Age, Tenure, General Self-Efficacy, and Sales Performance of Salespeople

Age, Tenure, General Self-Efficacy, and Sales Performance of Salespeople by Juhani Suhonen MBA, University of Cumbria, 2014 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2019 Abstract Companies worldwide spend millions of dollars on sales training but often fail to address the significant effect of personal attributes of salespeople on sales performance. Grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between age, tenure, general self-efficacy, and sales performance among face-to-face salespeople of technology companies worldwide. Understanding this relationship is important to sales managers for predicting sales performance to enhance sustainability. Data were collected from 103 participants between July and September 2019 via a survey link in the largest IT sales professional LinkedIn group. Multiple hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated a significant relationship, F(3,92) = 8.64, p < . 001, R2 = . 22, between age, length of tenure, general self-efficacy, and sales performance of salespeople. Implications for positive social change include the potential for sales managers to understand the correlates of sales performance better to contribute to the reduction of discrimination when recruiting salespeople of various ages and experience.Companies worldwide spend millions of dollars on sales training but often fail to address the significant effect of personal attributes of salespeople on sales performance. Grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between age, tenure, general self-efficacy, and sales performance among face-to-face salespeople of technology companies worldwide. Understanding this relationship is important to sales managers for predicting sales performance to enhance sustainability. Data were collected from 103 participants between July and September 2019 via a survey link in the largest IT sales professional LinkedIn group. Multiple hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated a significant relationship, F(3,92) = 8.64, p < . 001, R2 = . 22, between age, length of tenure, general self-efficacy, and sales performance of salespeople. Implications for positive social change include the potential for sales managers to understand the correlates of sales performance better to contribute to the reduction of discrimination when recruiting salespeople of various ages and experience. Age, Tenure, General Self-Efficacy, and Sales Performance of Salespeople by Juhani Suhonen MBA, University of Cumbria, 2014 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2019 Dedication I dedicate this study to my family and friends. I am thankful for my parents for giving me the intellectual curiosity to open up things just to see what makes them tick and for raising me with the positive attitude and belief that nothing is impossible if I keep on trying. These mindset characteristics have helped me to come this far. Thank you for my friends for tolerating me these years despite continuous talk of my study and often abecedarian articulation of research methods and designs. Thank you to my partner, Elina, who never complained to me about hammering the keyboard during the nights. Thank you to my children, Emilia, Ilari, and Anni, for the patience, support, and brainstorming ideas during the dinners. I am proud of you and love you so much. Acknowledgments Thank you to my extraordinary dissertation committee, Dr. Ify Diala (chairperson), Dr. Mila Petrova Kachovska (committee member), Dr. Olivia Herriford, and Dr. Natalie Casale (member methodologists). I also thank the URR, Dr. Judith L. Blando, who guarded the high standards of scholarly writing. I am so grateful that you each agreed to guide me on this journey toward the completion of this project. Dr. Diala, thank you so much for saying “yes” to chair my committee. Your encouragement and guidance kept me motivated to completion. Dr. Razzaq, thank you for your guidance and precise input during the prospectus development process. I appreciate that each of you contributed to my scholarly development. Dr. Peter Anthony, thank you for being an inspirational teacher and imbuing us with the thought “quitting is illegal. ”