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Salespeople Contribution to Innovation in the Firm: Can Generativity Be a Driving Force?

Author

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  • Jean-François Ouellet

    (INRS-IAF - Institut Armand Frappier - INRS - Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique [Québec] - RIIP - Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur)

  • Caroline Lacroix

    (LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques - UB - Université de Bordeaux - ENSCBP - École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie, de Biologie et de Physique - Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux - INC-CNRS - Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Bruno Lussier

    (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - UPMF - Université Pierre Mendès France - Grenoble 2 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper explores the role of salespeople's concern for the well-being of future generations—a phenomenon known as generativity—in driving otherwise busy salesmen and women to take part in their employer's innovation process through idea generation, promotion, and realization (that is, their innovative performance). In addition, it explores whether or not said innovative performance translates into increased sales performance for salespeople. Six hypotheses are derived from the extent literature and are empirically tested with a sample of 145 professional salespeople. After controlling for other important variables, such as self-efficacy and expertise, our results confirm the positive influence of generativity on two dimensions of innovative performance—idea promotion and idea realization (although only marginally for the latter)—but not on idea generation. In turn, the influence of salespeople' innovative performance on their individual sales performance is mitigated: Only idea promotion turns out to be a marginally significant predictor of sales performance. These results are discussed in light of the apparent conflict of self-efficacy with our hypothesized generativity—innovative performance—sales performance chain.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-François Ouellet & Caroline Lacroix & Bruno Lussier, 2014. "Salespeople Contribution to Innovation in the Firm: Can Generativity Be a Driving Force?," Post-Print halshs-01185794, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01185794
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01185794
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Antti Saaksvuori & Anselmi Immonen, 2008. "Product Lifecycle Management," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-540-78172-1, December.
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