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Investigating a three-way interaction of manufacturer control, retail control and dependence on salesforce performance. Does the role of frontline employees matters ?

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  • Lessassy, Léopold

Abstract

Dependence and retailer control on manufacturer's salesforce imply several challenges in retail channels. This research addresses how they affect the relationship between manufacturer control and salesforce performance due to the high level of salesforce investment. We conduct a moderated-moderation analysis.We investigate the moderating roles of retailer control and dependence on the relationship between manufacturer control and salesforce performance. To take into account the importance of the store frontline employee, we next studied the influence of his perception of the salesforce on the sales control systems in retailing. First, our results show that salesforce performance is influenced directly by manufacturer process control and, retail control and dependence moderate this relationship in two-way and three-way interactions. The salesforce subject to process control by manufacturer improves his performance under strong retailer outcome control while the manufacturer is in a low relative dependence. Second, employee perception of the salespeople mediates the link between manufacturer process and retailer outcome controls. We test our model in two studies and theoretically integrate retailer control, dependence, and employee perception of the salesforce, in the sales control literature. In the end, we provide practical implications to further improve salesforce performance and employee perception of the salespeople and future research suggestions.

Suggested Citation

  • Lessassy, Léopold, 2023. "Investigating a three-way interaction of manufacturer control, retail control and dependence on salesforce performance. Does the role of frontline employees matters ?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923001753
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103428
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