An examination of supervisor feedback-salesperson motivation relationship: The role of attributions and emotions

Abstract

Performance feedback, information about the effectiveness of one's work behavior, is a crucial element for individuals in work settings (Taylor, Fisher, and llgen 1984). The absence of supervisor feedback may provoke anxiety, cause individuals to pretend that they "know" how they are doing and/or result in attempts to glean feedback from indirect cues, such as a supervisor's mood. Supervisor feedback may have no impact on the employee at all; it may cause the employee to lash out angrily, or it may result in a response quite different from that desired by the supervisor (llgen et al. 1979).

Providing appropriate feedback may have far-reaching effects on the sales organization. Proper feedback can be an effective tool for enhancing salesperson morale and motivation. Effective feedback may also help improve salesperson efficiency, determine promotions and pay increases, and identify weaknesses in sales training programs (Stanton and Buskirk 1983). Since maximizing salesforce productivity is a major responsibility of sales managers, the need for managers to continually motivate individual salespeople is apparent.