IMM-07148; No of Pages 14

Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Industrial Marketing Management

Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their

influence on sales performance
Nikolaos G. Panagopoulos a,⁎, Jessica Ogilvie b,1
a
Department of Marketing, The University of Alabama, 126 Alston Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, United States
b
Department of Marketing, The University of Alabama, Box 870225 Alston Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Sales leadership has attracted a good deal of research attention during the past thirty years. Prior work, however,
Received 8 May 2014 has largely taken a dyadic, interpersonal approach where leadership originating at one level (i.e., the sales leader)
Received in revised form 18 October 2014 influences others (i.e., salespeople) thus paying no attention to the intrapersonal level whereby leadership orig-
Accepted 18 October 2014
inates within the individual with the purpose to influence oneself. Importantly, the realities of the modern sales
Available online xxxx
position (e.g., self-managing teams, virtual work away from direct supervision) requires attention to other forms
Keywords:
of leadership that may stem from and manifest at the individual level – namely, self-leadership strategies. Here
Self-leadership we address this gap by focusing on a particular form of self-leadership – that is, thought self-leadership (TSL). We
Sales performance draw on social cognitive and self-regulation theories to ground hypothesis development and investigate the
Self-efficacy relationship between self-monitoring behaviors, TSL, self-efficacy, organizational-based self-esteem (OBSE),
Self-monitoring and salesperson performance. Findings from a sample of 301 salespeople in five companies demonstrate positive
Self-regulation relationships between self-monitoring behaviors and TSL, TSL and self-efficacy, and self-efficacy and salesperson
performance. Moderation analysis shows that TSL will result in higher levels of self-efficacy only when moderate
to high levels of OBSE exist. Further, results suggest full mediation of self-efficacy on the relationship between TSL
and salesperson performance. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.
© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction however, comes with the realization that all prior studies have
approached the phenomenon of leadership from a top-down perspec-
Academics and managers would certainly agree that successfully tive in that leadership has been theorized to manifest at the level of a
leading salespeople is an activity of utmost importance for the success sales leader who is then directing her/his influence on salespeople. As
of any firm. Through direction and coaching, sales leaders set goals for such, studies investigating leadership in the sales domain have largely
salespeople, align their activities with the objectives of the organization, taken a dyadic, interpersonal approach where leadership originating
and motivate them to perform well. It is thus not surprising that sales at one level (i.e., the sales leader) influences others (i.e., salespeople)
leadership has attracted a good deal of research attention during the as opposed to focusing on the intrapersonal level whereby leadership
past thirty years (e.g., Dubinsky, Yammarino, Jolson, & Spangler, 1995; originates within the individual with the purpose to influence oneself.
Ingram, LaForge, Locander, MacKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2005; Kohli, 1985; Though leadership manifested at higher levels of the sales organiza-
Tyagi, 1985) while continuing to offer novel insights to our discipline tion is important, at least three realities of the modern sales position
(e.g., Boichuk et al., 2014). The net outcome of this body of literature require attention to other forms of leadership that may stem from and
has been a significant enhancement of our knowledge regarding how manifest at the individual salesperson level. First, many salespeople
leaders can affect salespeople's attitudes and outcomes through, for ex- work in physical, social, and psychological isolation from the firm for
ample, transformational leadership (e.g., MacKenzie, Podsakoff, & Rich, which they work (Ingram et al., 2005) thereby making activity less
2001; Shannahan, Bush, & Shannahan, 2013) or supervisory behaviors visible to management. Reduced proximity to management is further
(e.g., Kohli, 1989). Indeed, the recent meta-analysis of Verbeke, Dietz, amplified today due to many firms' initiatives for salespeople to work
and Verwaal (2011) demonstrates that leadership behaviors exert an in “virtual offices” where salespeople work from remote locations
important influence on salesperson performance. This recognition, with fewer chances for interaction with their supervisors (Cascio,
2000). Presumably, isolation from management renders salespeople
less readily susceptible to leadership, motivation, and coaching inter-
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 205 348 8942.
E-mail addresses: npanagopoulos@cba.ua.edu (N.G. Panagopoulos),
ventions that may result from manager–salesperson interactions as
jlogilvie@crimson.ua.edu (J. Ogilvie). implied in the top-down approach to leadership mentioned previously.
1
Tel.: +1 205 348 8596. Fewer outlets of visibility and management intervention provide

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
0019-8501/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
2 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

greater occasion for salespeople to diverge from the firm's goals. Second, management and control. Because it is the individual employee who is
emerging trends in the design of the workplace – such as self-managing of paramount theoretical importance in studying self-leadership (see
teams (e.g., Langfred, 2007) or employee empowerment initiatives Markham & Markham, 1995) and because TSL is a self-directed cogni-
(e.g., Pearce & Manz, 2005; Prussia, Anderson, & Manz, 1998) – necessi- tive phenomenon occurring at the individual level, here we initiate
tate that salespeople engage in some form of leadership behaviors that the dialogue on self-leadership in sales by taking an individual perspec-
allows them to be self-empowered, self-motivated, and be able to deal tive. In particular, we draw on social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986,
with role ambiguity and task difficulty themselves (see Ingram et al., 1991) and self-regulation theory (Carver & Scheier, 1981, 1998),
2005). Finally, we recognize a growing emphasis on understanding which allow us to examine (a) the influence of self-monitoring on the
leadership opportunities within the sales domain specifically because practice of TSL; (b) the role of self-efficacy as a potential mediating
these organizations are often tasked with leadership challenges unique mechanism in the relationship between TSL and sales performance;
to the sales field. Sales organizations are presented with leadership and (c) the moderating role of organizational-based self-esteem in the
needs, opportunities, and trials not routinely found in those orga- relationship between TSL and self-efficacy.
nizations operating in less dynamic, less complex environments The following sections present the notion of TSL, its theoretical
(Anderson, 1996). Indeed, “the dynamic nature of today's environment underpinnings, and how it relates to the rest of the constructs in our
means that sales organizations will have to change continuously — conceptual framework. Following formal hypothesis development,
sometimes dramatically” (Ingram et al., 2005, p. 150). statistical modeling testing demonstrates findings from a sample of
As a consequence of these realities, firms now seek alternative ways 301 salespeople across five companies. Resulting managerial and
to enhance the capacity of sales employees to engage in leadership be- research implications are then discussed, and the paper concludes
haviors that will allow them to strive and keep abreast of an increasingly with an acknowledgement of study limitations and opportunities for
complex and ambiguous environment (Verbeke et al., 2011). One such future research.
strategy specifically empowers employees to engage in self-leadership
strategies (e.g., Houghton & Neck, 2002; Manz, 1986, 1992; Manz & 2. Thought self-leadership
Sims, 2001). Importantly, self-leadership –conceptualized as a learned
behavior because individual and managerial interventions can impact TSL involves the use and maintenance of constructive thought
the extent to which individuals engage in the associated activities through specific mental strategies that include the use of (a) positive
(Manz, 1986) – is gaining momentum among practitioners and self-talk, (b) mental imagery, and (c) evaluation of dysfunctional beliefs
researchers. Indeed, Ingram et al. (2005) have acknowledged the need and assumptions (Houghton & Jinkerson, 2007; Manz & Neck, 1999;
for more research on self-leadership in their review of the sales leader- Neck & Manz, 1992, 1996). Engaging in these cognitive strategies will
ship literature: “It will also be important for future research to assess the contribute to the constructive thought process creation and mainte-
feasibility of implementing self-leadership for salespeople…” (p. 145). In nance (Neck & Manz, 1996) that assists salespeople in establishing the
considering new directions in sales leadership, this idea indeed presents self-influence necessary for accomplishing task-related goals and thus
“a more contemporary perspective” (Ingram et al., 2005, p. 137), reflec- increase individual sales performance. We explore the specific role
tive of new initiatives being undertaken by a multitude of companies in played by each of the three constructive thought strategies below.
order to expand and develop leadership capabilities within their organi- Through the use of positive self-talk, employees maintain a constant
zation (Giber, Carter, & Goldsmith, 2000). Unfortunately, no research to self-dialogue to influence positive emotional states and cognition (Ellis,
date has addressed whether self-leadership is a viable strategy at the 1988; Neck & Manz, 1992). Based upon what employees covertly tell
salesperson level, what factors motivate salespeople to engage in self- themselves, they can encourage more optimistic self-dialogue and sup-
leadership, whether doing so has an impact on sales performance, and press negative or pessimistic self-talk (Houghton & Jinkerson, 2007).
through what mechanisms or under what conditions self-leadership Consider, for example, a salesperson that engages in a constant self-
influences performance.2 Though prior work has provided evidence dialogue that helps her identify or even redefine the individual goals
that self-leadership, in general, is linked to increases in job performance and strategies that need to be pursued during customer interactions.
(e.g., Prussia et al., 1998), remarkably very few attempts have These positive self-talk strategies influence employees' ability to self-
been made to link thought self-leadership (a specific type of self- lead though strategic cognitive thought patterns that regulate their
leadership) with performance. In addition, as noted by Stewart, goal focus and goal motivation. Because thought patterns tend to be
Courtright, and Manz (2011) in their review of the extant literature, reflective of habitual thinking (Houghton, Neck, & Manz, 2003), an
most empirical research to date has paid less attention to whether individual's repeated chain of thoughts impacts the extent to which
individual-level traits, such as self-monitoring or organizational-based they develop constructive thought processes within the workplace.
self-esteem, may influence and facilitate engagement in self-leadership. Therefore, employees that engage in increasing levels of positive self-
Against this background, we seek to address these issues by focusing talk can influence their positive thought patterns and be more apt to
on the most advanced, distinctive, and promising type of self-leadership self-leadership roles.
(Stewart et al., 2011; Williams, 1997) – namely, thought self- Similarly, positive mental imagery impacts a salesperson's ability to
leadership – that involves self-influence at the individual level through self-lead by enhancing their constructive thought patterns. Mental
employment of cognitive strategies of: self-talk, mental imagery, and imagery involves the creation and symbolic experiencing of imagined
the challenging of beliefs and assumptions (Neck & Manz, 1996). Due goal achievement (Manz & Neck, 1999). When salespeople engage in
to the close nature of the customer-facing salesperson–customer positive mental imagery they picture themselves experiencing the
relationship and resulting customer experiences and perceptions, we desired results of a specific behavioral process before actually engaging
suggest that examining thought self-leadership (TSL, hereafter) at the in the process or performing the necessary tasks for goal attainment
salesperson level may provide relevant managerial implications as (Houghton et al., 2003). Because self-regulation includes the reduc-
firms consider self-leadership strategies as an extension of employee tion of discrepancies between current and desired states (Neck &
Houghton, 2006), such purposeful focus on a desired state (as occurs
with positive mental imagery) allows the employee to better moni-
2
One might speculate that the slow adoption of the self-leadership concept by the sales tor, compare and regulate current and desired states.
academic community appears to resemble the situation with many interesting topics that Finally, the third component of TSL involves the individual's ability
have been discussed in the domains of applied psychology and/or organizational behavior
for decades but have not found their way into the sales literature until only very recently
to eliminate or alter dysfunctional beliefs (Manz & Neck, 1999). Through
(see, for instance, work on organizational identification, e.g., Wieseke, Ahearne, Lam, & evaluating beliefs and assumptions, salespeople can actively promote
Dick, 2009). positive thought processes by eliminating the negative beliefs and

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 3

assumptions associated with dysfunctional thought processes (Neck & monitoring, self-efficacy) to influence future accomplishments
Manz, 1992). Consider, for instance, a salesperson at the end of an (Bandura, 1991; Manz, 1986; Wood & Bandura, 1989).
unsuccessful call on a tough customer. If the salesperson believes that Following this framework, salesperson TSL strategies consider the
her poor presentation skills will never be adequate to effectively over- effects of both individual and environmental influences in influencing
come customers' objections, giving-up behaviors may result rather an employee's behaviors — specifically, self-efficacy and performance
than her focusing on what can be remedied. By reducing the destructive (Neck & Manz, 1992). Recalling that TSL reflects one's thoughts and
thought patterns which adversely affect employee emotional and behaviors (Furtner, Rauthmann, & Sachse, 2010), the process moves be-
behavioral states (Manz, 1992), the employee's constructive and posi- yond cognitive control (Houghton et al., 2003) to include motivational
tive thought process capabilities are inherently increased. This ability theory, focusing specifically on the self-regulatory mechanisms neces-
to monitor and self-regulate individual thought patterns results in a sary for goal pursuit. It is this self-regulatory aspect of TSL to which
salesperson with higher TSL capabilities through an increased focus on we turn next.
opportunities as opposed to obstacles.
3.3. Self-regulation theory
3. Conceptual framework & theoretical underpinnings
Considering effective self-regulation of employee cognition can be
3.1. Overview of conceptual framework developed in an organizational setting (e.g., Manz, 1986; Neck, 1996),
the ability of employees in a sales organization to manage their own
The foundations of TSL rest on an understanding that individual thinking and regulate their behaviors through TSL strategies can help
thought can be self-controlled (e.g., Gioia & Manz, 1985; Manz, 1992). establish the direction necessary for achievement of sales-specific
This assumption introduces the idea that, in controlling one's thought performance goals. TSL, then, provides a platform through which
process, individuals have the innate ability to regulate the self- salesperson's regulatory mechanisms manifest in self-influencing
direction and self-motivation inherent in their cognitive processes cognitive strategies. Simply put, “self-regulation is the foundation of
(Manz & Neck, 2004). Social cognitive theory emphasizes the capacity self-leadership” (Williams, 1997; p. 143). There are three ways with
of individuals to exercise forethought (Bandura, 1988), enabling their which self-regulation informs our conceptual framework.
ability for self-influence. Purposeful control of one's thoughts, as takes First, drawing on observations of their environment, individuals
place in TSL strategies, empowers employees to engage in focused cog- form outcome expectations that inform their motivation to transcend
nitive processes to regulate their individual behaviors in conjunction their immediate environment into a desired future state through action-
with their desired outcomes (Neck & Manz, 1996). Through foresight able shaping and regulation of the present (Bandura, 1986; Carver &
of goals, individuals wield adoptive control and can influence their Scheier, 1981). Because intention and desire alone have little impact
own environment in the pursuit of those goals. The resulting motivation in the absence of an individual's capability to exercise influence over
and actions that guide individuals toward those goals are in turn their own environment and behaviors (Bandura & Simon, 1977), self-
governed by several self-regulatory mechanisms (Bandura, 1988). regulatory mechanisms at the salesperson level are of critical impor-
Indeed, according to Bandura (1991), self-regulatory systems “lie at tance in the actualization of sales goals. Indeed, “among the mecha-
the very heart of causal processes” (p. 248) and allow individuals, to nisms of personal agency, none is more central or pervasive than
motivate themselves and guide their actions. As simultaneous products peoples' beliefs about their capabilities to exercise control over their
and producers of their surroundings, individuals can equip themselves own level of functioning and over events that affect their lives”
with the capabilities to influence their environment through self- (Bandura, 1991; p. 257). It thus appears that self-regulation encom-
regulation. passes the concept of self-efficacy which acts as a crucial mechanism
With this in mind, social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1991) provides capable of explaining the transformation of thoughts into actions
a broad framework that, when coupled with self-regulation theory (Bandura, 1991; Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989; Manz, 1986).
(Carver & Scheier, 1981, 1998), informs the development of our concep- A second important process in the context of self-regulation is
tual framework (Fig. 1) delineating how individuals within the sales self-monitoring (e.g., Bandura, 1991; Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989;
force translate cognition into action. Our framework outlines both ante- Premeaux & Bedeian, 2003). Self-monitoring refers to an employee's
cedents and consequences of salesperson TSL. In particular, two dimen- (a) sensitivity to reading the social cues of others and (b) ability to
sions of self-monitoring (H1a and H1b) are exogenous in the model and alter their self-presentation accordingly (Snyder, 1979). TSL considers
are hypothesized to predict salesperson engagement in, and employ- the self-regulation of thought processes in the pursuit of individual
ment of, TSL strategies. The remainder of the model outlines both direct goals and ideals (Neck & Manz, 1996). Meaning that, rather than forcing
(H2 and H4) and indirect (H5), through self-efficacy, effects of TSL employees to adopt changes on an attitudinal level, TSL facilitates the
strategies on individual employee outcomes and incorporates the mod- constant monitoring and cultivating (or self-regulation) of constructive
erating effect of organizational based self-esteem (H3). We elaborate on thought patterns to self-monitor and adjust thoughts and behaviors
the theoretical underpinnings of our framework in what follows. (Neck & Manz, 1996). This process internalizes constructive ways of
dealing with challenges (Neck & Manz, 1996) and allows employees
3.2. Social cognitive theory to cultivate long-term management of their mental processes, encour-
aging more positive and opportunity focused thinking (Houghton &
According to social cognitive theory, the cognitive processes of Jinkerson, 2007; Neck, Smith, & Godwin, 1997). Meaning, the extent
individuals both influence, and are influenced by, their environmental to which individuals regulate their thoughts and behaviors should be
circumstances (Bandura, 2011). Meaning, people are capable of affect- related to the extent to which individuals are monitoring their appear-
ing the nature of their environment through selection and creation of ances of self in social settings (Premeaux & Bedeian, 2003; Tsui &
activities and situations (Bandura & Walters, 1959). Social cognitive Ashford, 1994). Indeed, there is evidence that high self-monitoring em-
theory then provides a basis for understanding the ways in which ployees are adept at interpreting such cues and regulating their self-
salespeople are influenced by, and influence their environment. Per presentation accordingly (Dobbins, Long, Dedrick, & Clemons, 1990).
social cognitive theory, persons “function as contributors to their own Finally, individuals draw conclusions about their self-worth and
motivation, behavior, and development within a network of recip- self-regard on the basis of organizational influences that shape
rocally interacting influences” (Bandura, 2011; p. 8). Specifically, the their beliefs of how much they are “valued” within their workplace
framework offers guidelines for understanding how employees equip (i.e., organizational-based self-esteem). Conceptual work (Tsui &
themselves with the necessary self-regulatory capabilities (e.g., self- Ashford, 1994; Williams, 1997) as well as empirical evidence

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
4 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Organizational-
based self-
esteem

Covariates
•Sales experience
Thought Self-leadership •Sales effort
Strategies •Company dummies
H3 (+)
Sensitivity to
H1a (+)
expressions Self talk
of others

Sales
Mental Self-efficacy
H5 (+) performance
imagery H2 (+)
Ability to
modify self-
presentation H1b (+)
H4 (+)
Evaluating
beliefs &
assumptions

Fig. 1. Conceptual framework.

(Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1993) has provided evidence that self- the case of self-monitoring can be gathered from the expressions of
esteem serves as an important mechanism in explaining self-regulation those around them. Because employees high in self-monitoring are
processes. Specifically, because of a favorable self-image, employees “markedly sensitive” (Snyder & Gangestad, 1982; p. 123) to social
high in self-esteem have generally superior self-regulation capabilities cues, they retain an increased sensitivity to reading and interpreting
(Baumeister et al., 1993) whereas they place great value on their self- the expressive behavior of others (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984). Success in
concept and related processes, such as TSL, to guide their behaviors self-regulation thus depends, in part, on the extent to which the self-
(Brutus, Ruderman, Ohlott, & McCauley, 2000). monitoring actions of an employee provide the information necessary
in setting realistic goals and evaluating progress toward those goals
4. Hypothesis development (Bandura, 1991). Therefore, employees more adept at reading social
cues, such as those conveyed in the expressions of others, will gather
4.1. Self-monitoring and thought self-leadership more salient and dynamic information; thus allowing them to better
self-regulate in accordance with behavioral outcomes that are more
As noted by Bandura (2011), “In social cognitive theory, people are valued, resulting in an increased propensity toward engagement in
neither driven by inner forces nor automatically shaped and controlled TSL strategies. We therefore posit:
by the environment” (p. 7). Instead, an interaction between internal
cognitions and a network of environmental stimuli contribute to the H1a. A salesperson's sensitivity to expressions of others will positively
development of individual motivations and behaviors. Because self- relate to employment of TSL strategies.
monitoring considers the interaction of both internal and external stim- Through successful self-monitoring, employees attend to and alter
uli (Williams, 1997), this regulatory activity is a key self-influencing those behaviors that correspond to situational cues (Kanfer &
action on which the cognitive strategies of self-leadership are premised. Ackerman, 1989). Because successful self-monitoring links an em-
Self-monitoring is imperative in informing TSL strategies because, ployee's thoughts to their actions, high self-monitors are more likely
while “self-monitoring may occur in response to internal or external to emerge as leaders (e.g., Zaccaro et al., 1991). Employees high in
prompts,” (Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989; p. 662), high self-monitoring em- self-monitoring abilities are not only able but willing to control their
ployees place a greater emphasis on situational factors in determining behavior in order to optimize their self-presentation in accordance
appropriate behaviors (Dobbins et al., 1990). In doing so, these with the social demands of the situation (Dobbins et al., 1990). By
employees gain self-insights by identifying modifiable aspects of their adapting their self-presentation, employees are better able to minimize
current environment and altering their own behaviors in order to “set the distance between their current state of performance and their
in motion a process of corrective change” (Bandura, 1991; p. 250). In- desired performance goals. Those employees capable of altering their
herent in their self-corrective and self-enhancing nature, TSL strategies behaviors are better able to initiate processes of constructive, and cor-
thus represent an example of one such process of corrective change. rective, change (Bandura, 1991). Thus, employees that are high self-
Given extant support for self-monitoring practices influencing lead- monitors are more responsive to situational inconsistencies (Snyder &
ership emergence and behaviors in prior studies (e.g., Dobbins et al., Gangestad, 1982) and more inclined to enact those changes necessary
1990; Ellis, 1988; Zaccaro, Foti, & Kenney, 1991), it is logical that the for movement toward desired end-states. Such adaptive behaviors are
mental strategies of TSL may manifest through self-monitoring abilities. essential to successful employee self-monitoring and underlie the self-
Meaning, constructive self-monitoring can lead employees to be more regulating tendencies that permeate TSL strategies, as discussed previ-
motivated to engage in TSL strategies (Houghton et al., 2003) through ously. Hence:
projection of increasingly foreseeable future events as opposed to an
abstract future state.
Individuals differ in the extent of their abilities to observe and infer H1b. A salesperson's ability to modify self-presentation will positively
external social prompts (Snyder, 1979). One such external prompt in relate to employment of TSL strategies.

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 5

4.2. Thought self-leadership strategies and self-efficacy 2004; p. 593), or what is commonly referred to as organizational-
based self-esteem (OBSE, hereafter).
Individuals capable of constructing positive (or opportunity) The environmental influences presumed in social cognitive theory
thought patterns are better suited to cope with difficult situations and maintain that an individual not only influences, but is also influenced
maintain their course for goal attainment (Neck & Manz, 1992). Positive by their environment. In a sales context, this translates to a consider-
and constructive thought patterns, such as those cultivated through TSL ation of the effects of the organizational environment on the salesper-
strategies, create optimistic employees that view problems in the work- son. This interaction creates the salesperson's concept of self within
place as challenges to be conquered, as opposed to disruptive and their specific role in the firm. OBSE is essential to the concept of self
enduring difficulties (Manz & Neck, 2004). Employees capable of utiliz- within an organization (Pierce, Gardner, Cummings, & Dunham, 1989)
ing the positive strategies of self-talk, mental imagery, and evaluation as it indicates the extent to which employees believe they are capable
of beliefs and assumptions approach goals with optimistic views of satisfying their needs within their organizational roles. Employees
(Seligman, 1991) and, by strengthening their TSL capabilities, they bol- with high self-esteem maintain higher perceptions of worthiness and
ster their beliefs in their own abilities and subsequent performance importance within their role (Renn, Allen, Fedor, & Davis, 2005).
(Manz & Neck, 2004). One mechanism that explains how this occurs is These employees maintain a heightened level of belief in their ability
when individuals make judgments on why things are happening with to translate self-perceived competence into goal-directed actions that
regard to their performance levels which implicitly involves a process will ultimately result in success (Pierce et al., 1989). Essentially, OBSE
of self-dialogue where individuals attribute good performance to specif- allows for a context specific evaluation of the self (Brutus et al., 2000)
ic capabilities (Gist & Mitchell, 1992). Following this logic, here we that provides an employee further insight and beliefs in their own
expect that TSL will positively relate to a salesperson's perceptions of thoughts and feelings, resulting in more positive assessments of work-
self-efficacy, which refers to “beliefs in one's capabilities to mobilize ing capabilities and increased motivations toward, and assurance in,
the motivation, cognitive resources, and courses of action needed to goal attainment (Pierce & Gardner, 2004; Pierce, Gardner, Dunham, &
meet given situational demands” (Wood & Bandura, 1989, p. 408). Cummings, 1993). Prior work on self-regulation, for instance, has
Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1991), as well as conventional identified self-esteem as a potential influencer in the relationship
wisdom, also shape the expectation that those employees with such a between self-leadership and its outcomes (Crocker, Brook, Niiya, &
strong sense of self-concept are more likely to perceive themselves as Villacorta, 2006; Williams, 1997) because it has been shown that people
highly capable with a higher probability of task success, resulting in high on self-esteem are more effective in self-regulation (Baumeister
higher levels of motivation (Gardner & Pierce, 1998). Accordingly, sales- et al., 1993).
people that maintain higher efficacy levels are likely to put forth more Self-esteem is considered central in explaining employee atti-
effort and follow through when selecting and revising goals and will tudes and motivations in the workplace (Korman, 1970). Indeed,
maintain higher levels of motivation for goal attainment (Bandura, those employees with high beliefs in their abilities of goal attain-
1991). The three primary elements of TSL influence an employee's ment maintain increased levels of positive performance outlook
ability to strategically create and maintain patterns of thinking aimed (Neck & Houghton, 2006). Logically, as levels of self-value in the
at fostering and encouraging a positive and optimistic regulatory- workplace increase (as in the case with high levels of OBSE) an em-
focus on individual goal attainment. Through positive and constructive ployee will be increasingly likely to translate TSL strategies into
self-dialogues (self-talk), envisioned or symbolically experienced be- higher levels of self-efficacy. This happens because individuals high
haviors (mental imagery), and the conscious evaluation and challenging in OBSE rely more on their capabilities when performing their jobs
of any irrational or dysfunctional beliefs or assumptions, employees (Pierce et al., 1993; Rank, Nelson, Allen, & Xu, 2009). It is reasonable
generate a positive view of themselves and their capabilities in refer- to assume then, that those employees who perceive themselves
ence to their goals (Houghton & Neck, 2002). to be highly capable, significant, successful, and worthy will be
TSL strategies maintain inherent positive and constructive traits of more inclined to predict higher probabilities of success (Gardner &
cognitive processing that lead salespeople to be more confident in Pierce, 1998). Hence:
their performance abilities. In self-regulating employees, this construc-
tive thinking process can evolve into self-efficacy (Millikin, Hom, & H3. Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) will positively moderate
Manz, 2010). Considering self-efficacy perceptions are related to the relationship between employment of TSL strategies and self-
employee assessment of his/her performance abilities in reference to a efficacy such that, as OBSE increases the relationship between employ-
desired behavior (Bandura, 1977), the positive and constructive influ- ment of TSL strategies and self-efficacy is strengthened.
ences of TSL strategies will lead to increased employee self-efficacy.
Formally stated:
4.4. Thought self-leadership strategies and sales performance
H2. Employment of TSL strategies will positively relate to self-efficacy.
Considering the effective use of TSL strategies can influence
employee's constructive thought patterns and manifest in greater
4.3. Moderating role of organizational based self-esteem sustainability of effort and improved performance through optimis-
tic self-regulation (Houghton et al., 2003), direct effects of TSL strat-
The underlying foundation of TSL maintains the assumption that a egies and sales performance must be considered. Indeed, Konradt,
mixture of psychological and sociological orientations are incorporated Andressen, and Ellwart (2009) found that, although partially
in employee cognitive processing (Neck, 1996). Simply put, social mediated by self-efficacy, self-leadership is positively related to per-
cognition, beyond an individual's own thoughts and feelings, must in- formance at the individual level. As discussed previously, TSL strate-
clude the learning and instruction that is gathered from interactions gies elicit constructive thought patterns typical of opportunity
with the external environment (Higgins, 2000). Considering TSL in the thinkers. Extant research shows that opportunity thinkers are more
context of a salesperson, the external environmental influences would likely to exert higher levels of effort and try harder throughout the
reflect organizational inferences and experiences of the employee. course of their work (Neck et al., 1997). Self-regulation theory sug-
Within the organizational context, an employee accumulates work gests that those individuals who are confident and hopeful, such as
and organizational experiences that culminate in a “self-perceived opportunity thinkers, tend to persist and succeed when faced with
value that individuals have of themselves as important, competent, challenges in goal attainment (Neck & Houghton, 2006). In this
and capable within their employing organizations” (Pierce & Gardner, way, TSL strategies create a positive cognitive platform for direct

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
6 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Table 1
Sample characteristics.

Companies Number of employeesa Annual sales Scope of internationalization Size of sales forceb Distribution of respondents in initial (final) samplec
(in €)a

Company A 2136 1,280,964,000 Global 80 23 (23)

Company B 1756 709,529,000 Domestic 60 49 (49)
Company C 1000 613,715,000 Domestic 31 19 (19)
Company D 380 118,323,708 Domestic 155 148 (143)
Company E 9782 3,905,000,000 Global 80 67 (67)
Total 15,054 6,627,531,708 – 406 306 (301)
a
With the exception of Company D (which is a single business unit company), the balance of the sample companies refers to multi-unit companies. Because of publicity requirements in
Europe, which only require companies to report financial information at the level of the entire company as opposed to reporting data for each business unit (see Homburg, Jensen, &
Krohmer, 2008), information reported here refers to the level of the entire company rather than the business unit or division level, which constitutes the focus of our study. For example,
Company E, a major financial institution, employs thousands of employees at retail bank branches, a business unit that we didn't include in our sample because it refers to a business-to-
consumer sales setting.
b
Companies A and E are global companies with operating sales forces in multiple European countries and headquartered in the European Union country in which the study took place
(see Methods section). Consequently, the sales force sizes for these two companies refer to the sales force size at headquarters.
c
Initial sample refers to the number of salespeople that responded to the survey. Final sample refers to the number of responses that were utilized for all analyses reported herein after
excluding responses with excessive missing data (see also Methods section).

effects on employee performance (Houghton & Neck, 2002). There- employee performance whereas Gong, Huang, and Farh (2009) provide
fore, we hypothesize: evidence that creative self-efficacy mediates the relationship between
employee transformational leadership and employee creativity. Hence:
H4. Employment of TSL strategies will positively relate to sales
performance. H5. Salesperson self-efficacy mediates the relationship between em-
ployment of TSL strategies and sales performance.

4.5. Mediating role of self-efficacy

5. Methods
Self-efficacy is considered of paramount importance in the self-
regulation process (Bandura, 1991; Gist & Mitchell, 1992). Social cogni- 5.1. Research setting & sample
tive theory predicts that self-efficacy results in higher performance
levels (Houghton et al., 2003) by reinforcing an employee's beliefs in We sought and secured the cooperation of five firms operating in
their task performance capabilities (Bandura, 1997). Individuals that pharmaceuticals (one firm), telecommunications (three firms), and fi-
are more confident are more likely to participate and follow through nancial services (one firm) in a European Union country. All firms
on goal attainment (Bandura, 1991). With increased motivation toward were members of a major European University's corporate program
goal attainment, greater self-efficacy is also associated with higher goal (see Table 1 for a description of the firms). Senior executives contacted
setting and increased levels of performance as a result (Phillips & Gully, all business-to-business field salespeople to request their voluntary par-
1997). In the sales domain specifically, extant research suggests that ticipation, assuring them of confidentiality. Researchers administered
self-efficacy is an individual-level variable that plays an important role paper-and-pencil surveys on predefined dates and during work hours,
in sales performance (e.g., Fournier, Tanner, Chonko, & Manolis, 2010; and ensured that salespeople completed questionnaires in a room
Krishnan, Netemeyer, & Boles, 2002). Salespeople high in self-efficacy where no manager was present. All salespersons employed in these
demonstrate higher levels of beliefs in their abilities and are more per- five firms (406, in total) received a copy of the questionnaire and 306
sistent and engaged as a result (Ahearne, Mathieu, & Rapp, 2005; responded by completing the questionnaire (75% response rate). After
Bandura, 1986). deleting five cases with excessive missing values, the usable sample
As a motivational component of behavioral self-regulation, self- size was reduced to 301. Evidence alleviating non-response bias con-
efficacy is reflective of an employee's effort allocation intentions cerns comes from the high response rates as well as from discussions
(Kanfer, 1987). Simply put, as an employee's self-efficacy increases, with management revealing that the profile of the respondents is repre-
they are more highly motivated to designate time and regulate behav- sentative of companies' sales force in all respects (selling experience,
iors for goal attainment (Phillips & Gully, 1997). Those employees dem- age, and number of calls made). Sample salespeople had an average sell-
onstrating high self-efficacy tend to redouble their efforts and persist ing experience of six years, were 33 years old on average, and made an
until reaching their goals (Houghton et al., 2003). Indeed, while self- average of 41 calls per week.3
efficacy may contain an inherent component of ability, it is expected
to contribute to performance levels independently of an individual's 5.2. Measures
ability level (Locke & Latham, 1990; Phillips & Gully, 1997).
The preceding discussion establishes the conceptual relation of self- All measurement scales and their respective items were drawn from
efficacy with sales performance. In linking this discussion with H2 and prior work (Table 2). TSL was measured with eleven items drawn from
H4, we expect self-efficacy to function as a regulatory mechanism in Houghton and Neck's (2002) study. The TSL scale is well-established
our conceptual framework that will, at least partially, mediate the rela- and validated measure with favorable psychometric properties
tionship between TSL strategies and sales performance. This notion is in (Stewart et al., 2011). The two dimensions of self-monitoring (sensitiv-
line with work in the domain of organizational behavior (e.g., Prussia ity to the expressive behaviors of others and ability to modify self-
et al., 1998); that is, TSL strategies elicit beliefs of self-efficacy, which, presentation) were measured with four and three items, respectively,
in turn, lead to increased levels of job performance. Indeed, there is all drawn from the work of Lennox and Wolfe (1984). Self-efficacy
evidence in previous empirical studies that self-efficacy may mediate was measured with three items drawn from Chen, Gully, and Eden
the effects of leadership strategies and behaviors on employee out-
comes. For instance, Walumbwa and Hartnell (2011) have shown that 3
Firms' top management restricted us from collecting any other demographic
self-efficacy mediates the effects of transformational leadership on information.

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 7

Table 2
Scale sources, descriptive statistics, standardized factor loadings, and reliability and validity estimates for the study's constructsa.

Measure Mean Standard Loadings ρb Average Highest

deviation variance shared
extracted variancec

Self-monitoring: sensitivity to the expressive behaviors of others (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984) 3.83 .57 .81 .52 4.41%
I am often able to read people's true emotions correctly through their eyes. .80
In conversations, I am sensitive to even the slightest change in the facial expression of the person I'm conversing .73
with.
I can usually tell when I've said something inappropriate by reading it in the listener's eyes. .67
If someone is lying to me, I usually know it at once from that person's manner of expression. .67
Self-monitoring: ability to modify self-presentation (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984) 3.78 .63 .77 .54 11.56%
I have the ability to control the way I come across to people, depending on the impression I wish to give them. .84
When I feel that the image I am portraying isn't working, I can readily change it to something that does. .76
I have found that I can adjust my behavior to meet the requirements of any situation I find myself in. .57
Self-efficacy (Chen et al., 2001) 3.89 .45 .73 .47 17.64%
I will be able to achieve most of the goals that I have set for myself. .74
When facing difficult tasks, I am certain that I will accomplish them. .61
In general, I think that I can obtain outcomes that are important to me. .70
Thought self-leadership strategies (Houghton & Neck, 2002) 3.23 .57 .83 .63 7.29%
Mental Imagery .78
I use my imagination to picture myself performing well on important tasks. .88
I visualize myself successfully performing a task before I do it. .90
Sometimes I picture in my mind a successful performance before I actually do a task. .73
I purposefully visualize myself overcoming the challenges I face. .67
I often mentally rehearse the way I plan to deal with a challenge before I actually face the challenge. .78
Self-talk
Sometimes I find I'm talking to myself (out loud or in my head) to help me deal with difficult problems I face .83
Sometimes I talk to myself (out loud or in my head) to work through difficult situations. .95
When I'm in difficult situations I will sometimes talk to myself (out loud or in my head) to help me get through it. .91
Evaluating beliefs and assumptions
I try to mentally evaluate the accuracy of my own beliefs about situations I am having problems with. .60
I openly articulate and evaluate my own assumptions when I have a disagreement with someone else. .64
I think about and evaluate the beliefs and assumptions I hold. .62
Organizational-based self-esteem (Pierce et al., 1989) 3.80 .49 .89 .51 21.16%
I count around here. .77
I am taken seriously. .81
I am important. .76
I am trusted. .72
There is faith in me. .77
I am valuable. .59
I am helpful. .62
I am efficient. .63
Salesperson performance (Sujan et al., 1994) 3.59 .55 .86 .51 21.16%
Contributing to your company's acquiring a good market share. .80
Selling high profit-margin products. .58
Generating a high level of dollar sales. .77
Identifying major accounts in your territory and selling to them. .64
Exceeding sales targets. .76
Assisting your sales supervisor meet his or her goals. .72
a
All constructs were measured with a 5-point scale, anchored from “1 = Completely Disagree” to “5 = Completely Agree”, except from the measures tapping thought self-leadership
strategies, which were measured with a 5-point scale, anchored from “1 = Very untrue of me” to “5 = Very true of me” and salesperson performance which was measured with a 5-point
scale, anchored from “1 = Much worse” to “5 = Much better”.
b
ρ: Fornell and Larcker's (1981) composite reliability estimates.
c
Highest shared variance was calculated based on LISREL-generated correlations and thus it has been corrected for measurement error.

(2001), and we employed eight items drawn from the work of Pierce in LISREL 8.80. Following the recommendations in the literature
et al. (1989) to measure OBSE. Finally, similar to recent research in the (Houghton & Neck, 2002), we operationalized TSL as a second-order
domain of sales (e.g., Dietvorst et al., 2009; Sarin, Challagalla, & Kohli, construct with the three strategies acting as first-order reflective
2012), salesperson performance was measured with six items taken dimensions. Fit statistics indicate that the measurement model fit the
from Sujan, Weitz, and Kumar (1994). Because the fieldwork for this data reasonably well: χ2545 = 1139.16, p = .000; RMSEA = .060 (90%
study took place in a European Union country, we employed the confidence interval: .055, .065); NNFI = .92; CFI = .92; SRMR = .087.
established translation-back-translation procedures as well as the tech- Evidence of reliability is demonstrated by the fact that all construct
niques of collaborative and iterative translation in order to ensure reliability coefficients exceed the cut-off value of .70, with an average
equivalence of meaning (Douglas & Craig, 2007). Two bilingual native reliability index of .82 (Table 2). Discriminant validity was assessed by
speakers of the target country (one of the authors and one professional comparing the squared correlations (φ2) between any pair of factors
translator) jointly worked on this processes. with the average variance extracted for these constructs (Fornell &
Larcker, 1981). In all cases, the φ2 was less than the constructs' aver-
6. Results age variance extracted, thereby providing evidence of discriminant
validity (Table 2). Further support in terms of discriminant validity
6.1. Measurement model is given by the fact that the epistemic correlations among study con-
structs range from .10 to .46, with none approaching unity (Table 3).
We assessed the measurement model for unidimensionality, reli- In addition, without exception, the estimated loadings are significant
ability, and validity by means of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and large, with standardized values ranging from .57 to .95 (lowest

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
8 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Table 3 effect – would be less likely to occur (Evans, 1985). Second, following
Construct intercorrelations.a Podsakoff et al. (2003, p. 887), we (a) used a personalized cover letter
Construct 1 2 3 4 5 6 to assure respondents that their responses would be treated in a
1. Sensitivity to expressions of 1.00 .21⁎⁎ .15⁎ .18⁎⁎ .21⁎⁎ .15⁎
confidential manner and that no right or wrong answers exist,
others (b) counterbalanced the order of the measurement of the predictor
2. Ability to modify 1.00 .27⁎⁎ .27⁎⁎ .31⁎⁎ .34⁎⁎ and criterion variables in the survey instrument, (c) employed dif-
self-presentation ferent response formats to measure the study's constructs
3. TSL 1.00 .12⁎ .11 .10
(i.e., “Very Untrue of me–Very True of Me”; “Much Worse\Much
4. Organization-based 1.00 .42⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎
self-esteem Better”; and “Agree\Disagree”), and (d) used validated, unambigu-
5. Self-efficacy 1.00 .34⁎⁎ ous, and clearly defined items.
6. Salesperson performance 1.00

Note. N = 301. 6.3. Hypothesis testing

⁎ p b .05 (two-tailed).
⁎⁎ p b .01 (two-tailed). Given the many indicators, error variances, and structural paths
a
These are the intercorrelations among the latent constructs and thus have been
in the model – including an interaction effect between a second-
corrected for attenuation due to measurement error.
order and a first-order construct – which calls for freely estimating
91 parameters, the use of a covariance-based approach to test the
hypothesized model relationships (Fig. 1) is not advisable because
t-value N 5.66, p b .01), suggesting that the individual indicators have it can result in unstable parameters and non-replicable results (see
substantial systematic variance attributed to their underlying latent con- Diamantopoulos, 2011). Indeed, according to Bentler and Chou
struct; this offers evidence of the convergent validity of the constructs. (1987) a ratio of sample size to number of free parameters of at
least 5:1 is necessary, and a ratio of 10:1 may be more appropriate.
Applying these guidelines to our model we would need a sample be-
6.2. Common method variance assessment tween 455 and 910 to generate results that are stable (see MacCallum,
Roznowski, & Necowitz, 1992). Given our sample size of 301, we
With the exception of sales performance, the rest of the constructs employed a partial least squares (PLS) approach (SmartPLS 2.0;
examined in our framework refer to cognitions that are best captured Ringle, Wende, & Will, 2005) to test our hypotheses which is consistent
by asking salespeople themselves (i.e., self-monitoring, self-efficacy, with much prior work in sales research (e.g., Ahearne, MacKenzie,
employment of TSL strategies, and OBSE), thus rendering the collection Podsakoff, Mathieu, & Lam, 2010a; Ahearne, Rapp, Hughes, & Jindal,
of data from other sources a difficult endeavor (see Podsakoff, 2010b). PLS is more robust with relatively smaller sample sizes and
MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003, p. 887). We do, however, acknowl- can better accommodate complex model structures that often produce
edge that it is both possible and desirable to collect archival data on Heywood cases under a covariance-based approach (Hair, Sarstedt,
sales performance. Collecting secondary performance data was not Ringle, & Mena, 2012; Henseler et al., 2014).
practically feasible in our study because our research design involved We employ a hierarchical model approach (Chin, Marcolin, &
sampling over five different companies, thus making challenging to Newsted, 2003). We first fit a linear effects model (Table 4). We next es-
collect this type of data about salesperson performance (see also timate the hypothesized model that is identical to the first model but
Homburg, Müller, & Klarmann, 2011; Johnson & Sohi, 2014). In addition, also contains the interaction effect, to test hypotheses. We then fit a
objective performance data is not comparable across companies final model to test for any omitted paths (i.e., from the two self-
(Homburg et al., 2011). monitoring dimensions to salesperson performance). Moreover, the
Nevertheless, we were sensitive in exploring the extent to which the largest variance inflation factor (VIF) has a value of 1.334, thereby sug-
results of the present study may be influenced by common method var- gesting that there is no evidence of severe multicollinearity in our data
iance (CMV) bias as a result of collecting data from one source. In partic- (Hair et al., 2012). Finally, consistent with prior research (e.g., Ahearne
ular, we employed the unmeasured latent method factor (UMLMF; et al., 2010b), our modeling approach specifies several covariates of
Podsakoff et al., 2003) technique. This procedure has the effect of con- salesperson performance — that is, sales experience (in years) and
trolling for that portion of variance in the indicators that is attributable sales effort (measured as number of sales calls). To capture any system-
to obtaining the measures from the same source (MacKenzie, Podsakoff, atic effects on performance due to the company setting we also included
& Paine, 1999). In particular, we partitioned the variance in our mea- four dummy variables, using the financial services company as the
sures to trait, method, and error variance by running two CFA models: referent category in our analyses. Table 4 reports the standardized
one with both the traits and a method factor, and one with traits only path coefficients. Most structural paths were significant and in the
(see Williams, Cote, & Buckley, 1989). Though the fit of the model in- hypothesized direction whereas the constructs in our framework ex-
cluding the UMLMF improved (χ2498 = 877.99; p = .000) – as is usual plained 9.3%, 23.9%, and 22.5% of the total variance in TSL strategies,
in this type of analysis (see Carlson & Kacmar, 2000; Conger, Kanungo, self-efficacy, and sales performance, respectively.
& Menon, 2000; MacKenzie, Podsakoff, & Fetter, 1991) – the median ef-
fect of CMV on items' variances is 3.61%, which is much lower than the 6.3.1. Main effects
median amount of CMV found to range between 25% (Williams et al., H1a, which predicts that sensitivity to expressions of others is posi-
1989) and 26.3% (Cote & Buckley, 1987) across studies. In addition, tively related to TSL strategies, was supported (γ = .268, p b .01). Like-
the median explained variance of the indicators which is attributed to wise, the positive relationship between ability to modify self-
their underlying trait is 40.96%. Thus, the ratio of trait-explained vari- presentation and TSL strategies (H1b) received support (γ = .100,
ance to method-explained variance is about 11:1. Further, all method p b .01). In support of H2, TSL strategies were found to positively relate
factor loadings are nonsignificant. Collectively, the evidence provided to self-efficacy (β = .090, p b .05). However, the hypothesized relation-
here allows us to conclude that CMV bias is not a problem in our study. ship between TSL strategies and salesperson performance was not con-
In addition to the statistical remedies employed, it should be noted firmed (β = .059, p N .05); thus H4 was not confirmed.
that at least two realities in our results and methods lessen the possibil-
ity of CMV biases in our data. First, had common method bias been a 6.3.2. Moderating effect of OBSE
problem in the study, the pattern of relationships we observed – As we predicted in H3, the interaction between TSL strategies and
which included absence of a relationship and a significant interactive OBSE was significant and in the predicted direction (β = .132,

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 9

Table 4
Results of structural equation analyses.a,b,c

Hypothesized paths Linear effects model Hypothesized model Final model

Endogenous variable: TSL R2: 9.3% R2: 9.3% R2: 9.3%

H1a: Sensitivity to expressions of others → TSL .268⁎⁎ .268⁎⁎ .267⁎⁎
H1b: Ability to modify self-presentation → TSL .100⁎ .100⁎ .091⁎

Endogenous variable: Self-efficacy R2: 2.8% R2: 23.9% R2: 23.9%

H2: TSL → Self-efficacy .167⁎⁎ .090⁎ .090⁎
H3: TSL× Organization-based self-esteem → Self-efficacy – .132⁎⁎ .132⁎⁎

Endogenous variable: Salesperson performance R2: 22.5% R2: 22.5% R2: 27.3%
H4: TSL → Salesperson performance .059 .059 .048
H5: Self-efficacy → Salesperson performance .343⁎⁎ .340⁎⁎ .262⁎⁎
Sensitivity to expressions of others → Salesperson performance (non-hypothesized path) – – .240⁎⁎
Ability to modify self-presentation → Salesperson performance (non-hypothesized path) – – .046
Sales experience → Salesperson performance .310⁎⁎ .311⁎⁎ .286⁎⁎
Sales effort → Salesperson performance .016 .016 .061
DummyCompany A −.054 −.058 −.081
DummyCompany B −.044 −.045 −.047
DummyCompany C −.093⁎ −.096⁎ −.069⁎
DummyCompany D .017 .015 .047

Note: T-values are calculated from 5000 bootstrapped samples and are for one-tailed test; Critical values: 1.65 (p b .05), 2.33 (p b .01).
⁎ p b .05.
⁎⁎ p b .01.
a
Company dummies have been coded so that the financial services firm serves as the base relative to which the effects of the other dummies are measured.
b
Entries within each cell correspond to standardized path estimates.
c
Explained variance (R2) indicates good explanatory power of the proposed model (Chin, 1998). Also, the model exhibits good predictive relevance because a blindfolding pro-
cedure (d = 7) yielded Stone–Geisser (Q2) cross-validated redundancy values of .03, .12, and .13 for TSL, self-efficacy, and salesperson performance, respectively (Hair et al., 2012).

p b .01). Thus, H3 was supported thereby suggesting a positive moderat- this hypothesis because self-efficacy was related positively to sales per-
ing effect of OBSE in the relationship between TSL strategies and self- formance (β = .340, p b .01) and, as previously mentioned, though TSL
efficacy. is positively related to self-efficacy, its direct effect on performance is
To facilitate interpretation of the form of the interaction, we plotted not significant. As such, the effect of TSL on sales performance is fully
it in Fig. 2 using the utility suggested by Preacher, Curran, and Bauer mediated by self-efficacy. In a next step, we formally tested for media-
(2006). As can be seen from the plot, TSL is significantly and positively tion following the procedures suggested by Zhao, Lynch, and Chen
related to self-efficacy at average and higher levels of OBSE. However, (2010). Specifically, we employed a bootstrapping procedure with
this positive relationship is buffered and becomes non-significant for 5000 resamples (Preacher & Hayes, 2004) to calculate the confidence
lower levels of OBSE. interval of the indirect effect (a × b). Because the 95% confidence inter-
val (.0069; .0822) does not include 0, “the indirect effect is significant
6.3.3. Mediating role of self-efficacy and mediation is established” (Zhao et al., 2010, p. 202).
H5 predicts that self-efficacy mediates the relationship between TSL
strategies and sales performance. As seen in Table 4, we find support for 6.3.4. Testing for non-hypothesized effects
Our final model tests whether any direct paths from the two dimen-
sions of self-monitoring to sales performance have been omitted.
Importantly, the findings show that all hypothesized relationships
remain significant after including these paths. Moreover, our supple-
mentary analyses enabled us to uncover one additional significant
relationship. Specifically, the results of this analysis show that sensitiv-
ity to expressions of others is positively related to sales performance
(γ = .240, p b .01) whereas ability to modify self-presentation is not
(γ = .046, p N .05).

7. Discussion

To date, leadership in the sales domain has been approached as a

top-down phenomenon. Consequently, our knowledge of whether
salespeople can enact strategies to regulate their behaviors and
self-lead is largely limited. We contribute to this line of research by
arguing that self-leadership, and particularly TSL strategies, is a via-
ble construct that holds much promise for both academic research
and practice. We anchor our work on social cognitive and self-
regulation theories and reveal that self-monitoring dimensions in-
crease salespeople's engagement in TSL, which in turn influences
sales performance through heightened levels of self-efficacy. We
also show that the effect of TSL on self-efficacy depends on whether
the salesperson perceives him/herself as valuable in the organiza-
tion: the positive effect of TSL strategies are enhanced when OBSE
Fig. 2. Moderating effect of organizational-based self esteem. is high but is crowded out when OBSE is low.

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
10 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

7.1. Research implications Third, organizational support as perceived through OBSE was a pos-
itive and significant moderator in the relationship between employee
By extending TSL strategies to a sales context, this study provides a TSL and self-efficacy. OBSE encourages employee action within organi-
unique vantage point for organizations to better understand the oppor- zational roles; and as OBSE increases, salespeople demonstrated an
tunities for self-leadership in boundary spanning employees. Boundary increase in self-competence in the value of their actions which translat-
spanners embody the link between customers and the firm and in doing ed to a strengthening of the TSL to self-efficacy relationship in the model
so manage dual relationships, demands, and goals from both the cus- presented. This relationship is key in understanding the contextual
tomer and the organization. In this customer-facing role they are crucial influencers that have potential to impact TSL effectiveness. For example,
to the firm's success. To be successful these employees must demon- a salesperson may display high levels of TSL within an organization, but
strate the ability to adapt to the needs of their customers and their if they perceive themselves to be of little value within their organiza-
environment in order to establish and meet goals that satisfy both the tional role (i.e., low levels of OBSE) they are less likely to translate TSL
customer and the organization. By evaluating their environment and to high levels of self-efficacy because their situational self-esteem is
responding aptly, self-led individuals are capable of determining likely to counteract feelings of self-value created through positive TSL
which actions and subsequent outcomes are most desirable (Mair, strategies. As Fig. 2 demonstrates, when an employee has low OBSE,
2005) and regulating pursuit toward those outcomes. TSL, specifical- increasing levels of TSL do not result in higher self-efficacy. Yet at mod-
ly, represents the cognitive self-leadership process through which erate and high levels of OBSE, an employee's self-efficacy increases as
employees can monitor, evaluate, and react to their environment TSL strategies become more salient. That is to say, as TSL increases,
in order to translate motivations to behavioral outcomes and self- only those employees who feel they are valued within the organization
lead. By examining TSL in a sales context, the model tested within translate increases in TSL to higher levels of self-efficacy. Indeed, at the
this research advances empirical understanding of the antecedents highest levels of OBSE, increased TSL results in the highest levels of self-
and outcomes of self-leadership among front-line employees. Re- efficacy among employees. When employees feel they are more valued,
sults demonstrate that through employing TSL, employees can effec- they likely internalize this self-esteem as encouragement of their own
tively self-lead in such a way as to enhance self-efficacy and increase capabilities (i.e., self-efficacy) and are more inclined to push themselves
performance outcomes. This article contributes to existing research for better performance. These novel findings are highly relevant to sales
in several ways. organizations as they represent one outlet for organizations to inter-
First, results of this research demonstrate that self-monitoring di- vene and encourage the TSL process.
mensions act as significant antecedents to a salesperson's engagement Fourth, our testing for non-hypothesized effects in the final
in TSL strategies. Employees that are adept in observing social cues model shows that the self-monitoring dimension of “sensitivity to
and reacting accordingly are better positioned to self-lead through expressions of others” is directly and positively linked to sales
conscious cognitive control and purposeful thought regulation. Because performance. Thus, it appears that the TSL → self-efficacy → sales
individual employees will differ in their ability to successfully self- performance mechanism suggested within our study entails one
monitor (Snyder, 1979), the significant findings for both H1a and H1b plausible mechanism for explaining the influence of self-
demonstrate the importance of understanding employee traits and monitoring on performance; however, other mediating mechanisms
managing employees strategically based upon strengths and weak- may also exist for at least the dimension of “sensitivity to expres-
nesses. For example, following the results of our analysis, employees sions of others” and deserve to be examined in future studies.
that have higher self-monitoring capabilities can and should be encour- Though purely speculative, it is feasible that this dimension is relat-
aged to engage in TSL strategies. However, those employees that are low ed to the idea of empathetic selling and the relationships that exist
self-monitors (or those that have misconstrued views of their ability to between salesperson empathy and selling performance.
self-monitor) should not be left to self-lead at the risk of hurting sales Finally, this research furthers knowledge of employee self-
performance. regulation in the workplace to better understand the transformation
Second, this study contributes to the literature by analyzing key of motivational factors into workplace behaviors and eventual per-
outcomes of salesperson TSL. Results support a significant and positive formance through TSL strategies. This research establishes a founda-
relationship between TSL and self-efficacy. These findings support the tion for further exploration within the marketing field in an effort to
notion that salespeople capable of effective self-leadership are more extend empirical understanding of employee self-regulatory behav-
proficient in setting operative performance goals and maintaining the iors, self-monitoring capabilities, and specifically the impacts of self-
motivation necessary for achieving these goals. Importantly, the nonsig- leadership within the organization.
nificant direct relationships between TSL strategies and sales perfor-
mance (i.e., H4), and thus the full mediation demonstrated in our
model, highlight the importance of considering the self-efficacious 7.2. Managerial implications
behaviors that result from the positive thought patterns inherent in
TSL strategies. Had CMV bias been a concern, we wouldn't observe full This study highlights the performance implications of employees as
mediation of self-efficacy. This finding adds value to our results as it self-leaders within the organization. Considering today's selling land-
seems the effects of self-efficacy on sales performance being a method- scape in which employees may be operating remotely or selling in
ological artifact of same-source data used in this study is not likely. Ad- areas geographically removed from the firm (Ingram et al., 2005), em-
ditionally, considering self-efficacy is of paramount importance in the ployees that are capable of self-leading can prove to be a huge asset to
self-regulation process (Bandura, 1997), the indirect effects of TSL on selling organizations. Salespeople in the field must be adaptable and
performance through self-efficacy demonstrate the nature of the posi- maintain the capabilities of leadership at all times (Manz & Sims,
tive self-imaging of self-efficacy in translating employee motivations 1986), even in the absence of managerial presence. TSL tendencies
to performance outcomes. Because “confident salespeople will be craft employees capable of leading themselves in the field, and specifi-
more willing to adapt and try different approaches on the fly than will cally during sales calls and customer interactions. These employees
less confident people” (Ahearne et al., 2005; p. 952), self-efficacy is in- are able to self-evaluate and self-react to meet the in-moment needs
deed a key ingredient in the successful implementation of TSL strate- of their selling goal. Additionally, the extant literature supports the
gies. Specifically, our results demonstrate that confident individuals idea that employees can be trained in TSL strategies (Neck et al.,
(i.e., those demonstrating high levels of self-efficacy) are more likely 1997) and develop leadership influence even when they are unable to
to participate in, and follow through on goal selection, goal revision, attain direct supervisor feedback. By demonstrating the implications
and eventual goal attainment (Bandura, 1991). of effective employee TSL, support from this study endorses the use of

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 11

such training to raise TSL abilities of salespeople in an effort to increase make more sales calls), and possibly reducing their sales performance
individual sales performance. potential. Recognizing self-leaders and adjusting supervisor monitoring
Considering the implications of self-monitoring in developing TSL based on self-leadership ability could optimize supervisors' time and
capabilities, firms should take note of those individuals that demon- result in higher overall organizational performance.
strate self-monitoring tendencies in the hiring process. Individuals
vary in their ability to self-monitor (Snyder, 1979), and differences
should be taken into consideration not only when hiring but also in 8. Limitations & future research
the placement of employees in various sales roles. For instance, em-
ployees with poor self-monitoring abilities should be placed in a role As with all research, the results of the present study are tempered by
that maintains a higher rate of contact with managers and within the certain limitations. First, though theory guided our framework, data are
more regulated roles of the firm. On the contrary, employees that are cross-sectional and thus causality remains an issue that can only be
successful self-monitors are more likely to succeed with less external substantiated in experimental or longitudinal studies.
monitoring and supervision and can thus be more successful than Second, as mentioned previously, we were sensitive in taking sever-
their counterparts in the field and in unstable situations such as new al procedural and statistical steps to alleviate concerns over CMV bias.
customer acquisition or sales calls. Additionally, as the selling landscape Nevertheless, data on sales performance was self-reported, so future
shifts, salespeople are increasingly tasked with role ambiguity and task researchers might want to examine the influence of TSL strategies on
overload (Ingram et al., 2005), requiring them to be more adaptive and objective measures of performance.
versatile in the field. By training employees in TSL strategies, firms can Third, participating companies were selected from a major,
increase their ability to self-lead in situations of role ambiguity and European University's corporate program. Though this helped us secure
role conflict. Such leadership abilities allow these employees to be access to their sales forces, the sample is a convenience one and may not
empowered and self-motivate in order to adapt to the needs of these be representative across all industries. Thus, future researchers might
moments. want to study TSL processes by employing a random sample research
Another key finding in this study is the positive moderating effects of design.
OBSE on the relationship between employee TSL and self-efficacy. OBSE Fourth, here we focus on TSL, the most advanced, distinctive, and
reflects perceived employee self-worth within their organizational role promising type of self-leadership strategies. However, it would be
(Pierce & Gardner, 2004). Because self-esteem is reflective of the per- fruitful if future studies examined other self-leadership strategies such
ceived climate of support and value within their role (through organiza- as natural reward and behavior focused strategies (Houghton & Neck,
tional support), it can be influenced by the actions of the firm. Based 2002).
upon our findings, organizations should promote the use of positive Fifth, as noted at the onset, here we take an individual perspec-
and supportive interfaces between supervisors and employees as well tive in studying TSL. Several interesting questions remain to be an-
as among employees. To increase the effectiveness of employee TSL, a swered in future research studies. Specifically, researchers may
climate of support and celebrated valuation of employees should be wish to investigate whether variables at the managerial or organiza-
encouraged. Supervisors should focus attention on recognition and sup- tional level – such as dyadic leadership, organizational structure or
port of their subordinates; and organizational practices should prompt empowerment – influences the extent to which salespeople engage
the exchange of positive feedback and encourage employee participa- in self-leadership strategies. In addition, an interesting question is
tion in idea creation and organizational growth. By making employees whether positive organizational attributes such as the presence of
feel they are vested in the organization and their jobs, firms can impact a supportive climate or culture buffer the effect of TSL on perfor-
their ability to leverage TSL within employee roles. If employees are mance; is self-leadership, for instance, really helpful when salespeo-
recognized and supported in their job and maintain high levels of self- ple perceive a supportive work environment that motivates them to
esteem in response, they will be more likely to translate TSL strategies perform at higher levels? Likewise, considering extrinsic motiva-
to self-efficacy and be more confident in their work. Those employees tional factors of the organization may shed additional light on the
become increasingly valuable to the company as their sales perfor- role of TSL in the sales force. Consider a sales control system, for in-
mance increases. stance, in which employees are rewarded through sales contests and
Finally, the impacts of employee TSL on peers could provide an prizes. A salesperson may be capable of the TSL strategies that could
avenue of benefits for sales firms. Considering the impacts of leader- increase her performance in order to be a strong competitor in a cer-
ship in self-managing teams (e.g., Manz & Sims, 1986), firms may tain sales contest, but if she determine that the contest prize is not
benefit from strategically placing high TSL salespeople as informal something she is willing to sacrifice the time and effort needed for
leaders within sales teams. With informal leaders in a team environ- performance goal attainment, she may be less likely to demonstrate
ment, firms can reduce the role demands of supervisors and poten- TSL strategies and simply sit back and let other employees win the
tially alleviate some costs associated with managing these teams. prize. In this way, considering the match between salespeople's in-
Indeed, Manz and Sims (1987) demonstrate that in the case of self- trinsic motivations and extrinsic organizational motivations may
managing teams, the role of external leaders is far removed from shed additional light on how and when employees demonstrate
that of the traditional leader. With a decline in necessary monitoring TSL strategies.
by supervisors, self-led teams may not only alleviate some role de- Sixth, as one anonymous reviewer suggested, an interesting ave-
mands placed on managers but could also eliminate some of the nue for future research is presented in considering the boundary
time consuming tasks that have resulted from micro-managing conditions that may exist in TSL specifically pertaining to salespeo-
sales teams by supervisors. For example, a sales manager may have ple. The likelihood of negative implications at exceedingly high
specific sales call forms that he/she requires team members to fill levels of TSL is indeed thought-provoking (see also Stewart et al.,
out in order to keep track of the number of sales calls made and 2011). Increased employment of TSL strategies requires consider-
the salespeople's effective conversion ratio. Such forms may be nec- able time and cognitive resources to be effective. Additionally, not
essary in the case of employees that are unmotivated or unfocused all customers, sales calls, or daily activities require TSL strategies in
(such as those with low TSL abilities), but could perhaps be reduced order to be handled effectively. Meaning, TSL strategies are benefi-
in the case of high TSL employees who are capable of self-motivating cial to salespeople on a large scale but are not necessary, nor effi-
and reaching performance goals without constant monitoring from cient, for each everyday activity salespeople partake in. Salespeople
their supervisor. In fact, high TSL employees may be wasting valuable that spend too much time developing and employing these strate-
time and resources filling out such reports (time that could be used to gies in every situation may be wasting the limited resources they

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
12 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

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on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
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Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043
14 N.G. Panagopoulos, J. Ogilvie / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Zaccaro, S. J., Foti, R. J., & Kenney, D. A. (1991). Self-monitoring and trait-based variance in Research in Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Personal Selling &
leadership: An investigation of leader flexibility across multiple group situations. Sales Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, International
Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(2), 308. Journal of Human Resource Management, and European Journal of Marketing.
Zhao, X., Lynch, J. G., & Chen, Q. (2010). Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and
truths about mediation analysis. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(2), 197–206. Jessica Ogilvie: Jessica Ogilvie is currently a doctoral student in Marketing at the Univer-
sity of Alabama. Her research interests include strategy, personal selling, and sales
management. Jessica has published research in the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales
Nikolaos G. Panagopoulos: Dr. Nikolaos G. Panagopoulos is currently an Assistant Profes-
Management as well as Business Horizons.
sor of Marketing at the University of Alabama. His research interests include Strategy,
Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Firm–Stakeholder Relationships. Nick has con-
tributed many articles in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, International Journal of

Please cite this article as: Panagopoulos, N.G., & Ogilvie, J., Can salespeople lead themselves? Thought self-leadership strategies and their influence
on sales performance, Industrial Marketing Management (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.02.043