Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Salesforce

Transcription

1 GILBERT A. CHURCHILL, JR., NEIL M. FORD, and ORVILLE C. WALKER, JR.' This report concerns the impact of several organizational climate variables on the job satisfaction of a cross-section of industrial salesmen. To gain greater insight into how climate affects salemen's feelings about their jobs, the relationships between each climate variable and each of seven components of job satisfaction also are examined. Finally, the managerial implications of the findings are explored, and actions that might lead to improvements in salesforce morale are discussed. Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Salesforce INTRODUCTJON Though it is naive to think that happy workers are invariably productive workers, much research evidence collected from a variety of occupations suggests that a worker's satisfaction does influence his job behavior. Some of the most consistent findings of this research are: 1. A negative relationship between job satisfaction and job turnover; dissatisfied workers are more likely to quit and look for other jobs. 2. A negative relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism. 3. A negative relationship between job satisfaction and accidents on the job, although it is unclear which factor causes the other. 4. In a majority of studies, a positive relationship between satisfaction and job performance. But there is much controversy over whether high satisfaction causes good performance, good performance leads to satisfaction with the job, or both satisfaction and performance are determined by other factors [11, 12,25,27]. Although these research findings are drawn from other occupations, they suggest that low morale and discontent among salesmen can cause major problems for sales and marketing managers. The consistent Gilbert Churchill and Neil Ford are Professors of Marketing, University of Wisconsin. Madison. Orville Walker is Professor of Marketing. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Marketing Science Institute, The University of Wisconsin, and University of Minnesota. negative relationship between satisfaction and job turnover is particularly critical for sales managers because estimates of the cost of recruiting and training a new salesman averaged $8,700 in one study, and may range as high as $50,000 [28, p. 143]. Also, though the exact nature of the relationship is still open to question, there may be a positive connection between salesforce morale and sales productivity. Satisfaction and Discontent Among Salesmen A previous study by the authors found substantial dissatisfaction among salesmen in a broad cross-section of industrial goods firms. More interestingly, the study found that salesmen tend to be most dissatisfied with those aspects of their jobs which are under the most direct control of management. The salesmen were most discontent with company policies and field support (e.g., sales promotion, sales training programs, etc.), pay, promotion and advancement, and their supervisors. In contrast, they were relatively satisfied with the general nature of the sales job, their fellow workers, and their customers [9]. These findings suggest that although low morale may be causing problems for many sales managers, it is not a problem beyond their control. Management may be able to improve salesforce morale directly by modifying company policies and procedures governing salesman compensation, promotions, sales training, and so forth. Organizational Climate Many studies of other occupations suggest, however, that job satisfaction cannot be explained 323 Journal of Marketing Research Vol. XIII (November 1976),

2 324 entirely by such direct causes as the company's pay and promotion practices. A person's job attitudes also are influenced by a broad range of organizational characteristics and social relationships which constitute the individual's work environment. Many such variables are discussed elsewhere in published reviews of the job satisfaction literature [11, 12, 25, 27]. In industrial psychology many of the organizational and social variables which constitute a worker's job environment often are grouped within a construct called "organizational climate." Several comprehensive review articles [14, 16, 17] clearly show that organizational climate has been defined and measured in a variety of ways. The most common view of climate, however, is that it represents the worker's perceptions of his objective work situation, including the characteristics of the organization he works for and the nature of his relationships with other people while doing his job. Thus, climate is conceptually distinct from, and either causes or moderates, the worker's affective evaluations and attitudes concerning his job and his work environment (i.e., job satisfaction). This perceptual definition of organizational climate is adhered to throughout this study. The reviews of organizational climate research suggest that many studies have been beset by a variety of methodological problems. However, a substantial body of evidence from a variety of occupations consistently shows that job satisfaction varies with a worker's perceptions of his company's climate [5, 10, 18, 22, 26]. Unfortunately, the findings of these studies cannot be generalized to the salesman's job because it has been demonstrated that "a climate conducive to one function in an organization may be incongruent for another in terms of job satisfaction and/or performance" [5, p. 235]. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this report is to examine the impact of several perceived organizational climate variables on the job satisfaction of a cross-section of industrial salesmen. To gain greater insight into how climate affects salesmen's feelings about their jobs, the relationships between each climate variable and each of seven components of job satisfaction also are examined. Finally, the managerial implications of the findings are explored and actions that might lead to improvements in salesforce morale are discussed. VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESES An examination by Campbell et al. [2] found that four factors are common in most measures of perceived organizational climate: (1) the amount of autonomy given the individual in performing his job, (2) the amount of structure imposed upon a position and the person who occupies it, (3) reward orientationmanagement's philosophy concerning how to motivate employees, and (4) the nature of interpersonal JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1976 relationshipsthe amount of warmth, conflict, etc., in relations among employees and their supervisors. The seven climate variables examined in this study are consistent with the four factors. However, these variables were also specifically selected and defined to reflect the unique character of the salesman's job and to provide meaningful and actionable implications for sales managers. Supervisory Variables The "style" that managers in an organization follow in supervising their subordinates can have a broad impact on the amount of autonomy the subordinates have in doing their job, how structured their activities are, and the kind of relationships they have with their superiors. Therefore, the measures of organizational climate include three supervisory variables: (I) the closeness of supervision, (2) the amount of influence the salesman has in determining supervisory standards, and (3) the frequency of communication between sales manager and salesman. Closeness of supervision. One major aspect of supervisory style is simply the amount of supervision given to the employee; how closely his job activities are structured, monitored, and directed. In many occupations close supervision has been shown to have a negative impact on a worker's job satisfaction. It reduces his autonomy. The worker feels that the boss is "breathing down his neck" [7, 19, 20]. In contrast, one study of employees in research organizations suggests that workers whose jobs are nonroutine and unstructured are happiest when their superiors supervise them relatively closely and help provide structure to their work [15]. The field salesman's job is less structured and gives him more autonomy than most other occupations. He often faces nonroutine situations and customer demands. Consequently, the salesman is likely to desire relatively close supervision in order to obtain some direction and support in meeting the demands of his job. Salesmen who are supervised relatively closely are likely to feel their supervisors are concerned about their work and are trying to help them do a good job. Consequently, they are likely to be satisfied with their supervisors. Closely supervised salesmen also are apt to have a better understanding and appreciation of the policies and procedures they are expected to follow in carrying out their jobs. Thus, they are likely to be more comfortable with their jobs and more tolerant of the company policies that affect them. Finally, it is reasonable to expect that closely supervised salesmen will have a more complete knowledge of how their performance is being evaluated by their superiors for purposes of compensation and promotion. Consequently, they may be more inclined to view their company's pay and promotion practices

3 ORGANIZATIONAL CUAAATE AND JOB SATISFACTION IN THE SALESFORCE 325 as fair, or at least understandable. Given the foregoing expectations, the hypothesized relationship between closeness of supervision and a salesman's job satisfaction can be summarized as follows. H,: The more closely the salesman believes his performance is supervised, the greater the salesman's overall job satisfaction. Influence in determining standards. In some firms, the standards by which employees are supervised and evaluated are determined unilaterally by management. Other firms follow a more participative approach and allow the employees to have an input in determining the standards used in controlling and evaluating their job performance. Proponents of participative management argue that employees who feel they have an influence in determining company policies and standards will have more favorable opinions of those policies, of their superiors, and of the standards used in determining their compensation and promotions. Though the empirical evidence is somewhat mixed, these propositions have received support from several studies [2, 4, 20]. Therefore, the hypothesized relationship between the salesman's influence over supervisory standards and his job satisfaction can be stated as follows. H^: The greater the influence the salesman believes he has in determining the standards by which his performance is supervised and evaluated, the greater the salesman's overall job satisfaction. Frequency of communication. A third element of supervisory style is the frequency of communication between the sales manager and his salesmen. The more frequent the communicationwhether through faceto-face meetings, telephone conversations, or written letters and memorandathe more likely the salesman is to understand and appreciate his supervisor's demands and his company's policies and procedures, particularly those concerning his evaluation, compensation, and promotion. Communication is also a two-way process. The more frequent the communication between the salesman and his superiors, the more likely it is that he will feel that he has an input into policy decisions affecting his job. Therefore, the following summary hypothesis is proposed. H3: The more frequent the communication between a salesman and his sales manager, the greater the salesman's overall job satisfaction. Authority Structure The authority structure of a firm and the salesman's position within that structure obviously can have a major impact on the salesman's autonomy and the number of restrictions placed on his job performance. One variable that reflects how the firm's authority structure affects the salesman is the number of departments in the firm that can approve or reject a sale, modify the terms of a sale, or influence the salesman's activities in carrying out his job. The empirical evidence concerning the effects of multiple authority on worker morale and performance is reviewed extensively elsewhere [6, ch. 13]. The literature can be summarized and applied to the salesman in the following way: the larger the number of people and/or departments that can influence a salesman's activities, the less autonomy he has to do his job as he thinks it should be done. He is likely to view company policies as overly restrictive. He is also likely to receive inconsistent demands from various superiors within his company. Consequently, the salesman may be dissatisfied with company policies, supervision, and perhaps the job itself. In view of these arguments, the following summary hypothesis is proposed. H^: The greater the number of organization departments the salesman perceives as affecting his activities, the lower the salesman's overall job satisfaction. Innovativeness Demanded of the Salesman As was mentioned, the salesman's job often requires him to produce innovative solutions to nonroutine problems. Some sales jobs, of course, demand more innovativeness than others. The person who sells engineered systems designed to customer specifications is more likely to face unusual situations than one selling more standardized products. All successful salesmen, however, must display some creativity in matching available offerings with customer needs, developing sales presentations, and other activities. Though the demand for innovativeness is inherent in the job, the impact of that demand on the salesman's well-being and performance is influenced by company policies and management actions. Management can improve the salesman's ability to cope with unusual situations by providing ready access to relevant information (e.g., through the use of portable computer terminals, etc.), sufficient technical backup, adequate and continuing training programs, and other support. In other words, true innovativeness is demanded of the salesman only when (1) he faces a unique, nonroutine situation and (2) the company has not provided him with sufficient guidelines, information, support, or training to know how to cope with it. Viewed in this way, the demand for innovativeness can have a negative impact on the salesman's wellbeing. The salesman is likely to be uncertain of how to do his job effectively and to lose confidence in his ability to perform. As a consequence, he may become negative toward the job itself and pessimistic about his chances for promotion. The salesman also may feel that he has been set

4 326 adrift by his company superiors without sufficient support or guidance to help him resolve the unusual problems he encounters in the field. Thus, he is likely to be dissatisfied with both his supervisor and with his company's policies and support. Individual salesmen may respond differently to the demands for innovativeness imposed by their jobs. Several studies suggest that both personality and subcultural variables moderate the way workers respond to increased complexity and autonomy in their jobs [1, 13, 29]. In general, however, the relationship between innovativeness and job satisfaction is expected to be as follows. Hy The greater the amount of innovativeness the salesman feels is required of him in performing his job, the lower the salesman's overall job satisfaction. Interpersonal Variables The content of the salesman's jobthe activities he is supposed to perform and the way he should perform themis defined largely by the expectations and demands of other people who are affected by and have a vested interest in the way he performs his job. In the salesman's case, some of these people (role partners) are members of his own firm, such as his fellow salesmen, his supervisor, the production manager, and the credit manager. Others occupy positions outside the organization, such as customers and family members. Uncertainty about what these various role partners expect him to do or how they will evaluate his performance can have a negative impact both on the salesman's ability to do his job and on his self-confidence and morale. Similarly, if he receives conflicting demands from various role partners he becomes a "man in the middle." He is likely to experience psychological stress and low morale. Ambiguity and conflict, then, are two aspects of the salesman's relations with other people on the job which can have "a critical impact on his job satisfaction. Role ambiguity. A salesman experiences role ambiguity when he does not feel he has the necessary information to perform his job adequately; when he is uncertain about what his role partners expect of him, how to act to satisfy those expectations, or how his ultimate performance will be evaluated. In studies of workers in other occupations, this kind of perceived ambiguity has been found to be associated positively with feelings of anxiety and to be related negatively to job satisfaction [19, p ; 24]. When a salesman experiences a relatively high degree of role ambiguity, therefore, one would expect him to be less satisfied with his job. He is also likely to hold his role partners responsible for the ambiguity and anxiety. He may believe that they have done an inadequate job of communicating their expectations and demands, or that their policies and procedures JOURNAL OF AAARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1976 are not defined very clearly or applied consistently. Consequently, he may be dissatisfied with his company's policies, his supervisor, his fellow workers, and his customers. Finally, his uncertainty about what is expected of him and how his performance will be evaluated may make him pessimistic about his chances for promotion or a pay increase. Thus, salesmen who suffer role ambiguity are likely to be dissatisfied with their organization's pay and promotion policies. All of the foregoing arguments are summarized in the following hypothesis. H^: The greater the degree of role ambiguity perceived by the salesman, the lower the salesman's overall job satisfaction. Role conflict. Perceived role conflict occurs when a salesman believes that the expectations and demands of two or more of his role partners are incompatible and that he cannot simultaneously satisfy all the demands being made of him. Other studies have argued that salesmen are particularly susceptible to this kind of conflict because they occupy a position at the boundry between their firm and their customers' organizations. Consequently, they must try to satisfy the often inconsistent demands of people in two independent organizations [23, 30]. This kind of conflict can produce great anxiety and emotional turmoil for the salesman, as it does for workers in other occupations [12, 19, p ]. He may conclude that no matter what he does someone will be upset with him. One result may be disillusionment with the job itself. The salesman may hold his role partners at fault for creating the conflicts in which he finds himself. Salesmen's frequent charge that their company superiors and supervisors "don't know what things are like out in the market" suggests that there is some inconsistency between their company's policies and their customer's demands. The salesman also may consider some of his customer's demands unreasonable. As a consequence, salesmen who experience considerable role conflict are likely to be dissatisfied with their supervisors, their company's policies, and their customers. One of the most disconcerting things about role conflict is that no matter how the salesman performs his job, one or more of his role partners will be displeased. To the extent that those role partners control or influence his compensation and his chances for promotion, the salesman who faces great conflict may become pessimistic about his ability to attain better pay or future promotions within his firm. The overall relationship between role conflict and job satisfaction, then, can be summarized as follows. H^: The greater the role conflict perceived by the salesman, the lower the salesman's overall job satisfaction.

5 ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND JOB SATISFACTION IN THE SALESFORCE 327 Experience as a Moderating Variable The relationship between organizational climate and job satisfaction may be moderated by the salesman's years of experience on the job. In general, one expects to find a positive relationship between experience and job satisfaction for two reasons. First,' satisfaction influences job tenure. Salesmen who are very unhappy with their jobs are likely to quit and work for another firm or to seek another profession. Consequently, salesmen who have been working at the same job in the same firm for many years are likely to be those who are relatively satisfied. Second, experience on the job influences satisfaction. As the salesman gains experience he may learn to overcome or cope more effectively with some of the disconcerting aspects of his work environment. Experienced salesmen, for example, are likely to have a more thorough understanding of their jobs, their company's policies, and their customers. They are less likely to have feelings of ambiguity or to need close supervision and frequent communication with their superiors. They are more likely to understand company policies, including compensation and promotion criteria, and to know how to operate effectively within those policies. In short, the experienced salesman is less likely to suffer the uncertainties and anxieties that cause dissatisfaction among those with less time on the job. Therefore, a final hypothesis is presented to cover the moderating effects of experience. Hg: The longer the time a salesman has spent in his current position, the higher the salesman's overall job satisfaction. METHOD The Sample The foregoing hypotheses were tested with data obtained by mail questionnaires from a sample of 479 industrial salesmen drawn from 10 companies in seven different industries. All the firms are manufacturers of relatively technical industrial equipment and materials, ranging from computers and machine tools to cleaning supplies. An introductory letter from the sales manager in each firm and two followup letters from the experimenters were used to encourage participation. In connection with measuring the reliability of the instruments, each salesman received two questionnaires with equivalent but different questions. Completed sets of questionnaires were received from 265 salesmen for a response rate of 55%. It should be noted, however, that an additional 30% of the salesmen in the sample returned either the first or the second questionnaire, but not both. Though the responses of these individuals could not be included in the data used in the study, a comparison of their responses (including their demographic characteristics) with those of the salesmen who completed both questionnaires did not show any systematic differences. Data Collection Instruments As was mentioned, organizational climate is defined in this study as the salesman's perceptions of the objective characteristics of his organization and the nature of his relationships with other people while doing his job. The salesman's job satisfaction is defined as his affective feelings or attitudes toward his job, his organization, and his work environment. This conceptual distinction is reflected in the instruments used to measure job satisfaction and the various components of perceived organizational climate. Job satisfaction was measured with a scale developed by the authors specifically for industrial salesmen. It consists of 95 statements indicating satisfaction or dissatisfaction with specific aspects of the salesman's job and work environment. Each statement is presented with a five-point scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." The satisfaction scale has been factor analyzed and the 95 items are grouped into seven satisfaction components: (1) the job itself (e.g., satisfaction with the general nature of the sales job, opportunities for accomplishment and growth, etc.), (2) fellow workers, (3) supervision, (4) company policies and support (e.g., company benefits, sales training, promotional support, competence of management, etc.), (5) pay, (6) promotion and advancement, and (7) customers. The scale produced scores for each salesman on each of the seven components. The component scores were summed to obtain a total satisfaction score for the salesman. A more complete description of this satisfaction scale, including sample items and an evaluation of its reliability and validity, has been published [3]. The role conflict and ambiguity perceived by the salesman were measured by the INDSALES scale, which uses a Likert type of format to discover the number and magnitude of conflicts perceived by a salesman among the expectations of his role partners. It also measures the ambiguity felt by the salesman concerning the expectations of each role partner. The predictor variables "closeness of supervision," "influence in determining the standards of supervision," and "innovativeness required by the job" were measured by similar Likert scales that were developed on the basis of previous research. The INDSALES scale and the procedures used in developing it, as well as many of the other scales used, are described in more detail in [8]. The "number of departments affecting the salesman's job" was measured by presenting the salesman with a checklist of departments and asking him to indicate the ones that had some influence over his activities. "Frequency of communication with the sales manager" was measured with a set of multiple choice

6 328 questions concerning the frequency of face-to-face, telephone, and written communication. The sum of these three frequency scores was used as a measure of total frequency of contact. RESULTS Multicollinearity Some of the variables used to define organizational climate, such as closeness of supervision, communications frequency, and ambiguity, might appear to be interrelated. Substantial multicollinearity among these variables would negate one's ability to treat them as separate variables for purposes of analysis. Therefore, multicollinearity was examined by the construction of a pairwise correlation matrix including all eight independent variables as well as overall job satisfaction. This matrix is presented in Table 1. JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1976 As Table 2 indicates, closeness of supervision and the salesman's influence over supervisory standards bear a significant positive relationship to his overall job satisfaction. In contrast, the innovativeness required of him and the ambiguity and conflict he experiences are negatively related to his satisfaction. These findings support hypotheses 1, 2, 5, 6, and The data also show a significant relationship between the salesman's time in his position and his overall job satisfaction. This relationship, however, is a negative one, just the opposite of the prediction in Hg. The possible reasons for this unexpected finding are explored in the next section. Finally, the predictions in H3 and H4 concerning the impact of the number of departments affecting the salesman's activities and the frequency of his communications with his sales manager were not Table 1 PAIRWISE CORRELATION AAATRIX OF PREDICTOR VARIABLES AND JOB SATISFACTION Variables X1 Closeness of supervision Xj Influence over standards X3 Amount of communication X4 Number of departments X5 Innovativeness Xj Ambiguity X7 Conflict Xg Time in position X9 Satisfaction X, X, ^s ^Q Xg -.III Xj Negative relationships between role ambiguity and the two supervisory variables of closeness of supervision and influence over standards are among the strongest correlations shown in Table 1. This finding is not surprising because the authors have discussed these relationships elsewhere [31]. These relationships are not very substantial, however, as the two supervisory variables together with time in position are capable of explaining only about 13% of the variation in role ambiguity across salesmen [31, p. 37]. Overall, Table 1 indicates that there is relatively little multicollinearity among the independent variables in this study. In the following analysis, therefore, they are treated as separate and distinct aspects of organizational climate. Impact on Overall Job Satisfaction A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the impact of each of the predictor variables on the total job satisfaction scores of the salesmen in the sample. Table 2 presents the beta coefficients and f-values for the least-squares solution. supported by the data. These two variables failed to enter the least squares solution at a statistically significant level. Overall, Table 2 shows that the organizational climate variables studied explain about 42% of the variation in overall job satisfaction across salesmen. Impact on Components of Job Satisfaction To understand more fully how the climate variables affect job satisfaction, additional stepwise regression analyses were run for each of the seven components of job satisfaction. The stepwise solutions for each of the satisfaction components are summarized in Table 3. Closeness of supervision. Table 3 indicates that, as predicted in the rationale for H,, closeness of supervision is related positively to a salesman's satisfaction with the job itself, supervision, company policies and support, and promotion and advancement. These findings seem to support the idea that many salesmen feel they have too much autonomy on the job. They are happier with their job and their supervisor when

7 ORGANIZATIONAL CUAAATE AND JOB SATISFACTION IN THE SALESFORCE 329 Table 2 STEPWISE REGRESSION RESULTS FOR TOTAL JOB Predictor variables X, Closeness of supervision Xj Influence over standards X3 Amount of communication X4 Number of departments Xj Innovativeness Xft Ambiguity X, Conflict Xg Time in position SATISFACTION 1?2 =.424 Significant at a =.001 level. "Significant at a =.01 level, n.s. = Not significant. Beta coefficients t-values n.s. n.s " they feel their performance is being watched and directed relatively closely. As a consequence of this close contact with the supervisor, these salesmen also have a better understanding of and appreciation for company policies and promotional criteria. Consequently, they express more satisfaction with these aspects of their jobs as well. Contrary to expectations, however, there is no relationship between closeness of supervision and the salesman's satisfaction with his pay. This finding may reflect the fact that the sales manager does not always have a major role in determining the salesman's pay, particularly if he is compensated largely by commission. Influence in determining standards. The salesman's perception that he has influence in determining the standards by which his performance is supervised and evaluated has the most pervasive impact on the components of satisfaction of all the climate variables examined. Table 3 shows that this variable is related positively to all of the components of satisfaction except "customers." This finding suggests that when the salesman feels he has an influence over the policies and procedures followed by his firm, he understands and accepts them more fully and, consequently, he is likely to be happier both with the policies themselves and with the other members of his firm who develop, administer, and implement them. Frequency of communication. Unlike the other two supervisory variables, the frequency of communication with sales managers is related significantly to only two components of salesmen's job satisfaction. This outcome suggests that the substance of the contact between a salesman and his supervisor is much more critical to his satisfaction and well-being than the frequency with which that contact occurs. Unexpectedly, Table 3 shows that the frequency of contact between a salesman and his supervisor is Table 3 STEPWISE REGRESSION RESULTS FOR EACH COMPONENT OF JOB SATISFACTIONBETA COEFFICIENTS AND t-values" Predictor variables X Closeness of supervision X2 Influence over standards X3 Amount of communication X4 Number of departments The job itself.186 (3.19)".273 (4.63)" X5 Innovativeness X5 Ambiguity (-3.16)" X, Conflict Xg Time in position R (-2.07)".187 Fellow workers.229 (3.78)" (-3.22)".112 Job Supervision.458 (8.99)".319 (6.18)" (-3.96)" (-2.28)".332 satisfaction components Company policies and support.208 (3.97)".328 (6.04)" (-2.30)" (-2.88)'= (-6.26)".324 Pay.203 (3.46)" (4.72)" (-2.74)'= (-3.06)'=.193 Promotion and advancement.169 (3.19)".351 (6.61)" (-2.07)" (-5.35)" (-5.11)".292 Customers (-2.58)'= (-6.75)" (-1.99)".183 t-values are in1 parentheses. "Significant at.001 level. '= Significant at.01 level. "Significant at.05 level.

8 330 related negatively to the salesman's satisfaction with his customers. This finding may be explained by the fact that communication is a two-way process; salesmen initiate communications as well as receive thern. Apparently salesmen are more likely to communicate with their supervisors when they face difficult and demanding customers than when their relationships with customers are smooth and uneventful. Number of departments influencing the salesman. Contrary to the predictions made in the development of H4, the number of departments that the salesman feels can influence or control his job activities is a variable that does not significantly affect any of the seven components of his job satisfaction. Apparently the principle of "unity of command" is not a critical factor for maintaining good morale within the salesforce. Innovativeness required of the salesman. The impact of the amount of innovativeness demanded of salesmen upon the components of job satisfaction is largely as predicted in the rationale for H5. Salesmen who feel that they must often find their own solutions to nonroutine problems seem to feel that they are not receiving adequate preparation or support from their company and their supervisors. Consequently, they tend to be less satisfied with supervision and with company policies and support. These salesmen are also less confident of their ability to perform their jobs to the satisfaction of their superiors and therefore tend to be more pessimistic about their chances for promotion. It is interesting to note, however, that the demand for innovativeness does not have a significant negative impact on satisfaction with the general nature of the sales job. Most salesmen seem to regard the challenge of nonroutine problems as a natural, perhaps even a desirable, aspect of their job. But they do want guidance and support from their company superiors in meeting such challenges. Role ambiguity. As expected, the salesman who is uncertain about what is expected of him on the job, how to satisfy the expectations, and how his performance will be evaluated is more likely to be dissatisfied with the job itself than the salesman who does not feel such ambiguity. The salesman appears to blame company management, his fellow workers in the firm, and especially his customers for not helping him to understand more clearly what they expect of him. Thus, there is a negative relationship between ambiguity and satisfaction with company policies, fellow workers, and customers. Interestingly, ambiguity does not significantly affect salesmen's satisfaction with supervision. This finding suggests that most salesmen do not perceive their immediate supervisor as a major source of their feelings of uncertainty. It helps to explain why previous studies have shown that supervisory style and JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1976 frequency of communication with the supervisor have relatively little impact on the total ambiguity a salesman experiences. He is most uncertain about the expectations of his other role partners, such as his customers. Role conflict. Contrary to the expectations stated in support of H7, perceptions of role conflict do not have a significant negative effect on salesmen's satisfaction with the nature of the sales job itself. As was the case with the demand for innovativeness, most salesmen do not feel that conflict necessarily negates the inherent satisfactions found in their work. As expected, however, salesmen do blame their role partners for making incompatible demands and for being insensitive to the other demands and constraints being placed upon them. Consequently, perceptions of conflict have a negative effect upon salesmen's satisfaction with supervisors, company policies, and customers. Also as expected, salesmen who experience relatively great conflict appear to become less confident of their ability to satisfy their superiors' expectations and consequently are more pessimistic about their chances for promotion and advancement. Time in position. The data in Table 3, together with an examination of the raw data, suggest some possible explanations for the negative relationship found between the amount of time a salesman has been in his job and his job satisfaction. A cross-tabulation of total satisfaction scores by time in position for all respondents shows that, on the average, the most satisfied salesmen are those who have held their jobs for two years or less. The least satisfied salesmen are those who have been in their present positions for between five and 15 years. There is some indication that the true relationship between experience and satisfaction may be curvilinear, with salesmen having more than 15 years on the job also being relatively satisfied. However, the number of salesmen in the sample with more than 15 years of experience was too small to test this hypothesis conclusively. The data in Table 3 show that experience is related negatively to three components of satisfaction: the job itself, pay, and promotion and advancement. Experience does not have a significant impact on the salesman's satisfaction with company policies, supervision, fellow workers, or customers. These findings suggest at least two possible explanations for the negative effect of experience on satisfaction. First, many people may enter industrial sales with expectations of eventual promotion into sales or marketing management. If such a promotion fails to materialize after about five years, the salesman may become disillusioned. He is likely to be particularly critical of his company's promotion practices and criteria and increasingly pessimistic about his chances for ever making it into a management position. He also may become less satisfied with selling as a job because he viewed it as a stepping stone to

9 ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND JOB SATISFACTION IN THE SALESFORCE 331 Other positions rather than a career in itself. A second and perhaps related reason for increasing job dissatisfaction among experienced salesmen may be a lack of adequate recognitionparticularly in the form of financial compensation and promotion to better territoriesfor salesmen who have been on the job for a relatively long period. In many occupations seniority is reflected directly in pay schedules and fringe benefits. Most sales compensation plans, however, do not reward experience except to the extent that it helps the salesman make more sales and commissions. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS One conclusion suggested by this study is that organizational climate is an important determinant of salesforce morale. More than 40% of the variation in total job satisfaction among salesmen is explained by the seven climate variables examined, even when the effects of time on the job are excluded. Thus, the sales manager who is concerned about the job satisfaction of his salesforce should pay as much attention to the general manner in which company policies and practices are developed, administered, and controlled as he does to his salesmen's feelings about the specific policies and practices themselves. The managerial implications of these findings, however, must be approached with caution. The salesmen's perceptions of organizational climate were measured. Such perceptions may not always be consistent with objective reality, and changes made by management in supervisory style may not always produce corresponding changes in workers' perceptions of the organization's climate. Another problem in developing the mangerial implications of these findings is that climate as defined herein is only partially under the control of a firm's managers. The most controllable elements of climate include the supervisory and organizational variables. They can be referred to as the "managerial climate." The "interpersonal climate" affecting the salesman, however, is to some extent beyond management's control. Managerial Climate The managerial climate includes the closeness of supervision, the amount of participation granted salesmen in determining supervisory standards, the frequency of communication between salesmen and their supervisors, the number of departments affecting sales activities, and the innovativeness demanded of the salesmen. One conclusion to be drawn from this study is that the highly autonomous and nonroutine nature of the sales job differentiates it from most other nonmanagerial positions in a firm. Consequently, industrial salesmen often are happier when management provides them with relatively high levels of structure, direction. and support in carrying out their jobs. The findings suggest several specific managerial implications. 1. Salesmen tend to be more satisfied with their jobs when they perceive that their immediate supervisor closely directs and monitors their activities. 2. Job satisfaction, however, does not seem to require frequent contact between sales managers and salesmen. Perhaps it is the substance of the contact rather than its frequency that is important to the salesman's morale. 3. Salesmen generally are more satisfied with their jobs when management provides them with adequate assistance and supportin the form of information, technical backup, training, etc.to help them cope with the nonroutine problems and unusual demands they encounter on the job. 4. When the salesman perceives that he is an active participant in determining the company policies and standards that affect him, he tends to be happier with those policies and standards as well as with the other members of his firm who administer and implement them. 5. Salesmen appear able to accept authority and direction from a number of different departments within their companies without a significant negative effect on their job satisfaction. Unity of command, in other words, does not appear to be critical for good salesforce morale. There may be limits to the amount of direction, support, and structure that salesmen will find desirable. If carried to extremes, for example, close supervision might so reduce the salesman's autonomy that he will feel overly restricted and become dissatisfied with his supervisor as well as many other aspects of his job. Within the range of observations included in this study, however, satisfaction increases as salesmen are given greater support and direction. Interpersonal Climate A final conclusion is that the nature of the relationships between a salesman and his role partnershis organizational superiors, his customers, family members, and othersalso has an effect on his job satisfaction. When the salesman is uncertain about what his role partners expect him to do or how they will evaluate his performance, he is likely to suffer some anxiety and dissatisfaction. Similarly, when he feels his role partners are making demands of him that are incompatible and impossible to satisfy, he is likely to experience anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, the authors' previous work has shown that management can do little to reduce the ambiguity and conflict salesmen experience. The managerial climate variables discussed are capable of explaining only about 2% of the variation in perceived conflict across salesmen, and about 13% of the variation in ambiguity [31]. Much of the ambiguity and

10 332 JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1976 conflict experienced by a salesman, then, appears to originate with people outside his organization and there is relatively little managment can do about it. Though managers may not be able to moderate the salesmen's perceptions of ambiguity and conflict, they may be able to influence the ways salesmen cope with and attempt to resolve these interpersonal problems. Sympathetic and supportive supervision and appropriate training programs, forexample, might help reduce the salesman's anxiety over ambiguity and conflict and, consequently, the dissatisfaction that results. REFERENCES 1. Blood, M. and C. Hulin. "Alienation, Environmental Characteristics and Worker Responses," Joumal of Applied Psychology, 51 (1967), Campbell, J. P., M. Dunnette, E. E. Lawler, III, and K. E. Weick, Jr. Managerial Behavior, Performance and Effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., Churchill, G. A., Jr., N. M. Ford, and O. C. 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