European Journal of Marketing

Impression management tactics and affective context: influence on sales performance

appraisal
Belén Bande Vilela José Antonio Varela González Pilar Fernández Ferrín M Luisa del Río Araújo
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Belén Bande Vilela José Antonio Varela González Pilar Fernández Ferrín M Luisa del Río Araújo,
(2007),"Impression management tactics and affective context: influence on sales performance appraisal",
European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 41 Iss 5/6 pp. 624 - 639
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EJM
41,5/6 Impression management tactics
and affective context: influence
on sales performance appraisal
624
Belén Bande Vilela and José Antonio Varela González
University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
Received June 2005
Accepted April 2006 Pilar Fernández Ferrı́n
Universidad del Paı́s Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, and
Mª̄ Luisa del Rı́o Araújo
University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
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Abstract
Purpose – Despite the recognition that the subordinate’s influence is a particularly noteworthy
feature of the social context with considerable potential to affect the performance evaluation process,
there are almost no studies that consider this influence in a selling context. Attempting to contribute to
address these needs, the model presented here depicts a number of social and situational factors
influencing supervisor’s rating of salesperson’s performance, primarily operating through affective
processes.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 122 salespeople and their immediate
managers from 35 firms pertaining to nine different industries.
Findings – SEM results indicated that supervisor-focused impression management was positively
related to the supervisor’s liking of the salesperson. Consistent as well with prior research is the
positive influence of supervisor’s affect towards salesperson on the supervisor’s ratings of sales
performance, both directly and indirectly, through the effect on salesperson’s perceived interpersonal
skills. Finally, a salesperson’s physical attractiveness demonstrated significant positive effects on
performance ratings, through the influence on supervisor’s liking and salesperson’s interpersonal
skills.
Practical implications – These results have important managerial implications: sales managers
should be aware that salespeople might be using impression management tactics and that the use of
these behaviours might influence the way that they evaluate their employee’s performance. Managers
should also remain vigilant to the potential bias based on physical appearance in hiring and
supervising salespeople.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge of the social and affective variables
that influence the sales performance appraisal process, an area of research that is almost unexplored.
Keywords Sales force, Performance appraisal, Interpersonal skills, Performance management
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
European Journal of Marketing Organisational research has highlighted the fact that human resource decisions are
Vol. 41 No. 5/6, 2007
pp. 624-639 embedded in a complex and dynamic social context. Ferris and Judge (1991) pointed
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0309-0566
out that in order to develop an informed understanding of decisions such as
DOI 10.1108/03090560710737651 performance evaluation, promotions, and salary increases; we must embrace the
 dynamic aspects of the context, and realise that participants are active players in Impression
shaping reality and influencing. management
Despite the considerable existing literature about the social context of the
performance evaluation process in organisational settings, little is known about the
situational, social and affective elements that participate in the salesperson
performance appraisal. An issue of special concern is the role of the salesperson’s
influence behaviours. Despite the recognition that the subordinate’s influence is a 625
particularly noteworthy feature of the social context, with considerable potential to
affect the performance evaluation process, there are almost no studies that consider
this influence in a selling context. The purpose of the present study is to address these
needs by formulating and testing a model of the sales performance evaluation process
which incorporates social, situational, affective elements and highlights the potential
role of the salesperson’s influence. In addition to this, this research takes place in a
geographically and culturally different area to the one used by most of previous
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studies, what contributes to value the importance of the social and cultural context in
the performance appraisal.

Theoretical background
Impression management tactics
Impression management describes tactics that individuals use in order to influence the
impression that others have of them (Jones and Pittman, 1982; Rosenfeld et al., 1995).
Previous studies indicate that people often use impression management in order to
land jobs (e.g. Ellis et al., 2002) and to achieve greater career success (e.g. Judge and
Bretz, 1994). A great deal of this research has also focused on the ways in which such
tactics may influence performance evaluations (e.g. Bolino and Turnley, 2003; Ferris
et al., 1994; Wayne and Ferris, 1990; Wayne and Kacmar, 1991; Wayne and Liden,
1995). Such investigations reveal that the use of impression-management tactics is
often an important determinant of the performance ratings that an employee receives
(Ferris et al., 1994; Wayne and Liden, 1995). Researchers have conceptualised
impression management using different frameworks (e.g. Bozeman and Kacmar, 1997;
Jones and Pittman, 1982); though the most widely used conceptualisation is the one
introduced by Wayne and Ferris (1990). Wayne and Ferris (1990) proposed that
individuals in organisations have a tendency to use impression-management strategies
in ways that can be classified as either supervisor-focused, job-focused, or self-focused.
In this study we consider the first two strategies, supervisor-focused and
job-focused[1].
Supervisor-focused tactics involve ingratiation behaviours and are designed to
make employees seem more likeable. Such tactics include the use of flattery and
other-enhancement. Thus, individuals who employ such tactics may praise their
supervisors, compliment them, or agree with their ideas (Bolino et al., 2006).
Supervisor-focused tactics might also involve favour-rendering behaviour, for
example, employees using such tactics may offer to help out their supervisors and
do personal favours for them. In a meta-analysis of social-psychological and
organisational studies of ingratiation, Gordon (1996) found that ingratiation tactics
generally have a positive effect on performance evaluations and on judgments of
interpersonal attraction or likeability. A supervisor who feels liked and admired by a
subordinate will be more attracted to that subordinate (Wayne and Ferris, 1990; Wayne
 EJM and Liden, 1995). It is expected therefore that a salesperson’s use of supervisor-focused
41,5/6 impression management behaviours will have a positive effect on his/her supervisor’s
liking of the salesperson. Thus, we state hypothesis one as follows:
H1. A salesperson’s use of supervisor-focused impression management
behaviours will have a positive effect on his or her supervisor’s liking of
the salesperson.
626
Job-focused tactics involve self-promotive behaviours and are designed to make
employees appear more competent at their job. In particular, employees who engage in
job-focused tactics tend to take responsibility for positive events (even when they are
not exclusively responsible), tend to make negative events for which they are
responsible seem less negative then they really are, and try to highlight their
accomplishments (Bolino et al., 2006). While such behaviours are designed to make
employees appear more competent, they often result in very negative outcomes. For
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example, Wayne and Ferris (1990) found that the use of job-focused tactics was
negatively related to supervisor ratings of performance. Similarly, Ferris et al. (1994)
found that employees who used job-focused strategies of impression management were
significantly less liked by their supervisors and received lower performance ratings
from them. Therefore, we expect a similar consequence in a selling setting.
H2. A salesperson’s use of work-focused impression management behaviours will
have a negative effect on his or her supervisor’s liking of the salesperson.

Perceived sales agent’s interpersonal skills

Selling skills have been described as the individual’s learned proficiency at performing
the necessary tasks for the sales job (Ford et al., 1987). In their meta-analysis of the
determinants of salesperson performance, Churchill et al. (1985) concluded that selling
skills were the second most important of the five variables seen in the researchers’
models of sales performance, both in terms of average size of association with
performance and in terms of real variation. One of its components is interpersonal
skills, such as knowing how to cope with and resolve conflicts. Results of the studies
that have analysed this type of selling skills –, e.g. the study of interpersonal listening
skills conducted by Castleberry and Shepherd (1993) – confirm a positive relationship
between interpersonal skills and sales performance (McBane, 1995; Schulman, 1999;
Strutton and Lumpkin, 1993). In a non-selling context, research has demonstrated that
job-related interpersonal skills are positively related to job performance (Bray and
Howard, 1980; Wayne et al., 1997). Thus:
H3. The salesperson’s perceived interpersonal skills have a positive influence on
sales performance.

Supervisor’s liking
A literature review reveals that supervisors’ positive affective regard for subordinates
is associated frequently with higher performance appraisal ratings, and with other
findings such as greater halo, reduced accuracy, a better interpersonal relationship,
and a disinclination to punish poor performance (Lefkowitz, 2000). DeNisi and
Williams (1988) stated that affect influences the processing of performance
information, and Isen and Baron (1991) shed light on this suggestion in their
 conceptualisation of positive affect and its role in organisational settings. They argued Impression
that positive affect facilitates the recall of information stored in memory that possesses management
a positive affective tone. Thus, positive affect toward a subordinate should result in a
supervisor’s recalling more positive performance-related behaviours and evaluative
impressions, which should lead to the supervisor’s rating the subordinate’s
performance highly. Moreover, it is not an isolated effect. French and Raven (1959)
described it as a form of reference power; while Tedeschi and Melburg (1984) pointed 627
out that “on a long term basis there are many potential gains for the liked person,
including better communication, trust and ability to influence”. These statements
suggest that liked can lead to biased performance ratings. Empirical support has been
found for Liden and Mitchel proposition that affect plays a critical role in the type of
exchange that develops between supervisor and subordinate (Ferris et al., 1994; Wayne
and Ferris, 1990; Wayne and Liden, 1995). In the selling context, it has been empirically
demonstrated that supervisors’ affect toward sales agents influences their performance
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ratings evaluation (DeCarlo and Leigh, 1996; Strauss et al., 2001). Thus, we state
hypothesis four as follows:
H4. A supervisor’s affect towards the salesperson will positively influence the
evaluation of the salesperson’s performance.
Based on a cognitive information processing model (Feldman, 1981), we expect that
manager’s liking of the salesperson will be positively associated with the manager’s
perceptions of the salesperson’s interpersonal skills. Specifically, an individual will
tend to categorise another person on the basis of a few interactions and then later recall
information and evaluate the other person based on that categorisation. Thus, if a
manager likes an employee or perceives the employee to be similar to him or herself,
then the manager is likely to categorise information about that employee in a
favourable manner and subsequently evaluate the employee’s interpersonal skills
favourable (Wayne et al., 1997). Longitudinal research has not provided evidence for
paths from interpersonal skills to liking, as results indicate that liking develop prior to
judgments about performance or skills (Liden et al., 1993).
H5. A supervisor’s liking of the salesperson will positively influence the
salesperson’s perceived interpersonal abilities.

Physical attractiveness
Abundant research exists demonstrating that physical attractiveness has a significant
effect on judgment and behaviour (Dion, 1972; Joseph, 1982; Solnick and Schweitzer,
1999). In marketing, most of the attractiveness research has focused on spokespersons
and models in advertisements. The results of much of this research are consistent with
the notion that “what is beautiful is good” (Koernig and Page, 2002). Attractiveness
research in interpersonal settings like personal selling is rare (McElroy and DeCarlo,
1999), but researchers have found that is an aspect that positively influences sales
performance (Ahearne et al., 1999; DeShields et al., 1996; Reingen and Kernan, 1993),
impacting as well in causal attributions that supervisors make during the evaluation
process (McElroy and DeCarlo, 1999). Attractive people are perceived as having better
selling skills (Reingen et al., 1980; Ronkainen and Reingen, 1979) and are normally
perceived in a more favourable manner than the others (Eagly et al., 1991; Reingen and
Kernan, 1993). In relation to the relationship between liking and attractiveness, the
 EJM empirical evidence suggests that physical attractiveness is positively related to
41,5/6 friendliness and liking (Ahearne et al., 1999; Joseph, 1982; Koernig and Page, 2002;
Kulka and Kessler, 1978) (Figure 1).
H6. The salesperson’s physical attractiveness perceived by the supervisor will
positively influence the salesperson’s perceived interpersonal skills.
628 H7. The salesperson’s physical attractiveness perceived by the supervisor will
positively influence the supervisor’s liking of the salesperson.

Methodology
Sample
Data were collected from sales supervisors and industrial salespeople working for
companies in Spain between May and November 2003. Relevant information regarding
the project was sent to the attention of the human resources director or sales manager
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at each firm. Companies that agreed to participate were guaranteed confidentiality and
were informed that, upon request, they would receive a summary of the research
findings. A total of 52 firms initially expressed an interest in participating in the study;
after some follow-up, 35 enterprises confirmed their participation. The most frequent
reasons provided for not participating in the study were: that the firm was undergoing
significant organisational change; that the organisation would have difficulty
distributing questionnaires to both subordinates and their supervisors as dictated by
the research design. The 35 companies that participated in the study represented a
variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals (30 per cent), insurance (14 per cent),
banking (14 per cent), and wholesaling (12.3 per cent).
The survey instrument employed in this study was developed in English and then
underwent a back-translation process. The items were first translated into Spanish and
then back translated into English. This translation procedure is consistent with the
framework established by Brislin (1986) in regards to the equivalence of language
translations. Once the translation process was completed, pilot tests were conducted to
ensure the accuracy of the survey translation. Pre-test of all the measurement items
was conducted in two different steps: firstly, several experts were asked to examine the
questionnaire in order to identify those items that might be confused or difficult to

Figure 1.
Hypothesised model
 answer; as well as any other problem concerning the survey; secondly, we conducted a Impression
test of content validity using supervisors and sales agents pertaining to three management
enterprises from different sectors (machinery, pharmaceutics and insurance).
Questionnaires were mailed directly to a contact person in each company (e.g. the
HR Director of Sales Director), who then distributed the questionnaires within the
organisation. For each dyad, two envelopes were sent, one for the employee and one for
the supervisor. Each of these envelopes contained: a cover letter with a brief 629
explanation of the research goals, a promise of confidentiality, and a description of the
procedures for returning the survey; a questionnaire; and a stamped, pre-address
envelope in which the surveys could be returned directly to the researchers. In order to
match supervisor and employee responses, a code number was placed on each
questionnaire.
A total of 240 pairs of questionnaires were distributed. The number of surveys sent
to each company was based on the input of the HR Director/Sales Director; therefore, a
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different number of questionnaires were sent to each of the 35 participating firms. A

total 122 pairs of completed questionnaires were obtained, yielding a response rate of
50.8 per cent. The mean number of responses per company was 3.5 and although the
number of responses received from each company ranged from 1 to 13, the data were
spread fairly evenly across the 35 organisations. Specifically, over 80 per cent of the
data were collected from the 29 companies who supplied five or fewer respondents;
only two companied provided more than ten respondents. Like wise, the sample is
fairly representative of the different industries that were included in the study.
The structure of the organisations did not permit a single supervisor for each
employee. In our study, then, the number of subordinates for any given supervisor
ranged from one to three. Specifically, there were 68 supervisors and 122 employees,
for a total of 122 supervisor-subordinate dyads. Of the subordinates, 69 per cent were
men and 31 per cent were women. The mean age of the subordinates was 37.9 years;
and the mean organisational tenure was 8.6 years. Of the supervisors, 81 per cent were
men and 19 per cent were women. The mean age of the supervisors was 43 years; their
mean organisational tenure was 14 years, and their mean tenure working as
supervisors was 11.3 years.

Measures
Supervisor’s liking
Supervisor’s liking of the subordinate was measured with a three-item measure
developed by Wayne and Liden (1995). Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.91.

Performance ratings
Employee performance was measured with five items based on the measure developed
by Wayne and Liden (1995). Supervisors were asked to rate each employee’s overall
work performance using a seven-point scale. We combined ratings across the five
items to create the measure. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.95.

Physical attractiveness
The salesperson’s attractiveness perceived by the supervisor was measured with a
three-items scale based on the measured developed by Ahearne et al. (1999). Cronbach’s
alpha for the scale was 0.86.
 EJM Impression-management tactics
41,5/6 Previous research on impression management has typically used some variation of the
impression-management scale developed by Wayne and Ferris (1990) (e.g. Dulebohn
and Ferris, 1999; Wayne and Liden, 1995; Ferris et al., 1994). Therefore, we used their
measure here to assess two types of impression-management tactics used by
employees: supervisor-focused tactics and work-focused tactics. Salespeople were
630 asked to indicate the extent to which they used these tactics using a seven-point scale
ranging from (1) never to (7) always. The supervisor-focused impression-management
scale consisted of five items. Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was 0.83. The job-focused
impression-management scale consisted of eight items. Cronbach’s alpha for this scale
was 0.87.

Perceived interpersonal skills

Salespeople’s perceived interpersonal skills were measured with a five-item measure
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developed by Rentz et al. (2002). Information was provided by the supervisor.

Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.82.

Results
Before testing the proposed model, we performed a CFA[2] using AMOS software.
Table I presents the standardised solution of this CFA, where all the indicators loaded
significantly ( p , 0.001) and substantially (factor loadings greater than 0.5) on their
respective constructs, what demonstrates the existence of convergent validity
(X2/d:f: ¼ 1:49; GFI ¼ 0:81; CFI ¼ 0:91; RMSEA ¼ 0:07; TLI ¼ 0:90). For the analysis
of the discriminant validity of the constructs we calculated the confidence intervals for
the correlations between pairs of constructs. As none of these intervals included the
value one, discriminant validity between constructs was assumed.
Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised
relationships among impression management tactics, physical attractiveness,
perceived interpersonal abilities, supervisor liking, and supervisor ratings of sales
agent’s performance. SEM is useful here because it allows for several hypothesised
relationships to be tested simultaneously, provides an indication of the fit between the
hypothesised model and the actual data and allows for the evaluation of alternative
models. Given the number of variables in our model and the relatively small sample
size here (n ¼ 122), however, we were unable to meet the minimum recommended
sample size necessary to conduct our tests at the latent-variable level. Therefore, the
analyses reported here were conducted at the manifest-variable level (i.e. using
observed variables). The maximum likelihood structural estimates of the hypothesised
model are presented in Figure 2. The model fits the data very well (x2 ¼ 3:12; d:f: ¼ 8;
x2 =df ¼ 0:93; RMSEA ¼ 0:00; GFI ¼ 0:99; AGFI ¼ 0:97; TLI ¼ 1:07; CFI ¼ 1:00).
The R 2 for the ratings of the subordinate’s performance was 0.42; for liking was 0.19;
and for perceived interpersonal skills was 0.36.
As depicted here, six of the seven predicted links were statistically significant
(Figure 2). Specifically, findings supported H1: the parameter estimate for the
relationship between supervisor-focused tactics and liking was significant. However,
H2 was not supported; work-focused tactics were not significantly related to
supervisor liking. The significant parameter estimate for the relationship between
liking and performance rating and between liking and perceived interpersonal skills
 Impression
Stand. Critical
Latent variable Items estimates ratios (t) management
Liking 1. I like him/her very much as a person 0.873 19.065
2. I think he/she would make a good friend 0.911 30.333
3. We like each other very much 0.814 15.666
Physical 1. He/she has an attractive appearance 0.980 5.291 631
attractiveness 2. Generally speaking, he/she would be considered having an
attractive appearance 0.791 10.236
3. He/she is very handsome 0.760 10.444
Supervisor- 1. Do personal favours for my supervisor 0.794 15.88
focused tactics 2. Take an interest in my immediate supervisor’s personal
life 0.794 14.25
3. Praise my immediate supervisor on his/her
accomplishments 0.510 6.773
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4. Offer to do something for my supervisor which I was not

required to do; that is, I did it as a personal favour for him/her 0.675 7.976
5. Compliment my immediate supervisor on his/her dress or
appearance 0.782 11.347
Work-focused 1. Try to make a positive event that I am responsible for
tactics appear better than it actually is 0.762 21.175
2. Play up the value of a positive event that I have taken credit
for 0.598 13.740
3. Try to take responsibility for positive events, even when I
am not solely responsible 0.809 7.425
4. Try to make a negative event that I am responsible for not
appear as severe as it actually is to my supervisor 0.696 12.894
5. Arrive at work early in order t o look good in front of my
supervisor 0.740 8.618
6. Agree with my supervisor’s major opinions outwardly even
when I disagree inwardly 0.842 16.16
7. Create the impression that I am a “good” person to my
supervisor 0.660 12.508
8. Work late at the office so that my supervisor will see my
working late and think I am a hard worker 0.730 10.220
Perceived 1. He/she has the ability to express himself/herself
nonverbally 0.749 9.417
interpersonal 2. He/she is aware of and understands the nonverbal
skills communication of others 0.759 12.864
3. He/she has the ability of controlling and regulating 0.593 6.115
nonverbal displays of emotion 0.772 14.903
4. He/she has the ability to manipulate others to control the
situation 0.602 8.657
Performance 1. This sales agent meets my own expectations 0.892 38.782
appraisal 2. Overall, I feel this subordinate is performing his or her job
the way I would like it to be performed 0.884 28.483
3. Overall, he/she is effectively fulfilling his or her roles and
responsibilities 0.880 25.941
4. My personal view of this subordinate in terms of his/her Table I.
overall effectiveness is: 0.860 26.090 Items, constructs,
5. The overall level of performance that I observe for this loadings and critical
subordinate is: 0.861 20.975 ratios (CFA)
 EJM
41,5/6

632

Figure 2.
Structural estimates of
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causal model

indicated support for H4 and H5. For the relationship between perceived interpersonal
skills and performance evaluation, the parameter estimate was positive and
significant, providing support for H3. Finally, physical attractiveness exerted a
significant effect on liking and on perceived interpersonal skills, giving support to H6
and H7.
Considering that the influence of physical attractiveness on performance appraisal
might be as well a direct one (Ahearne et al., 1999; McElroy and DeCarlo, 1999), we
tested an alternative model adding this link to the original one. In the resulting model,
the link was not significant and the fit indexes had lower values than those for the
hypothesised model. Accordingly, these data suggest that the influence of physical
attractiveness on the sales person’s performance appraisal is mediated by supervisor’s
liking of the subordinate.
Concerning a possible direct effect of impression management tactics on sales
performance rating, modification indexes did not recommend the introduction of this
direct link. This result supports the idea that the effect of impression management
behaviours on sales performance appraisal is not a direct but an indirect one, through
the impact of these tactics on the supervisors’ liking of the salesperson.

Discussion and managerial implications

Overall, the results of this study provide strong support for the hypothesised model,
and confirm that salespeople, far from having a passive role in their sales performance
appraisal, play a significant active role in this process.
In particular, supervisor-focused impression management was positively related to
a supervisor’s liking of the salesperson. A supervisor who feels liked and admired by a
subordinate will be more attracted to that subordinate. However, work-focused tactics
of impression management were negatively, but not significantly, related to liking. In
the context of sales performance evaluation it seems that supervisor-focused
behaviours are considered more situational appropriate and effective than others. In
other words, supervisors seem to be eager to accept being praised by their
subordinates and their conformity with the supervisor’s ideas or opinions, but they are
not willing to accept the sales agents’ use of self-promotion and self-enhancement
 behaviours, exaggerating the importance and the nature of the work they are Impression
conducting. These differences could be explained as well using the “ulterior motive management
rule” (Kraut, 1978). This rule prescribes that an actor’s behaviour is discounted as an
indicator of his disposition to the degree that the actor stands to be rewarded in the
short term for that behaviour. Thus, behaviour that is perceived as obviously
self-serving will be susceptible to greater scepticism that behaviour that is not. The
differing effects of these two types of impression management behaviours have been 633
explored with similar results in an organisational context (e.g. Ferris et al., 1994;
Kacmar et al., 1992; Wayne and Liden, 1995).
Consistent as well with prior research in organisational settings (e.g. Ferris et al.,
1994; Tsui and Barry, 1986; Wayne and Ferris, 1990) is the positive influence of
supervisor affect toward salesperson on the supervisor’s ratings of salesperson
performance, both directly and indirectly, through the effect on the salesperson’s
perceived interpersonal skills. If a manager likes a sales agent, then he or she is likely
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to categorise information about that sales agent in a favourable manner and

subsequently evaluate the sales agent’s interpersonal skills favourably. This finding
gives empirical support to the proposition that affect plays a critical role in the type of
exchange that develops between supervisor and subordinate (Liden et al., 1993; Wayne
and Ferris, 1990). DeNisi and Williams (1988) suggested that affect influences the
processing of performance information, and Isen and Baron (1991) shed light on this
suggestion proposing that positive affect helps the recall of information stored in the
memory which possesses a positive affective tone. Therefore, positive affect towards a
sales agent should result in the supervisor recalling more positive performance-related
behaviours and evaluative impressions, which should lead to the supervisor rating the
sales agent’s performance highly.
The salesperson’s physical attractiveness demonstrated significant positive effects
on performance ratings, through the influence on supervisor’s liking of the sales agent
and the salesperson’s perceived interpersonal skills. This result fits in with the findings
of a recent meta-analytic review of experimental studies concerned with the biasing
effect of physical attractiveness on a variety of job-related outcomes, as hiring
recommendations, predicted job success or compensation levels (Hosoda et al., 2003).
As Langlois et al. (2000) have concluded, following actual interaction with others,
perceivers judge attractive individuals more positively (e.g. in terms of interpersonal
competence, occupational competence, social appeal, adjustment) and treat them more
favourable than less attractive individuals.
The findings obtained in this study suggest that “what is beautiful is good”
stereotype has a significant effect on judgement and behaviour and, in particular, in the
sales performance evaluation process. As Jackson et al. (1995) pointed out, a bias for
attractive individuals should be a concern insofar as it results in liabilities for the less
attractive individuals. Sales managers should be aware of such a bias and should
implement strategies that lessen or avert the influence of this bias.
The goal of a performance evaluation system is to accurately identify and reward
good performance. It is important that sales managers regularly test for biases in
performance ratings and adjust for them as necessary. Managers require direct
feedback and extensive training to prevent and alleviate the biases to which they are
susceptible (Fishhoff, 1982). As it has been suggested for remote workers (Barsness
et al., 2005), sales managers should require subordinates to overlap regularly with them
 EJM in a common work location. Regularly scheduled opportunities for a sales manager to
41,5/6 observe and mentor salespeople are likely to lessen subordinates’ visibility concerns
and facilitate the supervisor’s ability to accurately and fairly evaluate the salespeople’s
performance.
Sales managers are exhorted to be objective in their performance appraisals (Gentry
et al., 1991). Results of this study confirm that, yet, realistically, a crowd of subjective
634 factors influence these appraisals. Considering that traditional programs for improving
appraisal processes focus on removing affect as a source of bias (Cardy and Dobbins,
1986), a possible solution would be to try with various methods of improving
performance evaluations, as the use of role-playing scenarios and videotaped sessions
to help identify evaluation errors (Latham and Wexley, 1977); training in the use of
rating scales; use of field notes to provide concrete behavioural indicators (Bernadin
and Walter, 1977); and development of historical territory and personal data files
(DeCarlo and Leigh, 1996).
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Impression management seems to be widespread in organisations. It is driven by

the basic desire to be liked and by particular needs to look good in the eyes of others.
Supervisors should be aware that employees might be using impression management
tactics and that the use of these behaviours might influence the way that they evaluate
their employees’ performance. Being aware of the potential problems involved in
decision-making should lead sales managers to take action that reduces the need for
opportunistic behaviour.
Concerning physical attractiveness stereotype, managers must remain vigilant to
the potential for intended or unintended biases based on physical appearance in hiring
and supervising sales agents.
Overall, we consider that this study contributed to the existing body of the literature
in several ways. Firstly, it enhanced the understanding of the importance of social and
affective elements to sales performance evaluation decisions. Although the relevance of
impression management tactics in the sales context has been suggested already (e.g.
King and Booze, 1986), the present study means a first attempt to empirically
demonstrate the relationship between these type of influence behaviours and several
important labour results. Secondly, taking into consideration that most of the literature
about impression management is US-centred, the fact that data was gathered in Spain
might provide an insight as to generalisation of these behaviours and job attitudes to
other countries and cultures. Thirdly, the use of multiple-source information should
allow more confidence to be placed in the validity of our interpretations of results.

Limitations and future research directions

The present study is not without limitations. First, while the response rate was fairly
high, we were unable to determinate if the respondents in our study differed from those
who did not respond. Second, impression management tactics were assessed based on
subordinate self-reports, which potentially can introduce distortion through
self-serving bias. Future research is needed that assesses influence tactics from
independent sources such as peers. A third limitation of this study is that causality
could not be determined due to the cross-sectional nature of the data. Longitudinal
research is needed in order to examine the causal linkages proposed in the model.
Though this study does not pretend to provide a conclusive model of the sales
performance appraisal model, it should have been better as well to control the
 salesperson’s ability or inability to meet quota for this study. Future studies should Impression
take notice of this and consider, for example, the possibility that the sales agent’s management
physical attractiveness could positively affect his or her ability to meet quota, which
could in turn affect the supervisor’s evaluation. Finally, although data were collected
from both sales agents and their superiors, some of the paths (e.g. supervisor liking to
performance) involved variables based on manager reports. Thus, the stronger
relationships among variables assessed from the same source suggest that common 635
method variance may be a problem.
The findings here highlight some potential avenues for future research. One useful
direction would be to examine potential moderators and mediators to the basic model
outlined in this study. For instance, it would be interesting to assess the proposition
that the attractiveness effect will diminish as the length of the relationship between
supervisor and sales agent, confirming then its greatest effect on supervisors’ initial
impressions. Further research is needed to investigate how impression management
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tactics affect other types of human resources decisions besides the sales performance
evaluation process, as promotion or training decisions. In addition to this, there are
other social and contextual variables that have been addressed by the organisational
literature and that might be interesting to analyse by the sales literature, as for
instance the perceived similarity between the supervisor and the sales agent or the
supervisor’s opportunity to observe the sales agent’s job performance (Wayne and
Liden, 1995). It would be useful as well to examine these relationships using more
diverse samples of sales agents, what will yield findings that are more generalised to
different countries and cultures.

Notes
1. Previous similar research in organisational settings either did not consider self-tactics
(Wayne and Liden, 1995) or did not find a significant relationship between liking and this
impression management behaviour (Wayne and Ferris, 1990).
2. The CFA was estimated following the criterion of maximum likelihood. In order to avoid
problems due to possible non-fulfilment of the conditions of multivariate normality, the
bootstrapping technique was used.

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About the authors

Belén Bande Vilela is an Assistant professor of Marketing at the University of Santiago de
Compostela (Spain). She received her PhD in Business Administration from the University of
 Santiago de Compostela. Her research interests include sales management, consumer behaviour Impression
and new product development. Belén Vilela Bande is the corresponding author and can be
contacted at: oebbande@lugo.usc.es management
José Antonio Varela González is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Santiago de
Compostela (Spain). He received his PhD in Business Administration from the University of
Santiago de Compostela. His research interests include sales management, new product/new
service development and launching, international marketing and market orientation.
Pilar Fernández Ferrin is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Paı́s Vasco 639
(Spain). She received her PhD in Business Administration from the University of Santiago de
Compostela. Her research interests include new product development, sales management and
consumer behaviour.
Mª̄ Luisa del Rı́o Araújo is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Santiago
de Compostela (Spain). She received her PhD in Business Admnistration from the University of
Santiago de Compostela. Her research interests include international marketing, new product
development and marketing orientation.
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