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A contingency model of emotional intelligence in professional selling

Author

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  • Richard G. McFarland

    (West Virginia University)

  • Joseph C. Rode

    (Miami University of Ohio)

  • Tasadduq A. Shervani

    (Southern Methodist University)

Abstract

Despite significant attention from practitioners and broad claims of the importance of Emotional Intelligence (EI), empirical support for its incremental direct effects on outcomes relevant to professional selling has been disappointing. However, little research has included relevant contextual variables or the potential interactions of EI with contextual variables when considering its effects. This contingency view of EI maintains that EI is important in work settings, but only under certain conditions. Drawing on the appraisal theory of emotions, the authors develop a contingency model, which proposes that salesperson EI moderates the harmful effects of role stress on three work outcomes—emotional exhaustion, customer-oriented selling, and sales performance. Using three matched data sources from multiple professional selling workgroups in a business-to-business sales setting, the authors find that EI moderates the relationship between role ambiguity and all three outcome variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard G. McFarland & Joseph C. Rode & Tasadduq A. Shervani, 2016. "A contingency model of emotional intelligence in professional selling," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 108-118, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joamsc:v:44:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11747-015-0435-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11747-015-0435-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Behrman, Douglas N. & Perreault, William Jr., 1982. "Measuring the performance of industrial salespersons," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 355-370, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Willy Bolander & Nawar N. Chaker & Alec Pappas & Daniel R. Bradbury, 2021. "Operationalizing salesperson performance with secondary data: aligning practice, scholarship, and theory," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 462-481, May.
    2. Delpechitre, Duleeep & Beeler-Connelly, Lisa L. & Chaker, Nawar N., 2018. "Customer value co-creation behavior: A dyadic exploration of the influence of salesperson emotional intelligence on customer participation and citizenship behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 9-24.
    3. Connie R. Bateman & Sean R. Valentine, 2021. "Consumers’ Personality Characteristics, Judgment of Salesperson Ethical Treatment, and Nature of Purchase Involvement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(2), pages 309-331, March.
    4. Hu, Anqi & Yuan, Ruizhi & Chen, Ruolan & Liu, Martin J., 2024. "A glamorous but highly stressful job: The role of social media-afforded status in micro-celebrity stress coping," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. Baliga, Ashwin J. & Goel, Ashish & Fletcher-Chen, Chavi C.-Y. & Guda, Sridhar & Kumar, Rajesh, 2025. "Mental health among B2B salespeople: A morphological analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. George Kankam & Isaac Tetteh Charnor, 2023. "Emotional intelligence and consumer decision-making styles: the mediating role of brand trust and brand loyalty," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Martin Sanchez-Gomez & Edgar Breso & Gabriele Giorgi, 2021. "Could Emotional Intelligence Ability Predict Salary? A Cross-Sectional Study in a Multioccupational Sample," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-10, February.

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