The indirect effects of organizational controls on salesperson performance and customer orientation

Based upon Path Goal Theory (PGT) and organizational Socialization Theory (OST), we develop a conceptual model that identifies the indirect effects of organizational controls on salesperson performance and on salesperson customer orientation. Task clarity and affective commitment are posited as key mediating variables of the relationships between organizational controls and salesperson outcomes (salesperson performance and customer orientation). Research results, based on a sample of 151 salespeople, show that organizational controls affect both the salesperson's task clarity and the salesperson's affective commitment to the organization. Further, results show that task clarity affects salesperson performance, but that it has no effect on customer orientation. Affective commitment, however, has a significant impact on both outcomes. Theoretical, managerial, and future research implications are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.