Enhancing motivation and work performance of the salespeople: The impact of supervisors’ behavior

Abstract

This study examined the importance of authoritarian and positive achievement motivation behavior of the supervisors in enhancing salespeople’s motivation and work performance. Survey data were collected from all 105 sales employees in two retail organizations. Supervisors’ ratings were collected on all 105 of the salespersons. All hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and Pearson correlations controlling for background variables of gender, marital status, and ethnicity. The findings indicated that to the extent that supervisors engaged in positive motivational behaviors, salespersons’ intrinsic motivations were increased, which, in turn, increased their performance. Implications and a number of recommendations are discussed.