The relationship between job related expectations of salespeople and the use by sales management of a fulfilment approach.

This thesis is concerned with the job satisfaction,
motivation and performance of salespeople. Within this conceptual
domain, the study examines the relationship between job-related
expectations and the process of their fulfilment / nonfulfilment,
in an attempt to account for differences in their job
behaviour, job attitudes and performance.

There were two main purposes of this reseach. Firstly, to
determine whether or not, and the extent to which, the behaviour
of sales representatives could be attributed to their job related
expectations. Second, to develop a conceptual framework, yielding
the dynamics and impact of the fulfilment / non-fulfilment
process (a pro-active mechanism of uncovering behavioural
patterns) on possible action tendencies at the workplace.

The study was field based and exploratory. Field research
took place in Greece - the researcher's home country. One of the
main reasons underlying this decision was to provide Greek
researchers and managers with knowledge where it previously did
not exist. In total, forty seven companies participated. These
companies allowed the researcher to conduct structured interviews
with their salespeople and in all one hundred and seventy
salespersons comprised the final sample.

The data from this sample were analysed for purposes of
hypothesis testing. In cases where no clear cut points in
responses were identified, the data were statistically analysed
with the aid of non-parametric tests. The major reason underlying
the use of non-parametric tests was that the level of measurement
achieved was in ordinal scales.

The findings indicated that the identification of perceived
anticipated outcomes of salespeople's job-related expectations is
a good predictor of their subsequent behaviour. Strong positive
relationships were found between anticipated fulfilment and
anticipated job satisfaction and motivation. Converserly,
negative relationships were found between anticipated job
satisfaction and motivation when fulfilment was not anticipated.

The effects of causal attributions made by salespeople about
their achieved performance, and the identified feedback loops,
were also supported. Finally, the fulfilment approach (a process
of a dynamic and directional cyclical nature in determining
behaviour) was clearly indicated.

The most important implications of this research are the
identification of:

a) the fulfilment process, and

b) the major behavioural outcomes that are available to
salespeople.

On the one hand, the study found that salespersons'
preference amongst different behaviours was associated with job
related expectations and their perceived anticipated outcomes. On
the other hand, job satisfaction, motivation and performance were
also found to be dependent upon the cognitive process termed
"fulfilment approach". That is, outcomes which were perceived as
being able to either fulfill or facilitate fulfilment, or not to
fulfill, job related expectations of sales representatives.