Unpacking the Relationship between Sales Control and Salesperson Performance: A Regulatory Fit Perspective

TLDR

The literature examining the effect of sales control on salesperson performance is, at best, equivocal. To reconcile inconsistencies in empirical findings, this research introduces two new types of salesperson learning: exploratory and exploitative learning. The study finds that exploratory (promotion‑focused) and exploitative (prevention‑focused) learning are both employed by salespeople, with the dominant type depending on the sales control used, and that the alignment of learning type with customer decision complexity and salesperson preference for predictability is crucial for performance, as learning mediates the control‑performance link, findings replicated in a two‑wave panel study and underscoring the importance of integrating sales control, learning, and performance.

Abstract

The literature examining the effect of sales control on salesperson performance is, at best, equivocal. To reconcile inconsistencies in empirical findings, this research introduces two new types of salesperson learning: exploratory and exploitative learning. Drawing on regulatory focus theory, the authors conceptualize exploratory learning as promotion focused and exploitative learning as prevention focused and find that salespeople exhibit both exploratory and exploitative learning, though one is used more than the other depending on the type of sales control employed. The results also suggest that the fit between salesperson learning type, customer characteristics (i.e., purchase-decision-making complexity), and salesperson characteristics (i.e., preference for sales predictability) is critical to salesperson performance and that salesperson learning mediates the relationship between sales control and salesperson performance (Study 1). Study 2 corroborates the findings using new panel data collected over two waves. The results of this research have important implications for integrating sales control, salesperson learning, and salesperson performance.