Emotions and salesperson propensity to leave: The effects of emotional intelligence and resilience

• Published in: Industrial marketing management Vol. 44; pp. 142 - 153
• Main Authors: Bande, Belén, Fernández-Ferrín, Pilar, Varela, José A., Jaramillo, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01.01.2015; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Business to business commerce; Emotional exhaustion; Emotional intelligence; Emotions; Mental stress; Resilience; Sales; Sales management; Salespeople; Servant leadership; Studies; Turnover; Work place; Work-life balance; Servant leadership; Emotional exhaustion; Emotional intelligence; Turnover; Resilience
• ISSN: 0019-8501; 1873-2062
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2014.10.011

Emotions constitute a powerful psychological force that can significantly influence the behavior and performance of salespeople. However, emotions in the workplace still constitute an under-developed area of study, mainly in the field of sales. Sales turnover is also particularly important in relation to sales management due to the nature of sales positions, their historically high turnover levels, and the difficulty involved in filling them. In view of the need to broaden knowledge on how to more successfully retain valuable salespeople, and the fact that B2B selling jobs are not the same across the board, this paper, while controlling the type of selling situation, analyzes the influence of two emotional skills (i.e. emotional intelligence and resilience) on salesperson propensity to leave their organization, both directly and indirectly, through their impact on work–family conflict and emotional exhaustion. The moderating effect of servant leadership perceived by salespeople on the relationship between emotional exhaustion and intention to leave is also addressed. Information provided by 209 salespeople from 105 enterprises from various industries confirms the hypotheses put forward and highlights the importance of encouraging the development of emotional skills as a way of alleviating work stress and reducing salesperson turnover. In addition, the results confirm the contribution of servant leadership towards reducing the effect of emotional exhaustion on salesperson intention to leave. •We examine the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) and resilience on salesperson propensity to leave.•EI is negatively associated with perceived work–family conflict (WFC), emotional exhaustion and intention to leave.•Resilience has a negative influence on perceived emotional exhaustion and salesperson propensity to leave.•Perceived servant leadership reduces the effect of emotional exhaustion on salesperson intention to leave the organization.