Abstract

Bricolage – a term that implies resourcefulness – is a construct with a long history in anthropology, design, management, and entrepreneurship, among other fields. Our study is one of the first to apply the bricolage concept to better understand the behaviors of salespeople. Overall, findings from our multi-study, multi-method approach (combining survey methodology and a scenario-based experiment with video manipulations) indicate that salesperson bricolage behaviors are desirable and can be developed in a sales force. More specifically, in Study 1, we leverage Job Demands-Resources Theory and survey data from 405 business-to-business (B2B) salespeople and find that salesperson bricolage behaviors can effectively mitigate the predictably negative impacts of role ambiguity on sales performance. In Study 2, we leverage Self-Determination Theory and an experimental design with 181 B2B salespeople and provide initial evidence regarding salesperson bricolage behaviors’ organizational determinants (i.e. sales force control system combinations). Study 2 indicates that capability control interacted synergistically with outcome control and antagonistically with activity control in predicting bricolage behaviors. Taken together, findings from the two studies indicate that bricolage behaviors are both beneficial and manageable, warranting continued study in the sales literature.

摘要

拼贴——一个暗示足智多谋的术语——是一个在人类学、设计、管理和创业等领域有着悠久历史的概念。我们的研究是最早应用拼凑概念来更好地理解销售人员行为的研究之一。总体而言，我们的多研究、多方法方法（将调查方法和基于场景的实验与视频操作相结合）的结果表明，销售人员的拼凑行为是可取的，并且可以在销售队伍中培养。更具体地说，在研究 1 中，我们利用工作需求-资源理论和 405 名企业对企业 (B2B) 销售人员的调查数据，发现销售人员的拼凑行为可以有效减轻角色模糊对销售绩效的可预见的负面影响。在研究 2 中，我们利用自我决定理论和对 181 名 B2B 销售人员进行的实验设计，提供有关销售人员拼凑行为的组织决定因素（即销售人员控制系统组合）的初步证据。研究 2 表明，在预测拼凑行为时，能力控制与结果控制相互作用，与活动控制相互作用相反。总而言之，这两项研究的结果表明，拼凑行为既有益又易于管理，值得在销售文献中继续研究。研究 2 表明，在预测拼凑行为时，能力控制与结果控制相互作用，与活动控制相互作用相反。总而言之，这两项研究的结果表明，拼凑行为既有益又易于管理，值得在销售文献中继续研究。研究 2 表明，在预测拼凑行为时，能力控制与结果控制相互作用，与活动控制相互作用相反。总而言之，这两项研究的结果表明，拼凑行为既有益又易于管理，值得在销售文献中继续研究。