American Journal of Business

Examining the differences in salesperson motivation among different cultures

Christopher R. Moberg Megan Leasher
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To cite this document:
Christopher R. Moberg Megan Leasher, (2011),"Examining the differences in salesperson motivation
among different cultures", American Journal of Business, Vol. 26 Iss 2 pp. 145 - 160
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Differences in
Examining the differences salesperson
in salesperson motivation motivation
among different cultures
145
Christopher R. Moberg
Marketing Department, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA, and
Megan Leasher
Macy’s Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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Abstract
Purpose – Although salesperson motivation has been widely researched within the USA, the
purpose of this paper is to examine similarities and differences in salesperson motivation in different
countries and cultures.
Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses of differences in motivation dimensions between
Eastern and Western sales forces are proposed based on previous cross-cultural and motivation
research. An archival assessment database with data from over 120,000 salespeople is used to examine
the hypotheses.
Findings – Salespeople from Western cultures are more motivated by the needs for achievement,
relationships, and power than salespeople from Eastern cultures. The results for the relationship
hypothesis were unexpected.
Research limitations/implications – The study provides an important first step to conduct more
research on global sales force motivation.
Originality/value – Identifying or confirming the salesperson motivations that exist in other
countries will provide critical insight to sales managers as they recruit and develop a global sales force
operating in multiple markets. Recruiting a sales force with motivations consistent with the cultural
norms of a foreign market could lead to a significant competitive advantage.
Keywords Sales force, National cultures, Salesperson motivation, Sales force management,
Global selling, Cross-cultural differences, Multinational companies, Competitive advantage
Paper type Research paper

Salesperson motivation has been one of the most commonly researched topics in the
sales literature. Because motivation is an “internal psychological state that stimulates a
person to engage in a particular behavior,” it is logically argued that salesperson
motivation will be directly related to salesperson job performance ( Jaramillo et al., 2007,
p. 60). In a seminal, early meta-analysis on determinants of salesperson performance,
Churchill et al. (1985) found that motivation was one of the five main salesperson
attributes that was related to performance. Since this study was published, salesperson
motivation research has examined a variety of topics including the differential impact of
global intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on performance (Anderson and Oliver, 1987;
Weitz et al., 1986); the effect of affective and cognitive dimensions of motivation on role
perceptions and salesperson performance (Miao and Evans, 2007), the moderating role American Journal of Business
Vol. 26 No. 2, 2011
pp. 145-160
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The authors would like to thank The HR Chally Group in Dayton, Ohio for the support provided 1935-5181
to the authors during this research project. DOI 10.1108/19355181111174525
 AJB of initiative on the relationship between intrinsic motivation and adaptive selling
26,2 ( Jaramillo et al., 2007), and the relationship between motivation and salesperson
attitudes and performance (Pullins, 2001).
One deficient aspect of the vast salesperson motivation research literature is its lack
of focus on the global impact of salesperson motivation. Although some initial studies
have begun to examine cross-cultural differences (Dubinsky et al., 1994), most existing
146 research focuses almost exclusively on salespeople based in the USA. Given the
increasingly global nature of business and the recent commitment by the academic
community to expand sales research to settings outside of the USA, it is critical that
more research is conducted that applies sales theories to global markets.
The growing body of cross-cultural research has demonstrated differences in social
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cognitions across cultures in different countries. Past research has found differences in
five main cognitive dimensions between cultures – individualism/collectivism, power
distance, tolerance for uncertainty, attribution, and fatalism/mastery (Hofstede, 2001;
Klein, 2004). For example, previous research has found that in individualistic cultures the
individual is the focus of decision making while in collectivistic cultures the group is the
main influencer and decider in decision making. It was also found that Western cultures
tend to be individualistic while Eastern cultures tend to be collectivistic (Nisbett, 2003).
Based on cross-cultural research, it is clear that multinational corporations (MNCs)
are more likely to achieve success when expanding operations to new global markets
by adjusting business strategies to fit the cultural norms of other countries (Klein,
2004). By extension, these cultural differences should be considered as an MNC builds a
global sales force. If an MNC is recruiting, training, and motivating a sales force to
operate in markets separate from their country-of-origin, it needs to recognize that the
salesperson attributes that are positively related to job performance may differ by
country based on cross-cultural differences. More specifically, the impact of motivation
on salesperson performance may differ by country.
Because no current research examines the similarities and differences of
salesperson motivation by country-of-origin, it would be helpful to sales managers
to understand the sales force motivation that exists in each country or culture. Based
on previous cross-cultural research, one would expect to find differences in salesperson
motivation by culture. However, because previous cross-cultural research has not
typically used salesperson samples, the main goal of this research is to confirm that the
expected differences in salesperson motivation across countries truly exist. By
identifying differences in sales force motivation by country, this research could provide
MNC sales organizations with critical insights into the development of more effective
sales forces for each market they compete in globally.
This paper begins with brief summaries of the motivational and cross-cultural
research streams. It continues with the justification of several exploratory hypotheses,
a description of the data set used for analysis, and a reporting of the results. It concludes
with a discussion of the managerial and academic implications of the study and the
identification of limitations and areas for future research.

McClelland’s motivational theory

McClelland (1961) developed a theory of motivation that proposed three
basic, fundamental needs that all individuals possess in different levels.
 Furthermore, the combination of these three needs within each person serves to explain Differences in
each individual’s personal drivers and preferred motivational sources. salesperson
McClelland’s first need is the need for “achievement”. A person with a high level of
this need will be motivated to excel and succeed, and looks forward to the motivation
accomplishment of completing a task in work environments. Setting and meeting
realistic, yet challenging, goals drives individuals high in achievement motivation.
These individuals do not require recognition for completion of a task, as the 147
achievement of the task itself is their reward.
The second motivational driver of McClelland’s theory is the need for “affiliation”.
One with a high need for affiliation is driven toward friendly relationships and
interactions with others. This individual has a strong desire to be liked, accepted, and
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held in high regard. These individuals are commonly driven to be team players in a
work environment, and like cooperative work situations in which they can engage with
many people.
The need for “power” is McClelland’s third fundamental motivational driver. An
individual with a strong need for power is driven to be influential to others and wants
to make an impact. This individual wants to increase their own personal status and
have their ideas triumph in a work environment, whether effective or not. The prestige
they desire may lead them to pursue directing efforts of a team, or more formal power
of a promotion with a new title.

McClelland’s motivational drivers and sales

Although there has been considerable research conducted on salesperson motivation in
the sales literature (Churchill et al., 1985; Jaramillo et al., 2007; Weitz et al., 1986), little
has referenced tenets of McClelland’s motivational theory. In an investigation on
salespeople and achievement motivation, Amyx and Alford (2005) found that although
a salesperson’s achievement drivers may lead to increased job performance, it may not
have an effect on commitment to the organization. McClelland himself has also
recommended incorporating motivation into the behavioral interview of sales
candidates in order to make the most accurate hiring decisions in sales (von Daehne,
1994). Finally, in the only study known to the authors that focused on a related
component of McClelland’s motivations in a cross-national sales setting, Dubinsky et al.
(1997) found that salespeople from the USA reported higher levels of achievement
orientation than salespeople from Japan.

Cross-cultural dimensions and relationship to McClelland

The cultural lens model (Klein, 2004) provides a framework for understanding differences
in social cognitions between cultures, as well as the origin of such differences. The model
is based upon the premise that members of a culture have shared experiences within
similar contexts. Similar experiences within those contexts generate common thought
patterns to “make sense out of the world” (p. 253). Those thought patterns and cognitions
lead to differences in how people perceive events, think about issues, and anticipate
actions of others (p. 250). Culture, in essence, creates a view of the world. It is the
foundation and rearing that develops our cognitive and behavioral patterns.
This leads to varied approaches to accomplishing tasks in the workplace, as well as
different outcomes in decision making. People from similar cultures tend to make
decisions similarly, but are likely met with surprise when people from another culture
 AJB can come to a completely different decision even when presented with the same
26,2 information. Mismatched views with individuals from other cultures can create
workplace ambiguity, confusion, and conflict. Although mismatches can lead to
frustration, “they can also provide clues for working successfully with others” (p. 255).
Mismatches can bring awareness and alternative perspectives to another culture’s
view of the world. Workplace training based on the cultural lens model can help
148 individuals become more aware of culture-specific cognitive patterns, but it can also
focus individuals to take on the perspective of people from another culture. Reaching
common ground to accomplish work tasks can best be accomplished by each culture
taking on the other’s perspectives.
Eight dimensions underlie the cultural lens model. These dimensions provide a
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framework for understanding the many differences in cognitions that natural culture
creates. The dimensions provide the “lens” through which each individual filters,
processes, and organizes information and communication (p. 254). The eight dimensions
include time horizon, achievement vs relationship, mastery vs fatalism, tolerance for
uncertainty, power distance, hypothetical vs concrete reasoning, attribution, and
differentiation vs dialectical reasoning. The model proposes that understanding these
fundamental cognitive differences between cultures will enable individuals to gain
perspective and begin to understand how other cultures view the world.
Two of these dimensions (achievement vs relationship and power distance) relate
directly to McClelland’s three motivational drivers. Each dimension will be presented,
and in turn, related to the respective McClelland motivational driver.

Hypotheses
With scant cross-cultural sales motivation research available, hypotheses for this
research were developed primarily based on the existing, and extensive, cross-cultural
body of research. Because so many countries have been examined in previous
cross-cultural research studies, the countries under review in this research were grouped
into global regions based on the consistent findings from previous cross-cultural
dimension research on countries from each region. While some outliers may exist, the
hypotheses were based on clear trends found for each region based on previous
cross-cultural research.

Achievement vs relationship
The dimension of achievement vs relationship focuses on differences in orientation and
cognitive framing (Klein, 2004). Achievement-oriented cultures are driven by the goal
of completing a task at hand, and individuals are judged based on their merit
(Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961; Markus and Kitayama, 1991; Nisbett, 2003). In these
cultures, tasks are the central focus of interactions. These cultures push for change at a
faster rate and aim to accomplish task demands above all else (Klein, 2004).
Relationship-oriented cultures, however, focus on developing relationships,
networks, and/or affiliations with others, and individuals from these cultures are
judged based on their connections (Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961). In these cultures,
cultivating relationships with others are the central focus of interactions. These cultures
allow change to happen at their own pace (Klein, 2004), and focus on helping other people
as a primary goal (Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961; Markus and Kitayama, 1991;
Nisbett, 2003).
 Overall, research has suggested that achievement-oriented cultures can be found in Differences in
North America, Western Europe, Australia (Klein, 2004; Nisbett, 2003), and South Africa salesperson
(Hofstede, 2001), whereas more relationship-oriented cultures can be found in
South America (Foster, 2002; McGuyan, 1997; Milleret, 2003) and Asia (Nisbett, 2003). motivation
Salespeople from achievement-oriented countries are more likely to be motivated by
achievement needs, like the completion of tasks and sales goals than those in
relationship-oriented locations, thus leading to our first hypothesis: 149
H1. Salespeople from achievement-oriented locations (i.e. Western Europe,
Australia, South Africa, and North America) will be more motivated by the
need for achievement than those from relationship-oriented locations (i.e. Asia).
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Alternatively, we believe that salespeople from relationship-oriented countries are more

likely to be motivated by affiliation needs than those in achievement-oriented locations:
H2. Salespeople from relationship-oriented locations (i.e. Asia) will be more
motivated by the need for affiliation than those from achievement-oriented
locations (i.e. Western Europe, Australia, South Africa, and North America).

Power distance
Power distance is a cross-cultural dimension with respect to inequalities in areas of
prestige, wealth, and authority, where cultures place differential weights on status
consistencies within these areas (Hofstede, 2001). Power distance relates to human
inequalities in areas of prestige and power (Hofstede, 2001). Hofstede suggests that power
distance is commonly seen in the hierarchical structures and levels of organizations, and
the ranked distance between subordinates and their managers. Power distance also relates
to task distribution, formalization of procedures, and centralization of decision making
within an organization or group (Berry et al., 1992). High-power distance cultures have
rigid, hierarchical levels of which the power of a person depends upon the person’s rank or
social position (Hofstede, 2001; Klein, 2004). Low-power distance cultures are less formal
and more decentralized (Berry et al., 1992; Hofstede, 2001) and positions in an organization
are based on the merit of an individual (Klein, 2004).
Overall, research has suggested that power distance is higher in South America
(Foster, 2002; Milleret, 2003), Eastern Europe, and Asia (Hofstede, 2001), but lower in
Western Europe, Australia, South Africa, and North America (Hofstede, 2001).
Salespeople in countries with lower power distance are more likely to find positions
of power and authority much more attainable than in locations with high-power
distance. As such, we believe that individuals in low-power distance countries are more
likely to be driven by power as a motivator, as it is something achievable:
H3. Salespeople from lower power distance locations (i.e. Western Europe,
Australia, South Africa, and North America) will be more motivated by the
need for power than those from higher power distance locations (i.e. Asia).

Method
Participants
An archival assessment database was provided by The HR Chally Group for use in this
study. The database included 123,791 sales applicants and incumbents who had
completed The Chally Assessment between 1998 and 2008. The sample was 65 percent
 AJB male with an average age of 35.2 (SD ¼ 9.98). The majority of the participants were
26,2 Caucasian (81 percent), followed by African-American (9 percent), Hispanic/Latino
(6 percent), Asian (3 percent), and other racial groups (1 percent). Table I presents the
country of origin breakdown for all participants in the study, with a vast majority from
the USA (96 percent). Table II provides the subsequent regional assignment of each
country in the database, and Table III presents the regional frequencies.
150
Measures
The Chally Assessment. The Chally Assessment measures the underlying traits,
temperaments, competencies, and behaviors related to successful job performance
(The HR Chally Group, 2008). It was originally developed in 1973 for the US Justice
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Department to discover a legally compliant and predictively accurate selection system

Frequency Percent

Australia 434 0.4

Belgium 238 0.2
Canada 529 0.4
China 192 0.2
Denmark 200 0.2
Finland 225 0.2
India 145 0.1
New Zealand 31 0.0
Singapore 83 0.1
South Africa 1,728 1.4
Switzerland 84 0.1
UK 1,028 0.8
Table I. USA 118,874 96.0
Country frequencies Total 123,791 100.0

Frequency Region assignment

Australia 434 Australia

Belgium 238 Western Europe
Canada 529 North America
China 192 Asia
Denmark 200 Western Europe
Finland 225 Western Europe
India 145 Asia
New Zealand 31 Australia
Singapore 83 Asia
South Africa 1,728 South Africa
Switzerland 84 Western Europe
UK 1,028 Western Europe
USA 118,874 North America
Total 123,791
Table II. Note: No countries included in the database substantiated an Eastern Europe or South America
Regional representations regional designation
 for law enforcement officers. Recently, the Chally Assessment has been refined Differences in
through empirical keying and normed using a sample of over 200,000 individuals from salesperson
various occupational positions. The Chally Assessment has demonstrated sound
criterion-related and construct validity through a series of research initiatives motivation
(Miller et al., 2005; The HR Chally Group, 2008).
Although the full Chally Assessment measures 156 subscales, this study focused on the
ten motivational subscales, known collectively as the motivation analysis profile (MAP). 151
Motivational measure. The creation of the MAP was based on McClelland’s Theory
of Needs (McClelland, 1961). This section is comprised of ten subscales built from
73 statements with three responses each. From these three responses, participants
select which response “most” people think to be true and which response the “least”
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amount of people think to be true. The projective nature of the response both helps to
limit social desirability in the responses and reflects the nature of the construct as
defined by McClelland. People exhibit a strong motivation for the respective subscale if
their scores are high (to the far right of a scale; score above the 70th percentile; The HR
Chally Group, 2007).
Example MAP items include:
(1) People join athletic or exercise clubs because:
.
it is an impressive place to take their associates;
.
it is an excellent way to stay in shape and keep fit; and
.
they enjoy the opportunity to get together with their friends.
(2) In a business meeting many people:
.
recognize the necessity for give and take;
.
hesitate to volunteer an opinion because others might not agree; and
.
recognize that everyone may honestly see the same issues differently.

These measures are useful to evaluate the kinds of activities that would be satisfying
and motivating. However, they say little about one’s ability to learn to perform the
skills required by those activities. In other words, the fact that one enjoys working with
people, is results oriented, has a high energy level, and likes to have authority and to
control decisions means only that one could enjoy certain sales positions. It does not
mean one has spent the time to understand a customer’s business, establish an effective
account management plan, learn products and applications, or develop sales skills.
It does suggest, however, that learning the sales job could be a productive and
satisfying opportunity.

Region Frequency Percent

Australia 465 0.38

Western Europe 1,775 1.43
North America 119,403 96.5
Asia 420 0.34
South Africa 1,728 1.40
Total 123,791 100.05
Table III.
Note: Total percent exceeds 100 due to rounding Regional frequencies
 AJB Subscales of the MAP
26,2 The subscales of Chally’s MAP correspond to McClelland’s (1961) motivational
trichotomy of achievement, affiliation, and power. The key motivations center around
performing and becoming skillful at tasks, meeting and forming relationships with
people, and influencing or directing people or events (The HR Chally Group, 2007).
Each motivation and its corresponding subscales will be described, in turn (Table IV).
152 Task motivations include the three subscales of Produce Excellent Results, Develop
Expertise, and Produce Short Term Results. These motivations speak to individual
accomplishment and are most similar to the desire to be useful and practical or to
accomplish something. The desire associated with task motivation is a need to be useful
and skillful, whereas the subsequent feeling associated with fulfilling a task motivation
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is a sense of accomplishment or achievement. For people with high task scores,

satisfaction requires a high degree of control on how, when and whether a task gets done
(The HR Chally Group, 2007).
Relationship motivations are comprised of the three subscales of Meet
Interesting People, Avoid Personal Rejection, and Avoid Offending Others.
Relationship motivations are concerned with people. The desire is to be popular and
to establish and maintain personal relationships with others. The feeling associated
with Relationship Motivation is one of acceptance or camaraderie with others (The HR
Chally Group, 2007).
Finally, influence motivators include the four subscales of Influence Others,
Advise Others, Get Recognition, and Be Visible. The first two (Influence Others

Subscale Motivation type Definition

Produce excellent results Task The drive to reach new levels of achievement in
building systems that produce tangible outputs
Develop expertise Task The drive to develop personal competence and
effectiveness and increase personal skill levels;
committed to producing quality results
Produce short-term results Task The drive to accomplish an increased volume of
useful outputs; strive for quantifiable results
Meet interesting people Relationship The drive to meet, interact, and understand
successful, unique, or accomplished people
Avoid personal rejection Relationship The drive to acquire only long-term, fully
trustworthy, “loyal” relationships
Avoid offending others Relationship The drive to minimize painful relationship outcomes
by respecting the value of all people
Influence others Influence The drive for influence and the power to accomplish
greater outcomes than one could do personally
Advise others Influence The drive to enhance one’s profession, field of
endeavor, or beliefs, including the development of
others to sponsor them
Get recognition Influence The drive to earn and deserve the perks of success;
the need to be seen as successful as a consequence of
producing significant results
Be visible Influence The drive to be included and involved and not
Table IV. excluded from key activity, including the need to be
Definitions of subscales close to the center of ultimate decision making
 and Advise Others) are more social or group oriented. The third (Recognition) is Differences in
something one has done, and the fourth (Be Visible) is all about the individual (personal salesperson
vs social power). Influence motivations focus on how one most often prefers to
motivate other people to approach tasks that an individual cannot or prefers not to motivation
accomplish by himself. The desire associated with influence motivation is a need to be
important and have impact, whereas the subsequent feeling associated with fulfilling
an influence motivation is a sense of power (The HR Chally Group, 2007). 153
All ten motivational subscales have been both construct-validated and incorporated
in numerous concurrent criterion-related validity studies (The HR Chally Group, 2008).
Please see Table V for descriptive statistics associated with the ten motivational
subscales.
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Results
To test our three hypotheses, MANOVAs were conducted on the three types of
motivation. Task motivations grouped together the three subscales of Produce
Excellent Results, Develop Expertise, and Produce Short Term Results. Relationship
motivations were comprised of the subscales of Meet Interesting People, Avoid
Personal Rejection, and Avoid Offending Others. Influence motivators included the
four subscales of Influence Others, Advise Others, Get Recognition, and Be Visible. Per
the findings of previous research, the regions of Australia, North America, Western
Europe, and South Africa were grouped together as one regional group (“Western”),
whereas Asia remained its own regional group (“Eastern”). All of the assumptions for
MANOVA were tested, including the independence of observations, the linearity and
normality of the dependent variables, and the equal variance among groups. None of
the tests indicated any violations of MANOVA assumptions.
H1 predicted that salespeople from achievement-oriented locations (i.e. Western
Europe and North America) would be more motivated by achievement than those from
relationship-oriented locations (i.e. South America and Asia). In comparing the
Western regional group to the Eastern regional group in the linear combination of
task (achievement) motivation, the multivariate effect was found to be significant
(T 2 ¼ 0.00, F (3, 123,787) ¼ 33.26, p , 0.001), suggesting that salespeople from the
Western regional countries scored higher on the linear combination of task

Subscale Motivation type Number of items on scale Mean SD a

Produce excellent results Task 24 58.01 27.60 0.49

Develop expertise Task 20 60.15 27.73 0.33
Produce short-term results Task 18 55.04 28.55 0.45
Meet interesting people Relationship 15 53.55 29.39 0.51
Avoid personal rejection Relationship 17 51.40 28.26 0.37
Avoid offending others Relationship 23 51.05 28.36 0.62
Influence others Influence 18 56.02 28.20 0.66
Advise others Influence 14 58.99 27.93 0.34
Get recognition Influence 21 51.84 28.77 0.60
Be visible Influence 13 43.59 27.47 0.62
Table V.
Notes: n ¼ 123,791; means and standard deviations reflect percentile scaling; alphas reflect an Descriptive statistics
intentional, empirically keyed item development process of study measures
 AJB (achievement) motivators as compared to salespeople from the eastern region. In
26,2 addition, all three univariate effects were significant. Western regional salespeople
reported higher scores on Produce Excellent Results (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 8.34, p , 0.01),
Develop Expertise (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 83.98, p , 0.001), and Produce Short Term Results
(F(1, 123,789) ¼ 6.55, p , 0.05). Therefore, H1 was supported. Please see Table VI for
all univariate achievement motivation effects.
154 Our H2 predicted that salespeople from relationship-oriented locations
(i.e. South America and Asia) would be more driven by the need for affiliation than
those from achievement-oriented locations (i.e. Western Europe and North America).
The multivariate effect of relationship (affiliation) motivation comparing the Western
regional group to the Eastern regional group was significant, but in the opposite
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direction hypothesized (T 2 ¼ 0.00, F(3, 123,787) ¼ 36.12, p , 0.001). The data

suggested that although the linear combination of the three relationship subscales
differentiated between the Western and Eastern regional groups, the Eastern regional
group actually scored significantly lower than the Western group. In addition, all
univariate effects of the eight separate hiring rating variables were significant, but
against the hypothesized direction, with the Eastern regional group scoring lower.
In addition, three out of the four univariate effects were significant. Eastern regional
salespeople reported lower scores on Meet Interesting People (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 32.75,
p , 0.001), Avoid Personal Rejection (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 38.78, p , 0.001), and Avoid
Offending Others (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 7.98, p , 0.05). Please see Table VII for all
univariate relationship effects. H2 was not supported.
Lastly, in our H3, we predicted that salespeople from lower power distance locations
(i.e. Western Europe and North America) would be more motivated by power than those
from higher power distance locations (i.e. South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia).
The multivariate effect of influence (power) motivation when comparing the Western
regional group to the Eastern regional group was significant

Between subjects
Dependent variable df F p

Produce excellent results 1 8.34 0.00

Develop expertise 1 83.98 0.00
Table VI. Produce short-term results 1 6.55 0.01
Univariate analysis of
variance for regional Notes: Regional group served as the source for all analyses; degrees of freedom for error equaled
group – task motivation (1, 123,789) for each univariate analysis

Between subjects
Dependent variable df F p

Meet interesting people 1 32.75 0.00

Table VII. Avoid personal rejection 1 38.78 0.00
Univariate analysis of Avoid offending others 1 7.98 0.01
variance for regional
group – relationship Notes: Regional group served as the source for all analyses; degrees of freedom for error equaled
motivation (1, 123,789) for each univariate analysis
 (T 2 ¼ 0.00, F(3, 123,789) ¼ 62.45, p , 0.001), suggesting that the western group Differences in
scored higher on the linear combination of the four subscales. In addition, three out of the salesperson
four univariate effects were significant. Western regional salespeople reported higher
scores on Advise Others (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 102.94, p , 0.001), Get Recognition motivation
(F(1, 123,789) ¼ 52.92, p , 0.001), and Be Visible (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 31.99, p , 0.001).
However, there was no significant difference between the regional groups on Influence
Others (F(1, 123,789) ¼ 0.46, ns). Table VIII presents all univariate influence effects. 155
Overall, H3 was supported.
Taken together, we demonstrated support for H1 and H3, but not H2. The results of
H2 suggest that the Eastern regional group actually scored lower than the Western
regional group in the area of relationship motivators. Means and standard deviations
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on all study variables can be found in Table IX.

Discussion
The main goal of this research study was to discover the motivational profiles of sales
forces across different regions of the world and to confirm that salesperson motivations
were consistent in each region with previous research findings that exist in the rich
body of cross-cultural research. It was hypothesized that salespeople from Western
cultures would demonstrate higher needs for achievement and power than salespeople
from Eastern cultures, but that salespeople from eastern cultures would demonstrate a
higher need for relationships. Results from this research supported previous theories
by finding significantly higher levels of need for achievement and power in Western
salespeople than Eastern salespeople. However, the results found significantly higher
levels of need for relationships in Western salespeople, which is contrary to the
findings in previous cross-cultural research.
While it is instructive to confirm that a typical salesperson in a Western culture
exhibits high levels of need for achievement and power, finding that Western
salespeople also exhibit a higher need for relationships merits closer attention. One
possible explanation for the higher levels of relationship need in salespeople from
western cultures could derive from the increased focus on relationship development in
business research and practice. Vargo and Lusch (2004, 2008) recently concluded
that marketing has entered into a new era where we have evolved from a product-centric,
transaction-based, and traditional marketing approach to one that is service oriented
and relationship based where buyers and sellers work together to co-create value.
This “relationship-based” perspective is evident in literature and practice as firms and
salespeople concentrate on the development and management of strong relationships
that are the key to long-term success (Vargo and Lusch, 2008).

Between subjects
Dependent variable df F p

Influence others 1 0.46 0.50

Advise others 1 106.92 0.00
Get recognition 1 52.92 0.00 Table VIII.
Be visible 1 31.99 0.00 Univariate analysis of
variance for regional
Notes: Regional group served as the source for all analyses; degrees of freedom for error equaled group – influence
(1, 123,789) for each univariate analysis motivation
 AJB
Motivation Mean of Western SD of Western Mean of Eastern SD of Eastern
26,2 Subscale type regional group regional group regional group regional group

Produce Task 58.02 27.59 54.12 28.80

excellent
results
156 Develop Task 60.11 27.73 72.53 25.68
expertise
Produce short- Task 55.02 28.55 58.60 29.11
term results
Meet Relationship 53.58 29.39 45.36 29.29
interesting
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people
Avoid personal Relationship 51.43 28.25 42.83 30.18
rejection
Avoid Relationship 51.07 28.36 47.15 28.41
offending
others
Influence Influence 56.03 28.20 55.09 28.78
others
Advise others Influence 59.04 27.92 44.93 29.33
Get recognition Influence 51.81 28.76 62.04 27.91
Be visible Influence 43.62 27.47 36.02 26.88
Table IX.
Descriptive statistics Notes: n (Western) ¼ 123,371; n (Eastern) ¼ 420; means and standard deviations reflect percentile
by regional group scaling

One outcome of this new focus has been the extensive implementation of customer
relationship management (CRM) as a management tool to achieve strong relationships
with customers. While previous cross-cultural research has found higher levels of the
need for relationships and affiliation in Eastern cultures, perhaps this emphasis on
relationships in buyer-seller relationships has become more engrained in Western
salespeople because of its prevalence in university research and sales training as
critical to long-term sales success.
One important aspect of this research is its impact on global sales force management.
When a Western-based MNC decides to enter a new market, there are two basic choices
available in the development of the sales force. One is to send “expatriate” salespeople
from the home country to the new market and the other is to hire local salespeople to call
on buyers from the same culture. When the culture of the new market is clearly different
from the host country, a lack of sensitivity to the cultural differences during the selling
process often leads to failure (Fang, 1999; Horwitz et al., 2008).
While a sales manager should clearly consider the cultural similarities and
differences that exist in a new market, it is important to remember that individual
differences in motivation exist within every culture. One would expect that a salesperson
with a high need for achievement and power might be a good fit for a business
development sales position driven by the attainment of new customers and short-term
sales goals. While previous research, and this study, indicates that those salespeople are
more likely to exist in “Western” cultures, individual salespeople in “Eastern” cultures
can also hold strong motivations for achievement and power. This research
unexpectedly found that many salespeople in “Western” cultures have a strong need
 for relationships, which supports the importance of not overlooking individual Differences in
difference when selecting a sales force. It would be a mistake for a “Western” sales salesperson
manager building a sales force in an “Eastern” market to ignore the possibility of hiring
salespeople from the “Eastern” market for a business development position. Finding an motivation
“Eastern” salesperson with motivations more typical of a “Western” salesperson but
who also possesses a profound understanding of the “Eastern” culture could be a sales
force development strategy that differentiates one firm from another. 157
This research has provided a profile of a typical salesperson in western and eastern
sales forces, confirming expectations on need for power and achievement but finding
differences in need for relationship. A sales manager faced with the task of developing
a global sales force is more likely to succeed in new markets if those salespeople
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assigned for a new market possess motivations similar to the buyers they will
be negotiating with during the sales process (Horwitz et al., 2008). The need to match
the motivations of salespeople to the buyers’ home country motivational norms, or at
least to demonstrate an awareness and cultural sensitivity of those differences, should
hold true whether expatriate or local salespeople are hired.
For sales researchers, this exploratory research reinforces the need to significantly
increase the amount of research conducted on global sales. The existing sales literature
provided little support for the development of the hypotheses in this research. While
cross-cultural research has received considerable attention, there could be differences
when examining salespeople across countries and cultures. For example, this research
found much higher levels of the need for affiliation or relationships in western
salespeople, which directly contradicts the findings from extensive previous research.
While the method or sample used in this research may have contributed to this result, it
is also possible that the motivations of salespeople around the world differ
significantly from the findings of those people and managers in non-sales positions
that constitute the bulk of respondents in the cross-cultural research stream. Without
doubt, more research on the impact of motivation on global salespeople in job
satisfaction, performance, and other important outcomes is needed.

Limitations and directions for future research

One limitation in this study is that the connection between motivation and actual
organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction or job performance was not examined.
While this descriptive research provides an important first step in global sales motivation
research, future studies need to examine the relationship between the motivations of
salespeople in global markets and performance in circumstances where the motivations
of the sellers match, and do not match, the motivations of the buyers in the market.
Access to and examination of such a large database (n ¼ 123,000) with hundreds of
sales and job-related variables provides the possibility of gaining valuable insights
to the sales profession. However, the database does have some limitations. While the
size of the sub-samples in each country were well above 30 (Table II), salespeople from
the USA comprise over 96 percent of the total sample. In addition, these data were
collected over the past ten years and this analysis does not capture any motivation
trends that may have occurred during the past decade.
Another possible concern with this research is the low values for internal
consistency that are provided in Table V. The norm in business research when using
multi-item scales is to assess reliability with coefficient alphas and to expect at least
 AJB a 0.70 alpha score for sound reliability, or even as low as 0.60 in exploratory research.
26,2 However, the measures used in this study were developed utilizing an empirical keying
process, which is commonly used in other fields such as industrial and organizational
psychology and human resource management. The goal of empirical keying is to
maximize the criterion space of job performance as it relates to each subscale, thus
decreasing the statistical overlap among items. When employing empirical keying,
158 items are designed to be heterogeneous, not similar, in order to map onto unique areas
of space. This practice leads to lower values for coefficient alphas, which were expected
in this study. Empirical keying is regarded as an alternative approach to test
development (Friedman et al., 2000) and is becoming a commonly used approach by
assessment firms, as measures are specifically designed with the improvement of job
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performance as the clear goal of the research.

This study makes an important contribution to global sales research by empirically
comparing the motivational profiles of Eastern and Western sales forces. While the
research confirmed some of the expected motivations that exist in typical salespeople
based on cross-cultural research, it also found that the need for relationships differs in
the salespeople in this data-set from the findings of previous research. This unexpected
finding reinforces the need to conduct more empirical research on many traditional
sales research topics using a global perspective. With respect to motivation, this
research needs to be complemented with further research that examines motivation
differences among countries around the world and empirically identifies those
motivation levels that lead to increased job performance and successful selling in each
global market.

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Further reading
E-Selex (2008), available at: www.e-selex.com/biodata/biodatavstests.html
 AJB About the authors
Christopher R. Moberg is Chair of the Marketing Department at Ohio University. His research
26,2 and teaching interests include supply chain management strategies, integration, business ethics,
sales performance, buyer-seller relationships and services marketing. His research has been
presented at several national conferences and appeared in many journals, including the Journal
of Business Logistics, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management,
International Journal of Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management Review, Annals of
160 Operations Research, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing and Journal of Services
Marketing. Christopher R. Moberg is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
moberg@ohio.edu
Megan Leasher is the Manager of Talent Assessments with Macy’s Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio.
She holds a PhD and MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Wright State University,
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and a BA from Kent State University. Her research has been published in several academic
journals and presented at national conferences. She has won several awards, including the RHR
International Outstanding Dissertation Award (on behalf of the Society of Consulting
Psychology), the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation’s Graduate Student
Leader Award, and has been named to Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges.

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