DS sales forces associated with corresponding differences in organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and turnover ?The DSA (Harris 1977) concluded that the four top reasons why people become DS salespeople included :

(1). Being independent and working hard when I want to;(2). A good way to supplement my family income or make a little extra money for myself;(3). I enjoy selling;(4). The idea that the harder I work the more money I could make.

Wortruba nad Tyagi(1991) measured the met expectations of DS salespeople on a large number of job characteristics, and identified four underlying dimensions from these characteristics including: (1). Outcomes and rewards; (2). Interpersonal relations; (3). Conditions of work participation; (4). Job challenges and demands.

Question 2 involves work outcomes specified as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and turnover.

Organizational commitment has not previously been examined within the context of direct selling. A strong argument can be made for investigating organizational commitment as a factor affecting sales force behavior. However, was the impact of organizational commitment related to work motivations.

Method

Sample and Data collection VariableA total of 1,600 questionnaires with postage-paid return envelops were mailed, generating responses from 491(31%).

Work motivation

26 items

Organizational commitment

15 items

85% were female, 62% were married Job Satisfaction

10 items

Median age was 27, Performance 7 items

Median household total income was 27,000 Turnover 1 item

1.Working for a company with which I am proud to be associated. 6.31 1.002.The job will provide me with feelings of worthwhile accomplishment. 6.20 1.003.The job supplies an opportunity for professional growth. 6.16 1.084.The job offers the work hours I want. 6.06 1.335.A job which provides me with feelings of self-fulfillment. 6.04 1.156.The job provides an opportunity for a high level of income. 6.00 1.157.Job success will rel-ate directly to my initiative. 5.93 1.188.Work in which there is freedom to do the job as I wish. 5.93 1.279.Work which gives me a chance to be creative and innovative. 5.92 1.1510.The job should provide advancement opportunities within the company. 5.92 1.3411.A job in which success depends greatly on individual effort. 5.88 1.0612.Opportunity to show that I can handle job responsibilities. 5.81 1.4713.The work makes use of the skills I have. 5.77 1.23

Table 1. Mean importance Ratings of Job Characteristics Used to Measure Work Motivations

Importance Ratings Job Characteristic Mean S. D.

Table 1. Mean importance Ratings of Job Characteristics Used to Measure Work Motivations

Importance Ratings Job Characteristic Mean S. D.

14.Earnings from my work will be reasonably predictable. 5.73 1.2115.Support from supervisors will be available. 5.73 1.3916.Work which helps increase myself-esteem. 5.64 1.44

17.Work which gives me an opportunity to make friends. 5.6 1.4113.Receiving attention and appreciation from supervisors. 5.41 1.4819.Specific opportunities to develop my selling skills. 5.36 1.3920.Gaining the respect of my fellow salespersons for my performance. 5.26 1.5821.Opportunity to earn special awards or recognition for good performance. 5.15 1.5422.The opportunity to work closely with others on a team. 4.96 1.6423.A job in which rejection by prospects is minimal. 4.86 1.6224.The job involves selling a product which is highly competitive. 4.83 1.9825.A job with high prestige in the eyes of my family and friends. 4.31 1.826.The opportunity to go to sales conventions. 3.28 1.86

Analysis and results

Factor 1. Social recognition and organization identification.Factor 2. Income and career growth.Factor 3. Attention and approval.Factor 4. personal fulfillment and job challenge.Factor 5. Autonomy and control.

Table 3. measurement of the study variables

Table 4. Correlations Between Work Motivation factors and Work Outcomes

Analysis and results

Factor 1 and job satisfaction, performance, and quitting intentions show that such salespeople are not only likely to be more satisfied with their direct sales jobs, but also perform well on the job and are less likely to quit.

Based on these results, there is also support for a positive answer to research question 2.

Reliability estimates1. Job performance .83 3. Predictor

(Independent variables).5~.83

2. Job satisfaction .95Since minimum reliability estimate of .5~.6 are considered sufficient for early stages of research (Nunnally 1967)

• The result of this exploratory study suggest that the reasons people take jobs in direct selling my affect their work outcome, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and propensity to quit.• Management should direct its recruiting messages to appeal to persons whose work motivations are defined by Factors 1, 4, and 5.• The relationship between work motivations and work outcomes should also be tested in other selling context, since the results here might be specific to sales jobs for direct selling companies only. •

Discussion and Implications

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