Some Possible Antecedents and Consequences of In-Role and Extra-Role Salesperson Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to integrate the notion of extra-role performance with the current understanding of the relationships among salesperson job attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment), role perceptions (ambiguity and conflict), in- and extra-role behavior, and turnover. The authors develop and test a theoretical model that specifies the relationships between in- and extra-role performance and salesperson job satisfaction, organizational commitment, role perceptions, and turnover using cross-sectional data from a large sample (N = 672) of commission sales personnel. The results generally indicate that performance and job attitudes mediate the relationships between role perceptions and turnover. However, the most notable aspect of the findings is that they are consistent with the hypothesis that in- and extra-role performance are intertwined, with in-role performance serving as an antecedent of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and extra-role performance as a consequence of these two variables. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for sales research.