THE INFLUENCE OF COWORKER FEEDBACK ON SALESPEOPLE

The authors investigate the effects of four types of coworker feedback-positive output, negative output, positive behavioral, negative behavioral-on salespeople's role clarity, satisfaction, and performance. These effects are further hypothesized to be contingent on salespeople's characteristics (e.g., need for conformity), their ability to provide self-feedback, and coworker characteristics (e.g., competence). The results suggest that behavioral feedback provided by coworkers is more functional than output feedback and that positive coworker feedback is more functional than negative feedback. Moreover, negative behavioral feedback provided by coworkers appears to have a dysfunctional impact on salespeople's performance. The contingency hypotheses are not supported. The study findings provide insights into the appropriateness of alternative types of organizational climates and suggest managerially actionable implications. The authors conclude by suggesting several directions for research.