Psychology and Marketing · 1997 · 157 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesMarketingPsychologyIndividual DifferencesInterpersonal RelationshipsSales ManagementBurnoutEmotional DifferencesEmotional ExpressionFacial ExpressionBurnout AntecedentsBurnout ContagionEmotional ContagionEmotional Contagion Between Parents And ChildrenEmotional Expression In RelationshipsFacial CuesInterpersonal Communication In SellingSales Talk
The emotional contagion hypothesis posits that facial cues transmit emotions between salesperson and customer, and that individuals differ in their sensitivity or transmissibility of emotions. The study investigates whether individual differences in emotional contagion are long‑term assets or liabilities for salespersons and how emotional sensitivity leads to burnout via role stress that impacts performance. The authors examine the pathway from emotional sensitivity to burnout caused by role stress and its subsequent effect on performance. The study finds that both emotional transmissibility and sensitivity are performance assets, but sensitivity also increases burnout risk. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This article explores the emotional contagion hypothesis, proposed by Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson (1994), in a sales context. Specifically, the emotional contagion hypothesis explains how the emotions of two people (e.g., salesperson and customer) during a conversation are transmitted from one to the other via facial cues, and that these emotions affect the outcome of that interaction. The emotional contagion hypothesis implies that there are definitive individual differences concerning whether someone is either sensitive to emotions from others or able to transmit his or her emotions onto others. This study explores whether these individual differences are assets or liabilities over the long term for salespersons in a sales organization. The data in this study show that a salesperson's ability to infect others with his or her emotions is an asset (because it can lead to higher performance). In addition, being sensitive to the emotions of others is an asset (it can also lead to better performance); at the same time it is a liability (because of the higher risk of burnout). This study further explores how emotionally sensitive salespersons develop burnout as a consequence of role stress, which then affects their performance. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.