Abstract
Role theory espouses, and extensive empirical research has found, that role stress can have deleterious effect on work outcomes of sales personnel. The findings of these investigations, however, are predicated on U.S.-based samples of salespeople. Whether similar results would be obtained with samples of salespersons in other countries has not yet been determined. This paper reports the results of a study that examined the impact of role stress on performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of industrial salespeople from the United States, Japan, and Korea. Tests of cross-national hypotheses indicate general consistency in the findings across the three countries.
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*Alan J. Dubinsky is Professor of Marketing at St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud, MN). His research interests are in the areas of personal selling and sales management. His research has appeared in Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Business Research, among others.
**Ronald E. Michaels is Associate Professor of Marketing at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. His research interests center on the effects of role stress on job outcomes in both personal selling and purchasing work environments. His research has appeared in Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Industrial Marketing Management, among others.
***Masaaki Kotabe is Assistant Professor of Marketing and International Business at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include global sourcing, competitive strategy, and cross-cultural comparative issues. His research has appeared in Journal of International Business Studies, Columbia Journal of World Business, International Marketing Review, and Journal of Marketing, among others.
****Chae Un Lim is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Kukmin University in Seoul, Korea. His research interests are in the areas of marketing channels, industrial marketing, sales force management, and international marketing. His research has appeared in Journal of International Business Studies and Psychological Reports.
*****Hee-Cheol Moon is Assistant Professor of International Business and Trade at Chungnam National University in Daejon, Korea. His primary research interests focus on the export marketing management of Korean manufacturing firms.
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Dubinsky, A., Michaels, R., Kotabe, M. et al. Influence of Role Stress on Industrial Salespeople's Work Outcomes in the United States, Japan and Korea. J Int Bus Stud 23, 77–99 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490260
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490260