Willingness to mentor: An examination of salesperson antecedents

Nathaniel N Hartmann, Purdue University

Abstract

This dissertation is comprised of three distinct inter-related papers designed to examine antecedents of salesperson mentoring. This dissertation is concentrated within the sales context and focuses on the effects of, and relationships between, aspects of the psychological climate, psychological contract, job attitudes, organizational citizenship behavior and propensity to leave on willingness to mentor. Within the extant literature, organizational citizenship behavior theory is perceived as a fundamental theoretical framework for understanding why certain employees voluntarily serve as mentors. However, the extant literature has failed to empirically examine the appropriateness of applying organizational citizenship behavior theory in examining antecedents of mentoring. The first study examines the appropriateness of applying organizational citizenship theory in examining antecedents of mentoring. The effects of multi-faceted job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment on both OCBI(altruism) and willingness to mentor is examined. Given that organizational citizenship behavior theory emphasizes the role of work attitudes in the performance of organizational citizenship behavior, the second paper examines the effects of the psychological climate and psychological contract on multi-faceted job satisfaction. Despite a plethora of sales research recognizing that salesperson satisfaction is directed at specific aspects of the work environment, research is yet to examine how perceptions of the psychological climate and psychological contract affect satisfaction with specific work environment aspects. Hence, greater insight is yielded as to how organizations can manage perceptions of the psychological climate and psychological contract to prompt salesperson satisfaction with those aspects of the work environment most directly associated with antecedents of mentoring. Paper three borrows from both organizational citizenship behavior and social exchange theory. Paper three examines the interrelationships between psychological contract, global job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment and propensity to leave on organizationally directed citizenship behavior (OCBI), OCBI and willingness to mentor. Paper three is designed to provide organizations with insight into managing salesperson perceptions and affect to yield greater levels of OCBO, OCBI and mentoring.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Rutherford, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Marketing|Organizational behavior

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