The Impact of Stigma: Negative Stereotypes of Salespeople

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Academic Article Fall 2007 41Many commission-compensated salespeoplemay feel they are left with only two choices.They may perceive that they are stigmatizedand discount the likelihood of a successful saleoutcome as a consequence of the stigmaassociated with their sales position. Thischoice leads to lower effort. The secondchoice is to discount or ignore the opinions ofthe customer and focus on completing thetransaction. This strategy may lead toincreases in negative opinions as customersperceive the salesperson is unconcerned withtheir needs. As we suggest next, eventuallythis leads to negative stereotyping of thiscategory of salespeople or the stigmatizationof commission-based sales.Our understanding of stigmas, as a conditionthat influences interpersonal interactions,comes from the social sciences in general andmarketing in particular (Adkins and Ozanne2005; Link and Phelan 2001). While aconsensus definition of stigmatization iselusive, we propose that stigmatization is thecategorization of the sales role into astereotyped group and refers to patterns ofsocial rejection. Most stigma frameworks(Adkins and Ozanne 2005; Link and Phelan2001) embrace a social explanation forrejection. Signs of stigmatization includeexistence of an outward indicator of class,negative connotations attached to thestereotyped category, and wide disseminationof the stigma through popular media.An additional component of stigmatization isthat the target of this stereotyping must beaware of the negative categorization for it tohave an impact on self-image (Oyserman andSwim 2001). It is likely that automobilesalespeople are aware of the negative societalconnotations associated with their profession.Some evidence of this awareness is providedby salespeople’s widespread use ofeuphemisms for their profession such as‘account manager’ or ‘problem solver’ in orderto cast the profession in a more positive light(Blitzer 1994).A salesperson may or may not react to thestigma depending upon their choices outlinedabove. They may ignore customers and theiropinions, in which case the stigmatizationdoes not matter. Alternatively, thesalesperson may maintain a customerorientation. Then, the salesperson’sperception of stigmatization is likely to be asignificant influence on the effort expendedsince the negative categorization comes fromthe role referent customer. Stigmaconsciousness theories suggest that awarenessof stigmatization prevents the target of thestigma from “push(ing) themselves to excel inthat domain” (Pinel et al. 2005 p. 486). In asimilar vein, Bussey and Bandura (1999)maintain that targets of the stigma may lowertheir effort. This effect leads to our secondhypothesis:H 2 : A salesperson’s stigma-consciousness isinversely related to the salesperson’sself-reported effort.Manager SupportAs boundary spanners, salespeople must try tosatisfy both, customers and the company,which can cause role conflict for thesalesperson (Bagozzi 1980; Johlke and Duhan2001; Singh 1993). In addition, having to faceconstant rejection in selling, salespeople haveVol. 7, No. 4
42 Journal of Selling & Major Account ManagementFigure 1: Mediating Role of Effort and Manager SupportH2: negative H1: positiveStigma-consciousness Effort PerformanceManagers Supportto be self-motivated in order to be successful(Rich 1999). Self-guidance is particularlyimportant for commission-compensatedsalespeople. Under outcome-basedcompensation control and according to theagency theory perspective, this internalassurance is not likely to be bolstered by thesales manager.However, the sales manager plays a criticalrole in the salesperson’s performance inbuilding skills through coaching and training.In this role the sales manager is anothercritical referent source that influences thesalesperson’s perceptions about work(Leonard et al. 1999). Managers can alsoexert influence by providing individualizedsupport by way of personalized attention andby being empathetic to the feelings of thesalesperson. Personal support by managers,according to Dubinsky (1999), refers topersonal attention given to salespersons inindividual interactions and showing concernfor their well-being as well as theirprofessional development. This supportprovided by the sales manager can contributeto the salesperson’s successful performance ofthe expected work roles (Johlke and Duhan2001).In this model, because of the inclusion ofstigma, we suggest that managerial supportindirectly influences the salesperson’sperceptions of performance and more directlyinfluences the perceived effort exerted by thesalesperson. As our discussion in the previoustwo hypotheses indicates, research shows thatthe relationship between managerial supportand effort is reciprocal, i.e., managerialsupport can increase effort and vice versa(c.f. Luk and Shaffer 2005; Johlke and Duhan2001). Thus, we expect managerialsupport to mediate the internal assessmentprocesses of the salesperson. Managerialsupport, even in an outcome-based controlsystem, can mediate and decrease theinfluence of stigmatization on effort.Accordingly, we hypothesize:H 3 : Sales manager support will mediate thenegative influence of stigma-consciousness onself-reported effort.Northern Illinois University
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