The Effect of Psychological Climate for Innovation on Salespeople’s Creativity and Turnover Intention

Abstract

Psychological climate for innovation (PCI) has received little attention in sales research, although psychological climate as a general construct has been studied extensively in social psychology. This study examines two outcomes of PCI in the sales context: salespeople’s creativity and voluntary turnover intention (VTI). We conceptualize and test a partial mediating mechanism composed of learning orientation and job satisfaction. Data collected from a sample of business-to-business salespeople from multiple companies in the northeast United States provide general support for the model. Overall, PCI is found to enhance sales creativity and reduce VTI. It positively affects salespeople’s learning orientation and job satisfaction, and learning orientation further enhances job satisfaction and sales creativity. However, job satisfaction actually reduces creativity. While PCI positively influences creativity through learning orientation, it exerts a negative effect through job satisfaction. Finally, we find that PCI reduces VTI both directly and indirectly through its positive effects on learning orientation and job satisfaction. The results offer insights and challenges for sales managers on how to retain a learning and creative sales force in an innovative work environment.