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Antecedents and Consequences of Salesperson Job Satisfaction: Meta-Analysis

and Assessment of Causal Effects

Article  in  Journal of Marketing Research · February 1993

DOI: 10.2307/3172514

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 STEVEN P. BROWN and ROBERT A. PETERSON*

A three-phase quantitative investigation of relatianships involving salesperson job

satisfaction was undertaken. First, the strength, valence, and consistency of pairwise
relationships were assessed by means of a meta-analysis. Second, methodological
characteristics coded as moderator variables were used to account for variability
in study effects. Finally, weighted mean correlations resulting from the analysis of
pairwise relationships were used to evaluate a causal model of antecedents and
consequences of job satisfaction. In general, relatianships involving job satisfaction
were robust across study contexts. Systematic moderating effects of type of sales-
force and operationalization of job satisfaction were found, Several summary con-
clusions about antecedents and consequences of salesperson job satisfaction are
drawn from the analyses.

Antecedents and Consequences of Salesperson

Job Satisfaction: Meta-Analysis and
Assessment of Causal Effects

Job satisfaction is one of the most widely studied con-
structs in salesforce research. Empirical research has in-
vestigated numerous variables in attempts to determine
how it is created and how it affects other work out-
comes. Despite this extensive research, consensus has
not been established about several important relation-
ships. The strength, significance, and generality of re-
lationships involving job satisfaction have not been es-
tablished by integrating results across the research stream.
Moreover, no summary assessment of how job satisfac-
tion is detemiined and how it influences other job atti-
tudes and behaviors has been undertaken.
Because of the current status of salesforce job satis-
faction research, a quantitative assessment of relation-
ships involving job satisfaction across a variety of sales
contexts appears worthwhile. Such an assessment may
settle unresolved questions, establish the generality of
"Sleven P. Brown is Assistani Professor of Marketing and Tcny
Research Fellow. Terry College of Business, Univcrsily of Georgia.
Robert A. Pelcrson holds (he John T Sluart 111 Centennial Chair in
Business Adniinisiraiion and ihe Charles Hurwit/ Fellowship at the
University of Texas at Austin.
The authors appreciate the helpful suggestions of Tom Leigh. Bill
Cron. Jeff Sagcr, Subhash Sharma. Sritiivas Reddy. the editor, and
three anonymous JMR reviewers.
individual study fmdings, and account for variability in
study effects attributable to methodological decisions made
by researchers. It may also afford summary conclusions
about nomological effects involving salesperson job sat-
isfaction.
In particular, the objectives of our study are to (I)
assess the strength and consistency of pairwise relation-
ships involving salesperson job satisfaction, (2) account
for variance in these relationships by using study char-
acteristics as moderator variables, and (3) evaluate a causal
model of commonly studied effects involving job satis-
faction to establish their generality.
THE RESEARCH DOMAIN
The Job Satisfaction Construct
Locke (1976, p. 1300) defined job satisfaction as "a
pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of one's job or job experiences." He differ-
entiated between job satisfaction and morale by noting
that satisfaction has an individual rather than a group
referent and a temporal orientation toward the past and
present rather than toward the future. Churchill. Ford,
and Walker (1974, p. 255) delineated the conceptual do-
main of the job satisfaction construct as "all character-
istics of the job itself and the work environment which
[industrial] salesmen find rewarding, fulfilling, and sat-
isfying, or frustrating and unsatisfying."

Journal of Marketing Research

Vol. XXX (February 1993), 63-77
64
Operationally, job satisfaction has been investigated
as a salesperson's affective state t^lative to several job
facet.s. including the supervisor, the work itself, pay,
promotion opportunities, and coworkers (Churchill. Ford,
and Walker 1974; Smith. Kendall, and Hulin 1969). Many
researchers have considered the effects of these job fac-
ets separately, whereas others have summed or averaged
them into a global measure. Other widely used measures
of job satisfaction divide the construct into intrinsic and
extrinsic components (e.g.. Porter and Lawler 1968),
whereas still others merely consider the construct glob-
ally with no division into separate facets (e.g., Bagozzi
1980a.b; Hackman and Oldham 1975; Pearson, Barker,
and Elliott 1957).
Correlates of Jab Satisfaction
More than 30 constructs have been investigated em-
pirically as antecedents or consequences of job satisfac-
tion. To systematically review these antecedents and
consequences, we sttoicture our discussion by grouping
specific pairwise relationships into four summary cate-
gories: (1) work outcomes, (2) individual differences.
(3) role perceptions., and (4) two types of organizational
variables, supervisory behaviors and job/task character-
istics. Each of these summary categories consists of spe-
cific pairwise relationships. The following overview of
these relationships idenliftes inconsistencies and gaps in
prior research and provides a context for our investiga-
tion.
Work Outcomes
Much of the interest in salesperson job satisfaction stems
from its theoretical and empirical relationships with job
outcomes such as pertbmiance. organizational commit-
ment, propensity to leave, and turnover. Each is dis-
cussed briefly.
Sales performance. An extensive research literature
has addressed the question of whether satisfaction causally
precedes performance or vice versa (e.g., Bagozzi 1980a;
Schwab and Cummings 1970). Considerable conceptual
and empirical evidence appears to favor the conclusion
that performance is primarily antecedent to job satisfac-
tion (e.g.. Bagozzi 1980a: Sheridan and Slocum 1975;
Wanous 1974), though other evidence (e.g.. Behrman
and Perreault 1984; Dubinsky and Hartley i986a) sug-
gests that the relationship may be spurious and attrib-
utable to common antecedent variables. Regardless of
which of these interpretations is tnore accurate, sates
performance and job satisfaction have shown a consis-
tent but very modest positive association.
Organizational commitment. The question of causal
ordering has also been debated for Ihe job satisfaction-
organizational commitment relationship. Some authors
(e.g., Bateman and Strasser 1984) have argued that or-
ganizational commitment precedes job satisfaction,
whereas others have maintained that job satisfaction is
the antecedent (e.g.. Bluedom 1982; Johnston et al. 1990).
The preponderance of conceptual and empirical evidence
JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, FEBRUARY 1993
appears to favor the causal precedence of job satisfaction
(Bartol 1979; Reichers 1985). Organizational commit-
ment and job satisfaction have consistently been strongly
and ptisitively correlated in salesforce contexts as well
as in other organizational settings (Bateman and Strasser
1984; Johnston et al. 1990).
Propensity to leave and turnover. Propensity to leave
the organization, a behavioral intention that precedes ac-
tual salesperson turnover (e.g., Futrell and Parasuratiian
1984), has consistently been found to be related nega-
tively to job satisfaction and organizational commitment
(e.g.. Johnston et al, 1987, 1990). Empirical research
has consistently shown that propensity to leave is an ef-
fective predictor of salesperson turnover (e.g.. Johnston
et al. 1990; Sager, Varadarajan, and Futrell 1988) but
has been inconsistent with respect to antecedent effects
on propensity to leave. Some researchers (e.g.. Johnston
et al. 1987; Fem, Avila, and Grewal 1989) have found
that performance exerts a significant effect on propensity
to leave, whereas others (e.g., Futrell and Parasuratnan
1984) have not. Similarly, some researchers (Sager and
Johnston 1989; Sager, Varadarajan. and Futrell 1988)
have found a direct effect of satisfaction on propensity
to leave, whereas others (e.g., Johnston et al. 1990) have
not.
A negative relationship between job satisfaction and
turnover has con.sistently been found (Johnston et al. 1990;
Sager, Varadarajan, and Futrell 1988). Prevailing mixlels
represent salesperson turnover as a direct result of pro-
pensity to leave (Futrell and Parasuraman 1984; John-
ston et al. 1990). Propensity to leave is generally be-
lieved to mediate the effects of other antecedent variables
on salesperson turnover.
Individual Differences
Individual differences include both demographic and
dispositional variables. Demographic variables that have
been investigated include age, education, sales experi-
ence, and organizational tenure. Research on career stages
has suggested that salespeople's perspectives on their jobs
and profession evolve over titne. which in tum suggests
that variables such as age and organizational tenure may
be related, perhaps nonlinearly, to job satisfaction (e.g.,
Cron 1984; Cron and Slocum 1986).
With the exception of work motivation and task-spe-
cific and generalized self-esteem (e.g., Bagozzi !98()a,b;
Hafer and McCuen 1985; Kohli 1985), relatively few
dispositional variables have been studied in relation to
job satisfaction. In current models, the effects of these
variables on job satisfaction arc considered to be indi-
rect, mediated by sales performance. That is, salespeo-
ple with higher motivation level and more prositive self-
concept are more likely to be high performers because
they are willing to exert the necessry effort and bring
greater self-confidence to the selling task (e.g.. Bagozzi
1980a,b). According to prevailing models, the resulting
positive effect on sales performance is conveyed indi-
rectly to job satisfaction through its positive association
with perfonnance (e.g., Bagozzi 1980a).
SALESPERSON JOB SATISFACTION
Role Perceptions
Salespeople's perceptions about their role a.s organi-
zational boundary spanners (Pruden 1969; Pruden and
Reese 1972) have been frequently studied and found to
have important effects on job satisfaction. In particular,
effeets of three role perception constructs, role ambi-
guity, role conflict, and role clarity, have often been as-
sessed.' Both role conflict and role ambiguity have been
consistently negatively related to job satisfaction (Behr-
man and Perreault 1984; Jackson and Schuler 1985). Even
so, though the valence of these relationships has gen-
erally been negative, the magnitude of the effeets has
varied considerably across studies (e.g., Bagozzi 1980b;
Behrman and Perreault 1984; Ford, Walker, and Chur-
chill 1979). The effects of role ambiguity and role con-
flict on sales performance have been even less consistent
(cf. Bagozzi 1978; Hampton, Dubinsky, and Skinner
1986). Role clarity has consistently been found to be re-
lated positively to job satisfaction (e.g., Teas, Wacker,
and Hughes 1979; Kohli 1985), though the magnitude
of the effect has varied across studies.
Organizational Variables
Factors related to job design, organizational structure
and communication, supervisory behaviors, and com-
pensation have consistently been found to have Impor-
tant effects on job satisfaction (e.g., Churchill, Ford, and
Walker 1976). The many organizational variables that
have been studied can be partitioned Into two broad
subgroups, supervisory behaviors and job and task char-
acteristics.
Supervi.'iory behaviors. The nature and quality of the
interaction sales managers maintain with salespeople sig-
nificantly influence the latter's job satisfaction (e.g.,
Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1976; Jaworski and Kohli
1991). In general, studies have found that greater amounts
of consideration (e.g.. Teas 1981), feedback (Teas 1981),
communication (Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1976), close
supervision (Comer, Maehleit, and Lagace 1989), and
contingent approving behavior (e.g., Kohli 1985) are as-
sociated with greater job satisfaction. Arbitrary punish-
ing behavior, not surprisingly, has been related nega-
tively to job satisfaction (Kohli 1985; Schul, Remington,
and Berl 1990). These findings have been consistent across
studies.
Job/task characteristics. Job/task characteristics that
'Though the literature makes little conceptual distinction between
role ambiguity and role clarity (aside from the fact thai one is ihe
reverse of the oiher), Ihc constmct.s are treated separately here lor
three reasons. First, ihey arc likely to have different antecedents (e.g.,
managerial action.s that remove ihc sources of role ambiguity are likely
to improve role ctariiy). Secotid, effetts involving role clarity, on the
average, were slightly greater than those involving ntle ambiguity and
a greater number of outliers had to be removed to achieve homoge-
neity in the aggregated grouping than in the combination of the two
separale subgroups. Third, separate treatment of the effects better re-
riecis the nature of the research being summarized and guards against
los.s of interpretive precision from aggregation into overly broad cat-
egories (i.e.. the "apples and oranges problem"; Bangert-Downs
have been related to job satisfaction include task auton-
omy, task significance, task variety, participation, influ-
ence over standards, innovativeness required, job in-
volvement, value congruence, and pay (e.g., Becherer,
Morgan, and Richard 1982; Dubinsky and Skinner 1984;
Teas 1981). In general, greater job satisfaction appears
to be associated with more significant, challenging, and
varied tasks, with greater amounts of participation and
involvement, with shared values, and with higher pay.
Potential Moderator Variables
As Weitz (1981) has observed, findings of "simple
and sovereign" relationships that hold across the great
variety of sales contexts are unlikely, and contingency
approaches are necessary to understand more fully how
outcomes of sales work are determined. Research on job
satisfaction has been conducted in a variety of sales con-
texts with different types of salesforces and measure-
ment instruments. In our investigation, several different
study characteristics are coded as ptitential moderator
variables to account for variance in effect sizes. These
characteristics include the type of salesforce investigated
(industrial or nonindustrial), the type of customer served
(organizational or individual), whether a single-company
salesforce or multiple-company salesforces were stud-
ied, and job satisfaction measure (global vs. "by facet"
measurement).'
I
Type of Salesforce
The duties and responsibilities of sales jobs vary widely
across industries (Moncrief 1986). Various types of
salesforces have been studied, and job type has been found
to moderate effects involving satisfaction in sales and
other contexts (e.g., Ivancevicb and Donnelly 1974).
Thus, it is possible that the relationships between role
perception variables and satisfaction may be stronger
among salespeople with more difficult and challenging
boundary-spanning resptmsibilities because role stress and
the necessity of coping with it are more integral to such
jobs (e.g., Behrman and Perreault 1984; Pruden 1969),
Type of Customer Served
Type of customer served is closely related to type of
sales job, but sufficiently distinct to warrant separate
consideration (cf. Churchill et al. 1985). Churchill et al.
(1985) found modest mixlerating effects of customer type
on relationships between several types of predictor vari-
ables and sales performanee.
Number of Company Salesforces Studied
Though the majority of studies involved only one
salesforce, this was often recognized as a potential lim-
itation on generalizability. Aggregating findings across
'Too few available study effects and/or inadequate descriptions of
sample characteristics precluded assessment of additional ptjtential
moderator variables .such as company size or longitudinal versus cross-
.sectionaJ studies.
66
studies provides an opportunity to assess the substantive
effect of this potential limitation by comparing results of
studies conducted on one salesforce with those of studies
conducted on multiple salesforces.
Job Satisfaction Measure
The two most commonly used job satisfaction mea-
surement scales, the job descriptive index (JDI; Smith,
Kendall, and Hulin 1969) and INDSALES (Churchill.
Ford, and Walker 1974), both measure satisfaction by
facet. Other measurement instruments (e.g.. Porter and
Lawler 1968; Hackman and Oldham 1975) measure sat-
isfaction globally. The aggregation of findings across
studies affords an opportunity to assess the magnitude of
nomological validity levels obtained by using the two
different approaches to measuring job satisfaction.
METHOD
Collection and Coding of Studies
Studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis were iden-
tified by searching the ABI-Inform and Psychlit com-
puterized databases and conducting issue-by-issue searches
of eight journals and two series of proceedings vol-
umes. References appearing in relevant publications were
searched for additional studies that might be included.
Tbe effect size metric used in our study was r, the
zero-order Pearson product-moment correlation coeffi-
cient."" Fifty-nine studies were identified that could be
included in the analyses; they contained 254 usable study
effects.*
Mssue-by issue searctie<> were conducled of the Journal of Market-
ing Re.seiirch, Journal of Marketing. Journal of the Academy of Mar-
keting Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management,
Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Research. Acad-
emy of Management Journal. Administrative Science Quarterly, and
proceedings volumes published by the American Marketing Associ-
ation and Academy of Marketing Science.
'"Partialed" effects from multiviiriate models, such as regression
or path coefficients, were not used in the analyses because such ef-
fects are not comparable across studies unless the same variables are
included in the model in every study (Hunter and Schmidt 1990. p.
272).
^A list of Ihe studies included in the meta-analysis is available from
the authors. Some studies that investigated salesperson job satisfaction
could noi be included in the analyses for several reasons: (I) some
were conceptual lathcr ihan empirical (e.g.. Walker, Churchill, and
Ford 1977). (2) some could not be included because their results were
obviously based on the same data as those in other studies that were
included (e.g., Kohli utih^ed the same data in his 1985 and 1989
studies). (3) some considered only one facet of job .satisfaction (e.g..
Motowidlo 1982 ftK'used exclusively on pay satisfaction). (4) some
mixed salespeople and other types of workers in (he same sample and
did not report results separately for the salespeople (e.g.. Singh and
Rhodes 1991), (5) some reported results only in multivariate models,
and these study effects could not be convened to r (e.g.. Teas 1981).
(6) some investigated constructs ihat tlgure in our model but did not
include job satisfaction (e.g.. Hart. Moncrief, and Pamsuraman 1989),
(7) some reported relationships that were unique to that study and thus
could not be integrated with those in other studies (e.g.. Puffer 1987).
In all, we identified 30 studies that could not be included in the anal-
ysis for one or more of the preceding reasons.
JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, FEBRUARY 1993
After the relevant studies were identified, eacb was
coded for the potential moderator variables described
previously. The studies were coded independently by one
of the authors and a second coder. No discrepancies were
found.
Analysis of Pairwise Relationships
The meta-analysis was conducted according to pro-
cedures suggested by Hedges and Olkin (1985). These
procedures are statistically rigorous and their validity is
widely accepted (e.g., Bangert-Downs 1986; Rao and
Monroe 1989). They emphasize homogeneity tests to as-
sess the significance of variation in study effects and
suggest approaches such as partitioning effects by means
of moderator variables and eliminating outliers until ho-
mogeneity is achieved (Hedges and Olkin 1985).
The first stage of the meta-analysis entailed conduct-
ing an analysis of each pairwise relationship involving
job satisfaction for which multiple study effects were
available. Individual study effects were weighted by an
estimate of the inverse of the variance {N — 3) to give
greater weight to more precise estimates (Hedges and
Olkin 1985, p. 227 ff.). Homogeneity tests were then
conducted according to formulas given by Hedges and
Olkin (1985, p. 235) to assess the significance of the
variance in effect sizes. Methodological details of the
homogeneity tests are provided in the Appendix.
For nonhomogeneous relationships, if elimination of
a single outlier did not result in homogeneity and at least
10 study effects were available, moderator analyses w. e
conducted to account for the variance in effect sizes. Study
effects were partitioned into subgroups on the basis of
values of the moderator variables and the weighted mean
observed correlations of the subgroups compared. Sig-
nificance tests of differences in subgroup means were
conducted according to tbe formula given by Rosenthal
(1984, p. 118). The study effects were then regressed
on the coded study characteristics to assess whether the
moderator variables, considered jointly, adequately ac-
counted for the variance in study effects.
Causal Model
Hunter and Schmidt (1990, p. 4()) suggested that meta-
analysis can be employed in theory development by us-
ing aggregated study effects to test causal models. Ac-
cordingly, we use weighted average effect sizes resulting
from the analyses just described to explore nomological
relationships among some of the most frequently studied
and substantively important antecedents and conse-
quences of job satisfaction.
The hypothesized model is depicted in Figure 1. The
relationships represented in the model have all been in-
vestigated in several empirical studies, but the research
findings for these relationships are inconsistent in terms
of their significance, magnitude, and, in some cases, va-
lence. Estimation of tbe mtxicl with study effects aggre-
gated across the research stream is intended to address
questions about the nature, strength, and generality of
SALESPERSON JOB SATISFACTION
Figure 1
HYPOTHESIZED MODEL
the nomological relationships by using all available evi-
dence, This analysis also makes possible an integrative
quantitative assessment of the much-debated questions
of whether job satisfaction constitutes a cause or an ef-
fect of sales performance and organizational commit-
ment (cf., Bagozzi 1980a; Johnston et al. 1990).
For a construct to be included in the analysis, multiple
study effects relating it to every other construct in the
model were required. Because of the limited number of
study effects available, it was not possible to include su-
pervisory behaviors, job/task variables, or personal
characteristics in the causal model. even though they have
generally been found to be antecedents of salesperson
role perceptions and job satisfaction (e.g., Behrman and
Perreault 1984; Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1976; John-
ston et al. 1990). The constructs included in the model
were the ones most frequently studied in relation to job
satisfaction and each was represented by at least 11 study
effects. Furthermore, despite virtual consensus that pro-
pensity to leave exerts a strong effect on salesperson
turnover (e.g., Futrell and Parasuraman 1984; Johnston
et al. 1990), multiple study effects relating actual turn-
over to other constructs in the model were not available.
Therefore, propensity to leave was used as a proxy for
actual turnover.
Antecedent Effects
The model posits negative effects of role ambiguity
and role conflict on both sales performance and job sat-
isfaction. Empirical effects of these role constructs on
job satisfaction have been primarily negative in valence,
but not consistently significant. They have had generally
weaker and more inconsistent effects on sales perfor-
mance.
Sales performance is modeled as an antecedent of job
satisfaction, consistent with the best available evidence
on the causal priority of these constructs (Bagozzi 1980a;
Sheridan and Slocum 1975; Wanous 1974). As noted
previously, however, Behrman and Perieault (1984) have
contended that the frequently observed small ptisitive as-
sociation between performance and satisfaction may be
attributable to the relationship of both with common an-
tecedent variables. Results of several empirical studies
(e.g., Dubinsky and Hartley 1986; Hampton. Dubinsky,
and Skinner 1986) have supported the Behrman and Per-
reault contention.
Consequent Effects
Consistent with the best available conceptual and em-
pirical evidence (Bluedom 1982; Johnston et al. 1990;
Reiehers 1985), organizational commitment is modeled
as a consequence of job satisfaction. Consistent with the
findings of Johnston et al. (1990). the model posits a
direct negative effect of organizational commitment on
propensity to leave and no direct effect of job satisfac-
tion on propensity to leave. That is, the negative effect
of job satisfaction on propensity to leave is posited to be
indirect and mediated by organizational commitment.
Inasmuch as sales performance is likely to be partially
a function of company resources, such as product, rep-
utation, standing in the industry, and office support of
selling efforts (Weitz 1981), it is logical to posit a direct
positive effect of sales perfonnance on organizational
commitment. To the extent that salespeople attribute
performance outcomes to organizational support, their
commitment to the organization is likely to increase.
Procedure
The causal model analysis was conducted by con-
structing a matrix of weighted mean observed correla-
tions of all of the pairwise relationships among con-
structs in the tnodel and using the matrix as input to a
LISREL estimation program. In the model, paths con-
necting the constructs to their observed measures were
fixed to equal the square root of the sample-size-weighted
tiiean Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient computed
across studies (U>ehlin 1987, p. 105).
., . RESULTS .
Meta-Analysis ,'
Table 1 lists the number of study effects, cumulative
satnple size, weighted mean observed correlation and
weighted mean correlation corrected for attenuation from
measurement error, and 95% confidence intervals for each
pairwise relationship represented by multiple study ef-
fects. Table 1 indicates the frequency with which various
constructs have been studied in relation to salesperson
job satisfaction. Means for the summary categories were
computed as simple means of the average effect sizes
within categories. This approach minimized the potential
biasing of results by weighting multiple effects from the
same study by the sample size and thus overrepresenting
large-sample studies and underrepresenting smaller-sam-
ple studies that reported a number of relationships (Ban-
gen-Downs 1986).
68 JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, FEBRUARY 1993

Table 1
ANALYSIS OF SUMAAARY CATEGORIES AND SPECIFIC PAIRWISE RELATIONSHIPS INVOLVING JOB SATISFACTION

95% confidence 95% confidence

Number of inter\'al interx'al
Relationship study effects Cumulative N Observed f Corrected f (observed^ t corrected)'
Wari oulfomrs 66 I4.I0K ..W ,37
Pc cfomiaiiL'e-&al li fai:! ion 2» 7.621 ,13 ,15 07 < p< . 19 .08 < p < .22
Pnipensiiy to leave- saiisfaciHin 19 3,992 -36 -.46 -.54 <p< -.18 -.66 < p < - . »
Sail s fac Hun • I urmiver 7 908 -.22 -.24 -.32 <p<; -.12 -.39 < p < -.13
Organ iuiional commitment-^aii.sfaction 11 1,387 50 .60 .24 < p< .76 .30 < p < .90
Prrional. haraaerisiift 38 11,575 ,14 .19
Orgiuii/atUinul IcfiurC'SaiisfocIJcm 13 3.762 -02 -.03 - . 0 9 < p < ,05 -.11 < p < .OS
Work tiiotivuion-salisfaclion 6 1.106 ,30 .41 .10 < p < .30 .14 t p< .68
EducMiim - sat isfiaKMi 6 2.143 - 09 -.10 --24 < p < ,06 - . 2 7 < p < .07
Age -satisr«.i ion 6 2.250 - 04 -.03 -.14 < p < .06 -.17 < p < .07
Specific self-esiccm-5»iisf»ction 5 1.836 22 .28 .02 < p < .42 .03 < p < .53
General i in] sclf-c<^Ki;m--uili^ljK:lion 2 458 .17 .23 .08 < p < .26 .07 < p < .43
Role percepiioni 38 6.225 36 .43
Roir amhigiiiiy'SaIi<ir»::H>r 15 2.431 -.36 -.45 -,62< p< - 10 -.75 < P-: -.13
Role ci)nt1ic|.\3ti.il>L'tion t7 2.641 - 33 -.42 - . 5 2 < p < -.04 -,80< p < -.04
Role clariiy.sjtisfKtJon 6 1.153 ,40 .49 .M < (>< .60 ,24 < p < .74
Organhaiional variables 30 9.633 30 .41
Supervisory behaviors 19 3.544 ,30 NA
Clmcnos of iiipcrvisJon-satisFaclKm 5 928 37 .43 ,25 < p < .49 .31 < p < .59
Leader t:on%idcralion-«Btisfaction 4 552 .37 .47 .17 < p < .57 ,27 < p < .67
Job feedback -lialisfoElion 4 581 .23 .38 .03 <; p < .43 03 < p < .53
Comingnl rewa^d^-^aIi.^faction 2 311 ,43 .49 .42 < p < .44 .46 < p < .52
Arbitrary punuhment-ialiiifaction 2 311 - 30 -.37 - . 5 2 < p < -.08 -.63 < p < -.09
Amount of commiSimn-i-alisfiti'lion 2 461 ,08 NA' - , l 4 < p < .30 NA
Job/las k variables 31 6.089 26 NA
Job invotvemcnt'saliiifacliiin 6 2.021 .27 .33 . 2 l < p < .33 .25 <: p <; .41
Influence over KlandardS'SiUisfactHHi 4 722 .40 .44 .23 < p < .33 .27 < p < .61
P»tiic i pal ion- saii sfa-tion 3 361 .33 .43 .06 < p < .64 .11 < p < .73
tnniivaiiveimt n:quiiEil-.!ia[isfac[itiii 3 688 .07 NA -.26 < p < .40 NA
Task vantly-saliafaclion 3 463 .24 .30 .11 < p < .37 15 < p < .43
Task sitEnificance-talisfacEiun 3 465 .24 .30 .18 < p < .30 .25 < p < .33
Task autonomy-salisfaclion 3 463 .21 .27 .15 < p < .27 1B< p < .36
Paj-sails faction 3 433 18 .26 -.11 < p < .47 - I2< p < .64
Value congTucnce-saiisfactiun 3 40 .57 .35 < p < ,45 32 < p < .82
'NA itidicates insufficient ttliability information available to correct study effects for measurement error.

Of the three categories of antecedent variables, role
perceptions had the highest average correlation with job
satisfaction (r = .36), followed by the two types of or-
ganizational variables, supervisory behaviors (r = .30)
and job/task variables (r = .26), and individual differ-
ences (r ~ .14). Job satisfaction had an average corre-
lation of .30 with other work outcomes.
Homogeneity Tests
Homogeneity tests revealed overall consistency of re-
sults for most of the relationships considered. Only in
the case of 11 pairwise relationships was deletion of more
than a single study effect necessary to achieve overall
homogeneity, In only a single case (role conflict-satis-
faction) was deletion of more than two study effects nec-
essary. This finding indicates considerable robustness and
generalizability of job satisfaction effects across rela-
tionships and study contexts.
Moderator Analyses
Moderator analyses were conducted on relationships
that required deletion of more than a single study effect
to achieve homogeneity and for which at least 10 study
effects were available. Table 2 presents the results of
moderator analyses comparing weighted subgroup means.
Two of the moderator variables (type of .salesforce and
job satisfaction measure) had significant effects on two
pairwise relationships.
The effects of role ambiguity and role conflict on job
satisfaction were significantly stronger for Industrial
salespeople than for nonindustrial salespeople. Thus, role
perception variables appear to have a greater impact on
job satisfaction for industrial salespeople than they do
for other types of salespeople.
Use of a global measure of job satisfaction versus
measurement by facets had a significant moderating ef-
fect on relationships between role atnbiguity and role
conflict and job satisfaction. The effects of these role
constructs on job satisfaction were greater for studies that
measured satisfaction by facet than for those that mea-
sured it globally. Though we can only speculate about
the reason for this finding, it is possible that the much
greater number of items in "by facet" measures (such as
JDI and INDSALES) tap the domain of the satisfaction
SALESPERSON JOB SATISFACTION 69

Table 2
WEIGHTED MEAN OBSERVED CORRELATIONS BY LEVELS OF MODERATOR VARIABLES

Relationship
Organizational
Role ambiguity- Role conflict- commitment-
Moderator satisfaction satisfaction satisfaction
Industrial vs. nonindustrial -.39 vs. -.32' - . 3 6 vs. -.25" .50 vs. .48
salesforcc (8 vs. 6) (7 vs. 8) (1 vs. 10)
Institutional vs. -.38 vs. -.30 - . 3 1 vs. -.29 .49 vs. .49
individual customer (11 vs. 3) (II vs. 4) (6 vs. 5)
Global vs, "by facet" -.27 vs. -.41" - . 2 5 vs. -.33^ .45 vs. .50
satisfaction mea.sure (5 vs. 9) (5 vs. 9) (4 vs. 7)
Single vs. multiple -.33 vs. -.41 - . 2 8 vs. -.39 .49 vs. .50
company salesforce (10 vs. 4) (12 vs. 4) (10 vs. 1)
'Sigtiitlcant at p < .05.
'Significant at p < .01.

construct more completely with greater resultant con-
struct (including nomological) validity than global mea-
sures.
The ability of moderator variables to account jointly
for the variance in study effects was assessed by re-
gressing Fischer's 2-transforms of individual study cor-
relations on the coded study characteristics (Hedges and
Olkin 1985, p. 240).*" Analysis of residuals (reported in
Table 3) indicated that the moderator variables, consid-
ered jointly, adequately accounted for the variance in all
of the relationships considered except the role conflict-
satisfaction relationship. The residual variance was mar-
ginally significant for the role ambiguity-satisfaction and
satisfaction-organizational commitment relationships, but
in both cases elimination of a single outlier resulted in
nonsignificance. Inspection of the residuals from the
'"The sample-size-weighted sum of squared residuals is distributed
approximately as chi square, permitting a significance test of the ad-
equacy of model specification. Significance of the sum of squared
residuals suggests that the model is not adequately specified to ac-
count for all of the variance in effect sizes and that other, unidentified
sources of variation in the study effects are present. Nonsignitlcance
of sum of squared residuals suggests that no residual variance remains
unexplained.
Table 3
HOMOGENEITY TESTS OF RESIDUALS FROM MODERATOR
VARIABLE REGRESSION MODELS
Ri-littioiiship Q d.f.
Role ambiguity-satisfaction 22.79' 13
Role conflict-satisfaction 80.01" 13
Satisfaction-organizational commitment 23.57- 10
'Significant at p < .05, but elimination of a single outlier results
in homogeneity.
"Significant at p < .001.
regression analysis revealed that significant variation re-
mained unexplained by the moderator variables for the
relationship between role conflict and satisfaction, sug-
gesting that other, unidentified moderators of this rela-
tionship may be present.
Causal Model Estimation
Prior to estimation of the causal model, a test was con-
ducted to assess the impact of using all available study
effects versus using only the homogeneous sets of study
effects. (The rationale and procedure for this test are de-
scribed in the Appendix.) The test indicated that the
complete and homogeneous sets of average correlations
were equivalent overall. On the basis of this test, the
complete set of study effects was used in the causal anal-
ysis so as to utilize all the available data. Thus, the anal-
ysis involved assessment of effects across the entire re-
search stream. Both matrices of average intercorreiations
are given in Table 4 for comparison.
Fitting the mtxlel represented in Figure I to the ag-
gregated study effects resulted in a significant chi square
fit statistic of 123.00 with 8 degrees of freedom {p <
.(X)l), with goodness-of-fit index of .968 and root mean
square residual of .055.' These indices indicate a poor
fit of the model to the aggregated study effects.
Path coefficients for the basic model are presented in
Table 5. Two of the hypothesized paths (role conflict-
perfonnance, performance-satisfaction) were not statis-
tically significant. To gain a more accurate understanding
of nomological effects, the basic model was modified to
better fit the aggregated data.
'In the causal modei analysi.s. the irttidian sample size from the meta-
analysis of relationships among constructs in the model {N = 1251)
was used. This sample size was larger than that of any primary em-
pirical study (median N = 175) and thus provided a very sensitive
test of the goodness of model fit and the significance of structural
model paths.
7D JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, FEBRUARY 1993

Table 4
AVERAGE INTERCORRELATION A M O N G CONSTRUCTS IN THE MODEL"

Construct
Construct RA RC PERF SATIS OC PTL
Role ambiguity (A4) [79] .20 -.31 -.33 -.35 .36
Standard deviation .08 .10 .08 .13 .12
Number of studies 5 6 13 5 4
Cumulative sample size 842 826 2166 534 414
Role conflict [RC) .28 [.77] -.07 -.26 -.40 .28
Standard deviation .18 .10 .09 .12 .10
Number of studies 9 1 1 8 12 6 3
Cumulative sample size 1245 12S1 2042 712 337
Performance [PERF) -.24 -.07 [.88] .13 15 -.12
Standard deviation .15 .10 .07 .10 .09
Number of studies 7 8 29 7 9
Cumulative sample size 1204 1251 7021 863 1571
Satisfaction {SATIS) -.36 -.33 .13 1-851 .54 -.35
Standard deviation .13 .16 .07 .10 .07
Number of studies 15 17 29 9 18
Cumulative sample size 2431 2641 7621 1355 3890
Organizational commitment (OC) -.28 -.34 .IS .50 L-85] -.70
Standard deviation .1g .16 .10 .13 .06
Number of studies 6 7 7 11 4
Cumulative sample size 654 915 863 1587 423
Propensity to leave (PTL) .36 .28 -.12 -.36 -.70 [-78)
Standard deviation .12 .10 .09 .09 06
Number of studies 4 3 9 19 4
Cumulative sample size 414 357 1571 3992 423
'Entries below ihe diagonal represent the complete set of study effects. Those above the diagonal represent the reduced set of homogeneous
effects. Entries in the diagonal [ J are weighted mean Cronbach alpha coefficients.

Results of each step of the model modification pro-
cedure are reported in Table 6. First, the two nonsig-
nificant paths were removed from the model. Next, paths
were added sequentially, on the basis of the criteria of
substantive interpretability and expected gain in model
fit (e.g.. Kaplan 1990; McCallum 1986). The first pa-
rameter freed was the path linking role conflict to or-
ganizational commitment. Several empirical studies found
a significant negative pairwise correlation between these
constructs {e.g.. Darden, Hampton, and Howell 1989;
Dubinsky and Hartley 1986; Dubinsky and Skinner 1984;
Johnston et al. 1990). and LISREL modification indices
suggested that job satisfaction did not cotnpletely me-
diate tbe relationship as posited in the basic model.
The modification indices suggested a direct effect of
role ambiguity on propensity to leave in addition to the
indirect effect mediated by job satisfaction. This path at
first appeared nonintuitive, but reflection suggested suf-
ficient rationale to add it. Some salespeople may expe-
rience role ambiguity less as a result of tack of guidance
or clarification from managers than as a result of a lack
of confidence in tbeir ability to make the many routine
decisions required of them as organizational boundary
spanners. Thus, they may feel misplaced in the role of
salesperson and begin the process of thinking about leav-
ing the sales job for one that suits them better. This ra-
tionale would account for a direct relationship between
role ambiguity and propensity to leave that is not me-
diated by organizational commitment.
The revised model is presented in Figure 2. Estimation
of this model resulted in a much improved fit to the ag-
gregated study effects (x^ ^ 35.69 with 8 d.f., p < .01,
goodness of fit index = .991. RMSR = .021). These
indices suggest a very good fit of the model to the ag-
gregated data. The significant chi square value for over-
all model fit is largely attributable to the large sample
size used in the analysis (A' = 1,251).'^ and the small
"Marsh. Balla. and McDonald (1988. p. 391) warn that "the prob-
ability of detecting a fal.sc model increases wiih N even when Ihe
model is trivially false." Our analy.sis. using a sample size much grcaler
than thai typical of studies in the research stream, fumi.shes a case in
point.
The modification indices suggested that a still better fit could t>e
obtained by adding a direct job satisfaction-propensity to leave path.
Some previous empirical studies (e.g.. Johnston et al. 1988) had found
a significant direct relationship, whereas others (e.g., Johnston ct al
1990) had not. Addition of the direct job sat is fact ion-propensity to
leave path resulted in an improved fit of x" O d.f.) = 8.07, p = ,327.
Though this improvement in Tit was significant and resulted in an
extremely well-fitting model, an anomalous positively valenced coef-
ficient for the direct satisfaction-propensity to leave path (.19) and
inflation of the standard enors of the other paths antecedent to pro-
pensity to leave resulted. This result was contrary to theory, common
sense, and the cumulative findings of empirical research pertaining to
this relationship. Thus, though the aggregated data suggested a sig-
nificant direct satisfaction-pmpensity to leave relationship, adding the
path to the model adversely affected the precision and interpretability
of the path estimates Hence, the estimates presented in Figure 2 and
Table 5 are for the mixlel that does not include the direct satisfaction-
propensity to leave path.
SALESPERSON JOB SATISFACTION 71

Table 5 Figure 2
STANDARDIZED PATH COEFFICIENTS AND REVISED MODEL
f-VALUES FOR HYPOTHESIZED A N D REVISED MODELS

Standardized
Relanonship coefficient (- vatue
Hypothesized model
RA -» RC .36 1L!9
RA -» PERF -.29 -8.12
RC — PKRF .02 .52
RA — SATIS -.33 -9.37
RC -» SATIS -.31 -8.99
PE-RF -» SATIS .03 .86
PKRF — OC .09 3.12
SATIS -* OC .58 20.06
O C ^ PTL -.85 -33.52
X' = 123.00
d.f. = 8
p < .001
GFI = .968
RMSR = .055
Revised model
RA -> R C .36 11.22
RA - PERF -.28 -8.77
RA -* SATIS -.33 -9.77 ing reciprocal causation between job satisfaction and or-
RC -* SATIS -.29 -8.28 ganizational commitment and examining the valences and
RC ^ OC -.22 -6.53
RA — PTL .18 6.75 statistical significance of the resulting estimates. In this
PERF -» OC .08 2.78 case, the model estimated was identical to the revised
SATIS - • OC .47 14.58 model depicted in Figure 2, but with the addition of a
O C - * PTL -.78 29.42 reciprocal causal path fnini organizational commitment
X' = 35.69
d.f. = 8 to job satisfaction. The standardized path ct^fficients.
/) < .01 standard errors, and /-values for the reciprocal paths be-
GFI = .991 tween job satisfaction and organizational commitment
RMSR = .021 follow.
Path
Relationship coefficient Sh t-value
RX)t mean square residual indicates the model's ability Satisfaction-organ izalional
to accurately reproduce the correlations among the con- commitment .59 .097 6.06
Organizational commitment-
structs. satisfaction -.17 .140 -1.21
Antecedence of Job Satisfaction-Organizational The Standardized coefficient of the satisfaction-or-
Commitment ganizational commitment path had the predicted positive
A test used by Bagozzi (1980a) to evaluate the causa! valence, whereas that of the organizational commit-
priority of sales performance with respect to job satis- ment-satisfaction path was negative and counter to the
faction was used to assess whether job satisfaction is pri- prediction. Moreover, the satisfaction-organizational
marily antecedent to organizational commitment or vice commitment path was statistically significant, but the or-
versa. The test involved estimating a model incorporat- ganizational commitment-satis fact ion path was not.

Table 6
MODEL FIT INDICES

McDonatd' s
Gain d.f. absolute
Model d.f. (los.s) gain/loss ftt index
Hypothesized mtxiel 123.00 8 .955
Delete RC -» PERF 123.96 10 (.96) 2 .955
and PERF — SATIS
Add RC -» OC 79.22 9 44.74 I .972
Add RA -» PTL 35.69 8 43.53 I .989
Add SATIS - • PTL 8.32 7 27.37 I .9995
72
Though the aggregated data were correlational rather ihan
experimental and primarily cross-sectional rather than
longitudinal, this analysis suggests that the primary di-
rection of causation is from job satisfaction to organi-
zational commitment rather than the reverse. It provides
additional support for previous theoretical arguments and
empirical evidence favoring the causal precedence of job
satisfaction (Bartol 1979; Reichers 1985).
A similar test of the causal ordering of sales perfor-
mance and job satisfaction was planned, but estimation
of the basic model indicated that the path coefficient
linking the two constructs was not significantly different
from zero, suggesting the absence of any causal effect.
This finding appears to support the contention of Behr-
man and Perreault (1984) that the often-observed small
correlation between these two constructs may be spu-
rious rather than causal.
Summary of Eindings
The modifications resulting in the improved fit of the
revised model depicted in Figure 2 suggest several sum-
mary points about causal effects. For example, role con-
flict does not have the predicted significant negative ef-
fect on sales performance. Also, when effects of common
antecedents are controlled, performance and job satis-
faction are not directly causally related, and perfonnance
does not have significant direct or indirect causal effects
on propensity to leave. The effect of performance on or-
ganizational commitment, though statistically significant
given the large sample size used in the analysis, is weak
and lacking in substantive significance. The revised model
also indicates that job satisfaction only partially mediates
the effect of role conflict on organizational commitment
and that role conflict exerts a significant negative direct
effect on organizational commitment. Role ambiguity is
not significantly related to organizational commitment,
but it does have a significant direct negative effect on
propensity to leave. The model also indicates that, as
expected, both role ambiguity and role conflict have sig-
nificant direct negative effects on job satisfaction and
that organizational commitment is primarily a conse-
quence, rather than an antecedent, of job satisfaction.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
A meta-analysis can provide quantitative evidence of
the generalizability of effects across studies and research
contexts—or it can disconfirm the generality of phenom-
ena thought to be consensual. Moreover, a meta-analysis
can provide fresh insights into a research area by some-
times pnxlucing surprising and unanticipated results. Our
meta-analysis and assessment of nomological effects ac-
complished all three.
Our quantitative summary of research on the anteced-
ents and consequences of salesperson job satisfaction
provides several insights. One is that relationships in-
volving salesperson job satisfaction have been relatively
consistent acn>ss studies and research contexts. Only three
of the 28 relationships investigated had significant amounts
of variance in study effects after the elimination of a
JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, FEBRUARY 1993
single outlier. Only one of the 28 relationships had sig-
nificant variance remaining after deletion of two outly-
ing effects. These results, based on data collected from
several different types of salespeople in widely varying
study contexts, suggest that salesperson job satisfaction
is consistently related to most of the constructs investi-
gated (though important exceptions, such as role con-
flict, are noted).
A second insight relates to the three general categories
of antecedent variables that have been related to sales-
person job satisfaction. Of these categories, role percep-
tions have the highest average correlation with satisfac-
tion, followed by organizational variables and individual
differences. These findings suggest that when salesper-
son job satisfaction is an important organizational goal,
steps to reduce role ambiguity and conflict may have the
greatest positive impact.
The two types of organizational variables, supervisory
behaviors and job/task variables, had important effects
on job satisfaction. The fmdings suggest that managerial
focus on supervisory behaviors (e.g., encouraging sales
managers to show greater consideration, initiate greater
structure, provide greater recognition of achievements,
and communicate more frequently) may also be effective
in improving salesperson satisfaction. They also suggest
that though job/task design characterislies are generally
relatively less effective than role perceptions and super-
visory behaviors in influencing salesperson job satisfac-
tion, they too can have important effects.
Analysis of causal effects involving job satisfaction
across the available studies also prtxluced several in-
sights. Both role ambiguity and role conflict were found
to be consistently and negatively related to job satisfac-
tion. Role ambiguity and conflict, however, had differ-
ential effects on other work outcomes. Role ambiguity
had a significant negative impact on sales performance
and propensity to leave, whereas role conflict did not.
Role conflict had a significant direct negative effect on
organizational commitment, whereas role ambiguity did
not. The effects of the role perception constructs on per-
formance suggest that uncertainty about what the job en-
tails inhibits salespeople's ability to perform adequately,
but that conflict over incompatible demands of role part-
ners does not. The direct effect of role ambiguity on pro-
pensity to leave suggests that uncertainty over role re-
quirements can be an important contributing factor to
intentions to leave the organization. This finding may
reflect some salespeople's inability to cope with the un-
certainties inherent in the their boundary-spanning roles.
Though role conflict did not have a significant direct
effect on performance or propensity to leave, it did have
a significant negative direct effect on organizational
commitment. This finding suggests that incompatible de-
mands of customers and clients can reduce the salesper-
son's attachment to the company he or she represents.
Uncertainty about role requirements (ambiguity) did not
have a similar effect on organizational commitment. Thus,
sales management strategies oriented toward reducing role
ambiguity and role conflict appear likely to have differ-
SALESPERSON JOB SATISFACTION
entiul ct'iects on work outcomes, depending on whether
they primarily inlluence ambiguity or conflict. Strategies
that ptnmarily reduce role ambiguity are likely to have
positive effects on sales performance and reducing iin-
teniion to leave the organization, as well as on job sat-
isfaction, Strategies that primarily reduce role conflict
are likely to affect salespeople'.s organizational commit-
ment and job satisfaction, but not performance or inten-
tion to leave the organization.
Another important finding of the nomological analysis
is that, though a small positive correlation between sales
performance and job satisfaction is highly consistent across
a large number of empirical studies, the variables do not
appear to be causally related. This finding corroborates
previous empirical findings (e.g.. Behrman and Per-
reault 19K4; Dubinsky and Hartley 1986; Hampton, Du-
binsky, and Skinner 1986) and suggests that the corre-
lation between performance and job satisfaction may be
spurious anil attributable to relationships with C{>mmon
antecedent variables. Hence, it appears that the large
volume of research devoted to the question of whether
perfonnance causally precedes satisfaction or vice versa
may have been misdirected and thai greater attention
should be paid to identifying common antecedent vari-
ables and more accurately specifying the true causal ef-
fects.
A similar pattem of performance-satis fact ion research
results has been reported in nonsaies work contexts. For
example, laffaldano and Muchinsky (1985) reviewed 217
studies of the performance-satisfaction relationship and
found a weighted mean correlation of . 15 with only eight
correlations exceeding .44. (Only one study included in
our analysis found an effect of this magnitude.) Their
conclusion that "few other empirical relations have em-
braced the nuil hypothesis so often yet continued to fos-
ter additional research" (p. 269) appears to hold true also
of salesperson research. laffaldano and Muchinsky spec-
ulated that the importance of the two constructs may have
fostered the large volume of research despite unimpres-
sive empirical effects. They also speculated that the vol-
ume of null results may reflect dogmatic belief in the
assertion that "a productive worker is a happy worker"
(or vice versa), despite the accumulation of^ results in-
dicating a modest positive relationship at best.
Previous re.search has been inconsistent with respect
to the effects of sales performance on organizational
commitment and propensity to leave. For example, Fu-
trell and Parasuraman (1984) did not find a significant
relationship between performance and propensity to leave,
whereas Johnston et al. (1988) did observe such a re-
lationship. Our analysis supports the conclusion of no
direct effect of performance on propensity to leave.
Though the effect of pcribmiance on organizational
commitment in the nomological analysis was statistically
significant, it accounted for less than \% of the variance
in organizational commitment and hence was lacking in
substantive significance.
Our analysis suggests that sales performance is a "ter-
minal value" (Cherrington 1980), or an end in itself. That
73
is. sales performance is. at best, very weakly related to
other important work outcomes such as job satisfaction,
organizational commitment, and propensity to leave. The
implication is that managerial actions intended to in-
crease sales performance are not likely to affect these
other work outcomes indirectly through the mediation of
their effects on performance. Some antecedent variables,
such as role ambiguity, however, may have simulta-
neous direct effects on sales performance and other work
outcomes.
Unlike sales performance, job satisfaction appears to
mediate the effects of role perception constructs on other
work outcomes. Our study provides evidence useful in
resolving inconsistencies present in prior research. For
example, previous research has been divided on whether
job satisfaction directly affects prop>ensity to leave or
whether this effect is indirect and mediated by organi-
zational commitment. Our analysis, using the aggregated
study effects, shows that the predominant effect is in-
direct and mediated by organizational commitment, though
the possible presence of a direct effect is suggested. This
finding suggests that the effect of job satisfaction on re-
ducing turnover occurs primarily through a pnx:ess of
increasing Investment in and attachment to the organi-
zation.
Another important finding of the causal analysis is
evidence that job satisfaction primarily exerts a direct
causal effect on organizational commilment rather than
vice versa. This issue has long been debated, though the
preponderance of conceptual and empirical evidence has
generally favored the interpretation of job satisfaction as
antecedent to commitment (Johnston et al. 1990). Sup-
pod for this conclusion from effects generalized across
the research stream provides additional evidence of the
precedence of job satisfaction in this relationship.
The results of the meta-analysis closely parallel results
of simiJar meta-analyses conducted in primarily nonsaies
contexts. For example. Fisher and Gitelson (1983) and
Jackson and Schuler (1985) conducted meta-analyses of
the relationships between role confiict, role ambiguity,
and their correlates. A comparison of the results of our
study and those of the other meta-analyses is presented
in Table 7. The average correlations between the role
perception constructs and job satisfaction in those stud-
ies are all within one standard deviation of the mean cor-
relation observed in our study. Other common relation-
ships studied in our meta-analysis and others have average
correlations of similar magnitude.
Two coded .study characteristics (type of salesforce and
job satisfaction measure) appeared to have systematic
moderating effects on observed effect sizes. The effects
of role perception constructs (particularly role conflict
and role clarity) on job satisfaction were greater in stud-
ies that used industrial salespeople than in studies that
used other types of salespeople. Though we can only
speculate as to the reason for this finding, industrial mar-
ket environments may present greater boundary-span-
ning challenges to salespeople than retail or trade-ser-
vicing environments and this in tum may strengthen the
74 JOURNAL OF AAARKETING RESEARCH, FEBRUARY 1993

Table 7
COMPARISON OF RESULTS WITH THOSE OF PREVIOUS META-ANALYSES

Present Fisher and Jackson and tqffatdano and Loher et Churchill

Relationship study Gilelson (1983) Schuler (1985) Muchinsky (1985) al. (1985) et ul. (1985)
Role ambiguity-satisfaction -.36 -.25 -.30
Role ambiguity-perfonnaiKe -.24 -.14 -.12
Role ambiguity-organizational commitment -.28 -.34 -.27
Role ambiguity-PTL .36 .32 .18
Role ambiguity-role conflict .28 .37 .27
Role conflict-satisfaction -.33 -.35 -.31
Role conflict-perfonnance -.07 -.10 -.05
Role connict-organizational commitment -.34 -.25 -.24
Role conflict-PTL .28 .29 .21
Performance-satisfaction .13 .15
Task significance-satisfaction .24 .25
Autonomy-satisfaction .21 .34
Feedback-satisfaction .23 .29
Role perceptions-performance .14 .29

relationship between role perceptions and job satisfac-
tion.
Measurement of job satisfaction by facets produced
larger effects of role ambiguity and role conflict on job
satisfaction than did global measurement of satisfaction.
Though again we can only speculate as to the reason for
this fmding, instruments that provide for the exhaustive
measurement of job satisfaction by facet may tap the do-
main of the satisfaction construct more comprehensively
and hence be less subject to attenuation of effects than
the shorter global measurement instruments.
Potential Limitations
Several limitations of our research should be noted.
Though the literature on salesperson job satisfaction was
surveyed comprehensively, we could noi include all
studies in the analysis because in some the effects were
not reported in usable form and could not be converted
lo usable form. However, there is no basis for positing
any systematic differences between the studies included
and those not included.
Furthermore., small cell sizes in analyses of moderator
variables limited power to reject the null hypothesis.
Hence, caution in interpreting these results is warranted.
As in any meta-analysis, the results are constrained by
the methcxls used in the primary empirical studies. The
statistical tests used in ihe meta-anaiyses. however, in-
volve no assumptions that are not likely to hold with
small sample sizes (Rosenthal 1984. p. 118), so that lim-
ited ptiwer to detect significant moderating effects is the
only potential problem. Notwithstanding this potential
problem, several statistically significant moderating ef-
fects were observed.
Directions for Future Research
Prevailing models (e.g., expectancy theory models)
represent outcomes of sales work (e.g., satisfaction, or-
ganizational commitment, propensity to leave) as func-
tions of sales performance. The nomological analysis.
however, indicates that sales performance is a "terminal
value" (i.e., it is an important end in itself, but has little
or no effect on other work outcomes). This finding sug-
gests that a reevaluation of the impact of sales perfor-
mance on other work outcomes should be undertaken.
From these results, sales performance appears to be much
less important in determining work attitudes than the re-
search literature has suggested. Though previous studies
have found thai sales performance has no causal effect
on job satisfaction, researchers have heen slow to dis-
count the significance of the relationship. Iaffaldano and
Muchinsky (1985) noted a similar tendency in the or-
ganizational behavior literature. Hence, mtxlels that note
and explain the apparent nonrelationship of sales per-
formance and work attitudes should be conceptualized
and empirically tested. Theory and empirical research in
intrinsic motivation (e.g.. Czikszentmihalyi 1990; Deci
and Ryan 1985; Sujan 1986) may provide a foundation
for such models.
The essentially null relationships between sales per-
formance and other work outcomes raise interesting and
important questions about turnover functionality, that is,
retaining high performers as low performers leave the
organization (e.g., Hollenbeck and Williams 1986). If
performance is not related directly or indirectly to sat-
isfaction or propensity to leave and related only very
weakly to organizational commitment, what guidance can
be given to sales managers for maximizing turnover
functionality? Performance itself does not appear to con-
tribute significantly to salespeople's intentions to leave
the organization. Hence, future research suggesting the
most effective ways for managers to improve turnover
functionality could make a useful contribution.
Our study indicates thai role ambiguity and role con-
flict have differential effects on sales work outcomes.
Research has provided little insight into the reasons un-
derlying these differential effects. Hence, research prob-
SALESPERSON JOB SATISFACTION
ing more deeply into the differences between these role
perception constructs and into the processes that cause
them to affect work outcomes differently would make a
worthwhile contribution. Such research could have a
substantial practical impact in suggesting improved
methods of training and feedback/control.
The meta-analysis indicates several consistent rela-
tionships involving correlates of job satisfaction and points
out several important inconsistent relationships. For the
role conflict-satisfaction relationship, coded study char-
acteristics did not adequately account for observed vari-
ability in the study effects. Further study of this rela-
tionship is necessary to identify additional sources of
variation.
In brief, our research addresses several issues and in-
consistencies in the literature on salesperson job satis-
faction and related constructs, resolving sotne and noting
areas where further work is needed. Though many cor-
relates of job satisfaction have been studied and many
insights provided, improved conceptual tnodels appear
necessary to explain the causal processes linking sales-
person job satisfaction with its antecedents and conse-
quences.
APPENDIX
This appendix provides details of the methods used in the
meia-analysis and causal tnodcl estimation and modification.
Homogeneity Tests
After mean correlations and variances were computed for
each pairwise relationship, homogeneity tests were conducted
to assess ihe significance of the variances (Hedges and Ofkin
1985). The tests were conducted for each pairwise relationship
according to the formula
The lest statistic Q is distributed approximately as chi square,
and ihc hypothe.sis of effect homogeneity is rejected when Q
exceeds the critical value of chi square for A: — 1 degrees of
freedom, where k is the number of studies of the relationship.
Nonhotiiogeneity of study effects suggests the potential pres-
ence of mixlerator variables.
To arrive at a reduced set of homogeneous studies of a re-
lationship, we eliminated the study with the largest weighted
deviation from the mean effect size (i.e., the largest chi square
deviate), recalculated the mean effect size, and repeated the
homogeneity test. This procedure was repealed until the lest
statistic was nonsignificant, indicating a homogeneous set of
study effects. Moderator variable analyses were conducted for
relationships that required deletion of more than a single out-
lier to achieve homogeneity and for which at least 10 study
effects were available.
Causal Model Analysis
The first step in testing Ihe basic model of nomotogieal ef-
fects was to develop two matrices of weighted mean intercor-
relalions among constructs included in the model, one includ-
75
ing the correlations computed on all studies of each relationship
and one including the correlaiions computed only on the re-
duced sets of homogeneous study effects.
The equivalence of these two matrices was assessed by means
of a test of overall equality of correlation matrices described
by Werts et al. (1976). This test was conducted to assess the
impact of including study effects from studies that reported
some but not all of the relationships that we analyzed in the
basic model. The homogeneous sets of effects essentially rep-
resent studies that replicate one another and hence "agree" on
the value of r for a particular relationship. We wanted to de-
termine whether using the more complete sets of effects in-
volved significant departures from these "agreed upon" values
of the correlations.
The test consisted of specifying a two-group conftrmatory
factor analysis model such that parameter estimates were in-
variant across the two groups. The modei was specified so that
correlations among the latent factors (i.e.. phi paths) were equal
to the correlations among the observed variables (i.e., lambda
X paths were all fixed to unity). The sample sizes used in ihe
analysis were the median .sample sizes from the iwo correlation
matrices [N = 1251 and N = 842, respectively). The nonsig-
nificant chi square statistic resulting trom this analysis (x' =
28.83 with 21 d.f., p > .10) indicated that one set of param-
eter estimates fit the data for both groups, showing the overall
equality of the two correlation matrices. On the basis ol" this
result, we used the correlations based on all studies in sub-
sequent causal model analyses. Thus, these analyses involved
assessment of effects across the entire research stream.
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