銷售人員目標取向的成因及對績效之影響

Antecedents and Performance Consequences of Salespeople’s Goal Orientation

人員銷售是極富挑戰性的工作，過程充滿了困難與挫折。然而，銷售人員在面對銷售挫折或困難時常呈現不同的反應：有的變得士氣低落、對銷售工作喪失了興趣；有的則頗為享受這種挑戰，深信最後一定能解決問題。教育心理學家指出，在成就情境下個人所追求的目標會影響其面對失敗或困難的反應。本研究以銷售人員的目標取向為焦點，探討銷售人員的個人信念（包括智能實體論及結果歸因）及組織環境因素（包括認知組織對學習的承諾及組織的競爭心理氣氛）對銷售人員目標取向的影響，銷售人員目標取向對其績效（如適應性銷售行為、勤奮工作、銷售績效）的影響，並以國內人壽保險業357位銷售人員及汽車銷售業376位銷售人員為問卷調查實證對象。結構方程模式的路徑分析顯示，銷售人員的成功歸因信念及組織環境因素對銷售人員目標取向有顯著的影響，銷售人員的學習及證明目標取向對銷售行為績效有顯著正向影響、迴避目標取向對銷售行為績效有顯著負向影響。最後，研究者對實證結果在銷售人員管理的涵意及後續研究做一些討論與建議。

Personal selling is a challenging work, being full of setbacks and difficulties during selling processes. However, one frequently observes differences among salesperson in their response patterns to setbacks or difficulties with sales tasks, some became demoralized and express little interest in continuing with the sales task, whereas others appeared to enjoy the challenge, remained confident that they could eventually solve the problems. Educational psychologists urge that people pursuing different goals in achievement situations would display different response patterns in the face of failure or difficulties. The study, with a focus on salespeople’s goal orientations, explores the influence of salespeople’s belief (such as entity theory for intelligence and attribution for success), and intra-organizational environment factors (including perceived organizational commitment to learning and competitive psychological climate) on salespeople’s goal orientations, the impacts of salespeople’s goal orientations on their selling behavioral performance (i.e., adaptive selling behavior and working hard), and the relationships of selling behavioral performance to sales performance. Three hundreds and fifth-seven salespeople from life insurance industry and three hundreds and seventy-six salespeople from car dealer industry were sampled as empirical subjects. The results from path analysis of structure equation modeling indicate that salespeople’s belief about attribution for success and intra-organizational environment have significant influence on salespeople’s goal orientations. The findings also show that salespeople’s selling behavioral performance has positive effect on their sales performance and the relationships of salespeople’s goal orientations to sales performance are mediated by salespeople’s selling behavioral performance. Salespeople’s learning and proving goal orientations have positively impacted, whereas avoiding goal orientation has negatively influenced on selling behavioral performance. This study suggests that sales managers and staffs in HRM can use goal orientation scale to inform decision about salesperson selection and candidate’s belief systems about ability and effort attributions provide another indirect means to assess goal orientation. Moreover, sales managers can help employees change their belief systems through these procedures: (1) Explain how a given capability can be developed; (2) Provide role model examples of comparable individuals who have developed the capability; (3) Provide training opportunities to develop the capability; (4) Provide feedback and encouragement on progress. Top executives must also model and support behaviors consistent with a learning goal orientation. Behaviors include having employees set development objectives, encouraging them to pursue developmental opportunities, and providing diagnostic feedback for improving their performance.