THE INSPIRED SALESPERSON: LINKING SPIRITUALITY TO PERFORMANCE

Despite the pervasiveness of spirituality, few empirical studies exist which assess its relationship with critical business outcomes such as performance. Recent research into inspiration suggests a linkage between sources of inspiration, such as spirituality, and the resulting motivation to accompli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marketing management journal 2014-10, Vol.24 (2), p.172-185
Main Authors: Smith, J Garry, Futrell, Charles M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Influence
Job performance
Marketing
Marketing management
Motivation
Religion
Salespeople
Spirituality
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Summary:Despite the pervasiveness of spirituality, few empirical studies exist which assess its relationship with critical business outcomes such as performance. Recent research into inspiration suggests a linkage between sources of inspiration, such as spirituality, and the resulting motivation to accomplish goals. In this study, organizational commitment and spirituality are assessed as sources of inspiration, and inspiration 's relationship with performance is also investigated. Thus, inspiration is positioned as a mediating variable. Additionally, the direct relationship of organizational commitment with performance is examined. Empirical results show that inspiration fully mediates the effect of both organizational commitment and spirituality on performance. A sample of salespeople employed at automobile dealerships in the southwest United States was used to test the model. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.
ISSN:1534-973X
2329-9762