Charles H. Schwepker, Megan C. Good
Purpose This research seeks to better understand how moral identity and supervisor bottom-line mentality impact salespeople’s customer-relationship-building behaviors. Specifically, it is proposed that salesperson moral identity can help offset the influence of supervisor bottom-line mentality on salesperson bottom-line mentality. A bottom-line mentality primarily focuses on bottom-line outcomes to the neglect of other priorities. Particularly critical in business-business markets where there is a need for performance and customer relationships to coexist, balancing the benefits and challenges of both factors is critical. Through this pursuit, we conclude that salespeople’s bottom-line mentality influences relationship-building behaviors, but that this relationship is moderated by the percentage of salespeople’s compensation that is fixed.Design/methodology/approach The proposed model and hypotheses were assessed via structural equation modeling on a sample of 227 business-to-business salespeople.Findings The study found that salesperson moral identity may govern bottom-line mentality and lead to customer-relationship-building behaviors. A supervisor’s bottom-line mentality, typically seen as a dysfunctional attitude, may lead to salespeople adopting a bottom-line mentality. Salespeople with higher, as opposed to lower, percentages of fixed compensation are more likely to reduce the effect of the salesperson’s bottom-line mentality and instead focus on customer-relationship-building behaviors. Those with a lower percentage of fixed compensation will focus less on customer-relationship-building behaviors.Research Implications Our research supports and extends ethical decision-making, control, and social cognitive theories. Importantly, it adds to the body of work on bottom-line mentality in business-to-business markets by assessing moral identity as a moderator of the trickle-down effect of supervisor BLM on subordinate (salespeople) BLM and customer-relationship-building. This negative effect can be lessened when the organization increases the amount of fixed compensation relative to variable compensation, as supported by salesforce control theory.Practical Implications A bottom-line mentality may drive individuals to achieve certain company goals, but it can drive some behaviors that may be detrimental to the organization, individual, or customers. This is particularly true in business-to-business markets where supervisors recognize the need to sell products and have the ability to pressure salespeople to direct efforts, and buyers and sellers jointly recognize the benefits of meaningful buyer/seller relationships. As our study found, a singular focus on the bottom line may have significant negative consequences on building customer relationships. Moral identity is negatively related to salespeople’s bottom-line mentality and may be a key to building long-term customer relationships despite having a supervisor with a bottom-line mentality. This suggests attention to consideration in recruitment, mentoring, coaching, and training. Management would benefit from a deeper understanding of how to effectively manage and improve salespeople’s customer-relationship-building behaviors.Originality/Value/Contribution This study is one of the few to examine bottom-line mentality in business-to-business sales. With increases in pressure exerted by senior leaders to increase market share, revenues, and profits, sales supervisors need to understand their expression of bottom-line mentality and its impact on salespeople. Theoretical and managerial implications suggest that a sales supervisor’s bottom-line mentality may have less effect on the salesperson’s customer-relationship-building behaviors when the salesperson has a high moral identity, a lower bottom-line mentality, and a higher percentage of fixed compensation exists. The findings contribute to ethical decision-making, control, and social cognitive theories.