mE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATE AND SALES FORCE TRAINING
R. Keith Tudor, Kennesaw State College
Lou E. Pelton, Augusta College
H. David Strutton, University of Southwestern Louisiana
Abstract
This research investigated the extent to which various
levels in the proficiency of sales force training influence
the components of the psychological climate within sales
organizations and the extent to which the various compo-
nents of psychological climate within sales organizations
differ according to gender. Findings suggest salespersons,
regardless ofthe level of training received, are most likely
to perceive their organizations as fair. cohesive, innovative
and that their sales units were not characterized by exces-
sive pressure. In general, salespeople who felt their
company was highly proficient in training the sales force
(HPT) as opposed to salespeople who felt their company
had a low proficiency in training the sales force (LPT) had
higher perceptions of their organizations as being fair,
cohesive, innovative and characterized by less pressure.
Female LPTs seem to have a perception of being under
more pressure than either male of female HPTs while male
LPT did not differ form the HPT salespeople in their
perception of pressure.
Introduction
One of the most valuable functional areas of a company is
its sales force. According to Avlonitis and Boyle (1989),
for a sales force to be effective and productive, the sales
force must be carefully built and skillfully managed. The
key activities in building and managing a sales force are:
I) organizing the sales force; 2) selecting sales personnel;
3) training salespeople; 4) motivating and directing the
sales force; and 5) evaluation of sales force performance
(Anderson, Hair and Bush 1988). As one of these key
activities, sales force training is considered by some to be
one of the most important. "It may be one of those summa-
ry statements, but it is true: Sales and increased sales will
always go to the better trained people." This statement by
Ed Flanagan, president of the Sales Executives Club of
New York, sums up the prevailing attitude towards the
importance of sales training (Sales and Marketing Manage-
ment 1984). Proper sales force training is thought to
provide the following benefits: 1) increasing sales produc-
tivity; 2) lowering turnover; 3) enhancing morale; 4)
improved customer relations; 5) lowering selling costs; and
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6) better understanding of the control mechanisms of the
organization (Stanton, Buskirk and Spiro 1991 ). Salespeo-
ple operate in a environment which has an influence on
their behavior.
It has been argued that performance of the individual
within an organization is associated with the perceived
psychological climate of the organization (Day and Bedeian
1991 ). Psychological climate has been defined as a set of
attributes specific to a particular organization which
influence member behavior (Forehand and Gilmer 1964).
To date, little attention has been directed towards the
relationship of psychological climate and training.
More and More women have entered the sales force since
the 1980's (Kennedy and Lawton 1992; McNeilly and
Goldsmith 1991). Approximately 20% of the industrial
sales force is now female, and 60% of the retail sales force
are women (Lagace 1988). Gender differences have been
found in various job satisfaction dimensions (Larson et al.
1974) and gender differences lead men and women to
interpret their surrounding conditions differently and react
in different ways (McNeilly and Goldsmith 1991).
The objective of this research is to investigate the extent to
which various levels in the proficiency of sales force
training influence the components of the psychological
climate within sales organizations and to determine if the
various components of psychological climate within sales
organizations differ according to gender.
Psychological Climate
Psychological climate is a multi-dimensional construct
whieh can be conceptualized and operationalized at the
individual level (Glick 1985; Koys and DeCotis 1991).
Employees develop perceptions of how their organization
functions based on their experiences (Schneider 1975) and
their training (Hartley 1989). As a result, the psychological
climate of a sales organization can be addressed through its
employees' perceptions of their own experiences within the
organization.
The psychological climate perceptions of employees share
certain characteristics. First, perceptions of climate
condense individuals' description of their organizational
experiences rather than their affective or evaluative reaction
to what has been experienced (Koys and DeCotiis 1991 ).
While description can not be absolutely segregated from
evaluation/affect, the difference between descriptive and
evaluative/affective reactions to organizational experiences
distinguishes the psychological climate construct from job
satisfaction (Ashworth 1985). Second, climate perceptions
are relatively stable over time (Campbell, et al. 1970).
Third, climate perceptions are widely shared among
members of a relevant organizational unit (Payne and Pugh
1975).
In an effort that coalesced over 80 measures derived in
previous research, Koys and DeCotiis (1991) developed
eight summary dimensions posited as the psychological
climate of organizations. The first six dimensions were:
autonomy, cohesiveness, fairness, innovation, pressure and
support.
Within a sales organization, the autonomy dimension can
be operationalized through subdimensions such as the (lack
of) "closeness of the sales manager's supervision" (Joyce
and Slocum 1984), "individual responsibility delegated to
the salesperson" (Lawler, Hall and Oldham 1974) and "the
absence of sales manager initiated structure" (Muchinsky
1976). The cohesiveness dimension captures "cohesive-
ness" (Payne and Pugh 1975), (absence of) "conflict"
(James and Sells 1981), "esprit" (Jones and James 1979)
and "work group cooperation" subdimensions (James and
Sells 1981). The measurement domain offairness address-
es the "fairness and objectivity of the sales organization's
reward system" (James and Sells 1981), and "egalitarian-
ism" (Payne and Mansfield 1973). The innovation con-
struct consists of "sales organizational flexibility" (Steers
1977), and "challenge and risk" (Gavin and Howe 1975)
dimensions. Pressure can be conceptualized along "role
overload" (Joyce and Slocum 1984), "time span orienta-
tion" (Morse and Lorch 1970), and "production emphasis"
(Halpen and Crofts 1963). Table 1 provides a summary
description of the individual salesperson perceptions
associated with the psychological climate of sales organiza-
tions.
The fmal dimension of psychological climate offered by
Koys and DeCotiis (1991) was support. However, support
was not included in this research because it's conceptual
domain was generally indistinct from the autonomy
dimension.
The necessity to describe psychological climate in terms of
multiple dimensions is evident in that organizational
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experiences can generally be characterized in multiple
ways. For example, some salespeople may describe how
they are supervised in terms of the ethical/unethical sales
behavior their sales manager's supervisory style may foster,
some may be more cognizant of the fairness with which
their sales manager deals with them, while still others may
focus on the autonomy their sales manager grants to them.
Other examples include a psychological climate that is
simultaneously characterized as cohesive and forthcoming
with recognition. Finally, the salesperson-sales manager
dyad could be described in terms of the excessive pressure
imposed from above or management's receptivity toward
employee creativity and/or flexibility in the performance of
job tasks (innovation).
Hypothesized Relationships
Autonomy
Autonomy is a primary constituent of the psychological
climate that prevails within any organization (Reisman
1986). Because of the nature of the sales role and the type
of individual who generally occupies the role, salient needs
of salespeople are probably satisfied through their receipt
of greater autonomy. Further, the perception of having
received proper training should enhance the feeling of
being able to effectively operate in an autonomous climate.
H 1: Salespersons with perceptions of proper training should
have a higher perception of autonomy in the psychological
climate of their organization.
Cohesiveness
The most immediate social classifications within business
organizations are those present within primary work
groups, i.e., the sales force itself. Consequently, patterns of
cohesive group behavior may occur at the sales unit level.
Patterns of cohesion can be extended to situations where
proper training has successfully contributed to a psycholog-
ical climate distinguished by the absence of conflict and
presence of team spirit and cooperation. Breaches in sales
group cohesiveness may occur when individual salespeople
exhibit overly or inappropriately emotional reactions to a
given event, do not like or at least respect their peers,
and/or perceive a need for assistance they feel is not likely
to be forthcoming.
Training programs are designed to enhance the sales
persons ability to handle orders, communicate with other
company employees and to assimilate salespeople into the
organization (Anderson, Hair and Bush 1988) thereby
enhancing the cohesiveness.