Business-To-Business Salespeople and Political Skill Relationship Building, Deviance, and Performance

Journal of Business Research 139 (2022) 32–43
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Business Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres
Business-to-business salespeople and political skill: Relationship building,

deviance, and performance
Megan C. Good a, 1, *, Charles H. Schwepker Jr. b
a
International Business and Marketing Department, College of Business Administration, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue,
Pomona, CA 91768, United States
b
Randall and Kelly Harbert Marketing Professor, Marketing Program, Harmon College of Business & Professional Studies, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg,
MO 64093, United States
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Previous research has explored the role of political skill as an intra-organizational skill but not in the context of
Business-to-business salespeople business-to-business seller’s customer relationships and sales performance. In this paper, we: (i) develop a
Political skill framework to explore the relationships between political skill, customer-oriented selling, customer-relationship-
Customer-oriented selling
building competence, and customer-directed deviance; and (ii) investigate whether these relationships improve
Relationships
Deviance
sales performance. The empirical analysis includes 240 business-to-business salespeople. Structural equation
Performance modeling is used to test the study’s hypotheses. Results suggest political skill directly affects salesperson
customer-oriented selling, relationship building competence, and sales performance. Customer-relationship-
building competence is positively related to customer-oriented selling, which is inversely related to the fre
quency of customer-directed deviance. Contrary to expectations, customer-directed deviance is not negatively
related to both political skill and sales performance. Managerial implications and directions for future research
are provided.
1. Introduction provides them to behave unethically (Schweizer, 2020). Can the same be
said of salespeople? For more than a decade, the Janssen division of
Salespeople are responsible for understanding buyer needs and Johnson and Johnson had representatives convince physicians to accept
securing purchase commitments. In a setting where buyers experience free services as kickbacks to increase their prescriptions of Remicade
ongoing attempts to influence their decisions (Grewal & Sridhar, 2021), (Sagonowsky, 2020). Are business-to-business salespeople likely to
sellers frequently strategically generate performance through customer- misuse political skill to produce self-serving (Ferris, Harrell-Cook, &
focused behaviors. Political skill is an approach that focuses on influ Dulebohn, 2000) and damaging behaviors (e.g., putting one’s interests
encing others through the use of social competencies (Ferris, Perrewé, above the needs of the firm, circumventing supervisors, and patronizing
Brouer, Douglas, & Lux, 2007) and appears to offer valuable potential in behavior) such as those at Jansen? Or are they more likely to use po
the sales context. Chiefly explored in an intra-organizational context (e. litical skill ethically to forge lasting customer relationships? While social
g., Ferris et al., 2007; Ferris, Davidson, & Perrewé, 2005) political skill interactions impact (Zhang, Lu, & Zheng, 2020) sales outcomes (Grewal
has recently seen application in sales environments (e.g., Kimura, & Sridhar, 2021) and are linked to performance (Bolander, Satornino,
Bande, & Fernández-Ferrín, 2019; Kalra, Agnihotri, Chaker, Singh, & Hughes, & Ferris, 2015), sales research in this area remains enticing but
Das, 2017; Li, Sun, & Cheng, 2017). However, the ability of salespeople limited.
to use political influence over buyers has not been examined in combi The current study has the opportunity to make several significant
nation with relationship building, and ethical/unethical actions to contributions. First, we broaden our understanding of political skill by
determine its valence in maintaining or increasing sales performance examining and understanding certain consequences of it, in particular
results. relationship building and sales performance, among business-to-
Some politicians leverage the relationships their political skill business salespeople. In doing so, we determine if political skill is
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mcgood@cpp.edu (M.C. Good), Schwepker@ucmo.edu (C.H. Schwepker).
1
Both authors contributed equally.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.035
Received 17 June 2020; Received in revised form 9 September 2021; Accepted 12 September 2021
Available online 26 September 2021
0148-2963/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
M.C. Good and C.H. Schwepker Jr. Journal of Business Research 139 (2022) 32–43
being used in an unethical manner (i.e., customer-directed deviant be behaviors. We, therefore, contend individuals with polished political
haviors) to achieve sales performance. Second, this research extends skill can communicate intended behaviors (Fiske & Taylor, 1984) or
political skill beyond intra-organizational skills (Gansen-Ammann, alter messages for their benefit. Filling the need to explore positive
Meurs, Wihler, & Blickle, 2019; etc.) and performance (Lvina et al., outcomes of political skill (Frieder & Basik, 2017), we expect politically
2018; etc.). Limited research has examined political skill in the context skilled individuals to be capable of building relationships and enhancing
of salespeople in inter-organizational relationships. For example, Kalra performance.
et al. (2017) examined creative performance, organizational identity, Political skill demonstrates predictive ability across many disciplines
and customer satisfaction. However, the current study is unique in that it and contexts (see Table 1 for a representative sampling of studies that
specifically focuses on the interaction of political skill with ethics, inter- examine political skill with performance). Applied to many settings,
organizational relationships, and sales performance. Third, we expand individuals studied in these examples are varied and include general
our knowledge of factors impacting unethical salesperson behavior by employees, managers, students, engineers, immediate supervisors and
examining a framework by which political skill may impact a specific subordinates, and entrepreneurs. While employee settings differ, the
type of unethical sales behavior (i.e., customer-directed deviance). potential value appears to exist for examining impacts of political skill
Finally, we add to our understanding of both customer-oriented selling on business-to-business salespeople, as this is lacking in the literature.
and relationship building in sales by connecting them to an important The model illustrated in Fig. 1 proposes how political skill leads to
and managerially influenceable antecedent, political skill. As such, higher customer-oriented selling, customer-relationship-building
management is informed of an additional mechanism for influencing competence, and sales performance. These same constructs are ex
these behaviors among salespeople to improve sales performance. pected to be associated with less frequent customer-directed deviance.
This paper commences with a theoretical foundation and justifica Political skill (from Ferris, Davidson et al., 2005) is the foundational
tion for proposed hypotheses, followed by the methodology and construct in this study and will be presented in more detail because it
research results. The findings are discussed, the managerial direction is provides a strong tool that may be disseminated through managerial
provided, and limitations and directions for future research are offered. oversight of the sales organization and is a performance differentiator (e.
g., García-Chas et al., 2019).
2. Theoretical background and research hypotheses
2.1. Political skill
The overall foundation of this research rests with sales performance,
which continues to be an important research focus (e.g., Lussier et al., Work environments are often political (Buchanan, 2008), requiring
2021). That is, salespeople are expected to produce positive organiza individuals to navigate bureaucracies (Bolander et al., 2015). Traversing
tional outcomes, although different processes can be used to induce organizations often requires individuals to be able to influence others
performance. The mechanism by which political skill may improve sales (persuade, negotiate, etc.) by using what has been conceptualized as
performance rests on two unique but connected theories - social influ ‘political skill’ (Ferris, Davidson et al., 2005). Political skill is a set of
ence and relationship marketing. interpersonal characteristics focused on relational management
First, the foundation of political skill can be seen in social influence (Perrewé, Ferris, Funk, & Anthony, 2000). Essential for organizational
theory (see Higgins, Judge, & Ferris, 2003) where individuals in re survival (Ferris et al., 2007) and upward mobility (Pfeffer, 2010), in
lationships seek to influence others while they are being influenced dividuals possessing elevated political skill believe they understand
(Cialdini & Trost, 1998). Capable of persuading others to action (Liu, others and can regulate their interactions (Perrewé, Zellars, Ferris,
Chen, & Fan, 2021), the focus of social influence theory is on how others Rossi, Kacmar, & Ralston, 2004). In a setting where common goals are
are affected (i.e., through molding behaviors and attitudes) and asso critical (Madhavaram & Hunt, 2017), political skill manifests through
ciated mechanisms, antecedents, and consequences (Treadway et al., social intelligence, the adeptness to communicate sincerity, trust, and
2013). Applied to various settings (e.g., Gao, Melero-Polo, & Sese, 2020) confidence while providing an internal management system for stress
including marketing (e.g., Risselada, de Vries, & Verstappen, 2018), (Gansen-Ammann et al., 2019) and affording individuals a sense they
social influence offers valuable insight into how salespeople can control their future (McAllister, Ellen, & Ferris, 2018).
persuade buyers. Social influence, therefore, appears particularly rele Various attributes have been associated with political skill to navi
vant to the business-to-business markets where the buyer’s journey is a gate work environments. For instance, organizational support (García-
social process, and participants, functions, and relationships are Chas et al., 2019), group performance (Lvina, Johns, & Vandenberghe,
evolving throughout the experience (Grewal & Sridhar, 2021). In this 2018), reduction of negative work behaviors (De Clercq et al., 2019),
setting, sellers attempt to influence buyers during various stages of the and ethics (Kacmar, Andrews, Harris, & Tepper, 2013) are affected by
relationship, while their final goal remains some aspect of performance. individuals with higher political skill. Further, links between identifying
Previous research however does not explain the influence, imple opportunities and social networking (Shu, Ren, & Zheng, 2018) infer
mentation, and delivery style, which heightens the efficacy of social political skill may be a proactive selling tool.
influence efforts (Ferris et al., 2007). Political skill is composed of four dimensions: apparent sincerity,
The application of political skill in sales through social influence interpersonal influence, networking ability, and social astuteness (Ferris
appears to advocate two unique outcomes - reduced unethical behavior et al., 2007). These dimensions represent social competencies that are
(which we proxy with customer-directed deviance) and relationship distinct, yet related (Frieder & Basik, 2017). This skill depicts an in
development. The purpose is to apply social influence to encourage dividual’s proficiency to employ information to persuade others in the
business-to-business buyers to make certain decisions that enhance quest of organizational or personal goals (Ferris, Davidson et al., 2005).
performance and can be shaped (e.g., Grewal & Sridhar, 2021). As developed in the seminal piece on political skill (Ferris, Davidson
Importantly, intraorganizational relationships are essential to sellers et al., 2005), the Political Skill Inventory (PSI) essentially describes how
(Kalra et al., 2017) and the buyer’s journey is a social process. In this individuals read, manipulate, and adjust their social setting through four
setting, we propose political skill is a mechanism of social influence that dimensions. Individuals who have higher social astuteness are strong
results in constructive client relationships (Li, Sun, & Cheng, 2017) and at observing others and interpreting interactions between and with
subsequently improved performance. other people, indicating they have a higher level of social network un
Social influence is also tied to relationship marketing which con derstanding and self-awareness. Actively scanning their environment,
tinues to be a critical foundation for success (Rosa & Rua, 2020) in that it persons with higher political skill have been shown to adjust behaviors
is tied to selling performance (Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, & Evans, 2006). to meet circumstances (McAllister et al., 2018). Interpersonal influ
Seeking a positive relationship with a buyer should discourage unethical ence demonstrates individuals’ powerful ability to influence others.
33
Table 1 Table 1 (continued )

Representative Political Skill and Performance Articles. Publication Sample Description PS Findings Key PS Managerial
Publication Sample Description PS Findings Key PS Managerial Implication
Implication
Li, Sun & PS impacts Application of
(Ahearn Managers PS explained team PS can be Cheng, satisfaction and “guanxi.” Training
et al., University performance developed and 2017 JBE outcomes through PS.
2004) Administrators born disposition. resources, seller-
JMGT Recruitment customer guanxi
suggestions. Lvina et al., Teams students, PS applies to teams. PS impacts
Balkundi & Meta-analysis Social networks Leaders with close 2018 business teams; teamwork in a
Harrison, impact viability and intragroup ties JMGT social context.
2006 AMJ performance perform higher. Munyon Meta-analysis PS (+) related to PS managerial
Blickle, Car salespeople High PS, greater PS assisted et al., 2015 -Google Scholar work and career applications. PS
Wendel & extraversion, linked performance who PP databases outcomes individual
Ferris, to sales, lower PS, were extraverted, difference trait
2010 JVB more extraversion but low PS. that can be
tied to fewer sales. developed.
Brouer, Chiu Supervisors, PS-follower More effective Treadway Employees at two Performance and PS Strong performers
& Wang, subordinates performance leadership et al., 2013 Industries interact to impact may not get
2016 JMP mediated by training. JMGT power assessment. recognized, the
transformational benefit of firms if
leadership managers have PS.
Chaker, Salespeople PS boundary Coaching, advising Zinko, 2013 Employees Mediating impact PS individuals can
Zablah & situation regulates and training of JASP reputation with use positive
Noble, persistence salespeople related strain reactions and reputation to
2018 IMM effectiveness. to persistence. PS. obtain greater
Crawford Supervisor, PS helps evade In nonpolitical rewards and
et al., 2019 subordinates harmful ratings via organizations, PS influence.
HP high politics does not defend
Note: Journal abbreviations: AMJ = Academy of Management Journal; GOM =
perceptions deviant behavior.
Ferris, Undergraduates, Validation of PS predict work Group & Organization Management; HP = Human Performance; IJCHM = In
Treadway, HR employees; political skill outcomes ternational Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; IMM = Indus
et al., 2005 administrators, Inventory (PSI). PS (performance) and trial Marketing Management; JAP = Journal of Applied Psychology; JASP =
JMGT branch managers linked to political facilitate influence Journal of Applied Social Psychology; JBE = Journal of Business Ethics; JLOS =
savvy, emotional tactics/outcomes. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies; JMGT = Journal of Manage
intelligence, self- ment; JMP = Journal of Managerial Psychology; JPSSM = Journal of Personal
monitoring, Selling & Sales Management; JVB = Journal of Vocational Behavior; PP =
negatively to trait
Personnel Psychology.
anxiety.
Gansen- Supervisors, High demand PS helps
Ammann, subordinates manager’s workers’ managerial They adapt to social situations to enhance their goals. The ability to
et al., 2019 performance ranking performance. network reflects the degree to which people are skilled at managing
GOM increases as PS
diverse networks and contacts. They recognize key, resource-heavy
escalates.
García-Chas Engineers, PS related to firm Recruitment and organizational contacts and make connections with these counter
et al., 2019 managers support. development with parts. Skilled in alliance building, they create friendships and take
JLOS PS. advantage of resources these contacts create. They tend to be good at
Harris et al., Subordinate, High levels tactics by PS training.
deal-making, conflict management, and negotiation. Illustrations
2007 JAP supervisor PS obtained better Organizations
manager ratings than should reward
include those who have strong internal bonds within an organization
those lacking PS. desired behaviors, and from this have access to more information and can recognize op
not impression portunities from this knowledge (McAllister et al., 2018). Apparent
management. sincerity enables resource transference because individuals with higher
Kacmar Supervisors, Ethical leadership, PS employees view
apparent sincerity are seen as authentic, genuine, and forthright. They
et al., 2013 employees helping and ratings political
JBE PS moderates. environment as seem honest, which is critical because their sincerity signifies honorable
opportunity to use intentions. These individuals inspire confidence and trust because their
their skills. actions are not seen as coercive or manipulative (Ferris, Davidson et al.,
Kalra et al., Salespeople PS linked to seller PS (+) relationship
2005).
2017 creative with creative
JPSSM performance and performance and
identification with organizational 2.2. Political skill and customer-relationship-building competence
firm. identification
Training and
recruitment.
Customer relationship building has been recognized as important in
Kim, Employees PS lessens role stress, Hire high PS and generating value for salespeople (Kim & Wang, 2019) and the firm
Karatepe & job tension, train PS in (Miao, Evans, & Li, 2017). The ability of personal customer interactions
Chung, cultivates employees. to establish/maintain competence in building customer relationships
2019 performance.
also has been shown as applicable between buyers and sellers (Itani,
IJCHM
Kimura, Salespeople and Adaptive selling Managerial led Goad, & Jaramillo, 2019). Introducing factors that enhance
Bande, & supervisors impacts on development of PS relationship-building competencies (e.g., Lin & Malhotra, 2012) is
Fernández- performance greatest as intra- therefore potentially beneficial to sellers. Political skill represents such
Ferrín, when intrinsic organizational an opportunity but has chiefly been presented in the context of internal
2019 IMM motivation and PS skill for
are high. salespeople.
organizational dynamics.
Salespeople Limited research of political skill has recently seen application in
sales environments. For example, Kimura et al. (2019) found the positive
effects of adaptive selling on sales performance are highest when both
34
Fig. 1. Hypothesized Relationships Among Study Variables.
political skill and intrinsic motivation are highest. Li et al. (2017) linked oriented selling. Therefore we expect
political skill to aspects of Chinese financial services performance and
H2. There is a positive relationship between political skill and
job satisfaction. Perhaps most significantly, Schwepker and Good (2021)
customer-oriented selling.
found a positive relationship between political skill and customer-
relationship building competence, and as such we include and test this
relationship in our model for completeness. Thus, 2.4. Political skill and sales performance
H1. There is a positive relationship between political skill and Connections associating political skill and individual performance
customer-relationship-building competence. have been recognized in a variety of contexts and roles (e.g., De Clercq
et al., 2019; García-Chas et al., 2019). Political skill is linked to aspects
of performance in financial services (Li, Sun, & Cheng, 2017), rela
2.3. Political skill and customer-oriented selling tionship performance (Kalra et al., 2017), and adaptive selling (Kimura,
Bande, & Fernández-Ferrín, 2019).
Both political skill and customer-oriented selling involve distinct and Previous research addressing political skill and performance has not
beneficial interactions with customers. Political skill is an interpersonal considered the direct and indirect links of ethical behavior, nor customer
characteristic (Perrewé et al., 2000) that reflects one’s ability to un relationship competence. Therefore, we propose salespeople’s political
derstand and influence others (Ferris et al., 2007) as well as recognize skill significantly impacts their sales performance and reflects the re
social competencies (Frieder & Basik, 2017; etc.). Customer-oriented sponsibilities to their firm (e.g., increase company revenue, sell profit
selling represents a different perspective of customer interactions, not able products, and maintain major accounts) as well as to the customer.
based on interpersonal communication skills (i.e., as is political skill), Complementing the previous intra-organizational research by extending
but on beliefs and behaviors on customer directionality, or how buyers this analysis to external relationships with customers and extending the
should be engaged by sellers. Customer-oriented selling represents a limited studies related to the sales effort, we suggest the politically
commitment to understand and satisfy the long-term interests and needs skilled business-to-business salesperson can better understand,
of customers (Saxe & Weitz, 1982), embracing buyer engagement persuade, and direct customers to mutually advantageous decisions.
throughout the sales cycle (Homburg, Müller, & Klarmann, 2011). Lane & Piercy (2009) note organizations have to alter how they manage
Customer-oriented selling is a widely recognized selling perspective and prepare to satisfy increasingly complicated customer needs.
(Hughes, Richards, Calantone, Baldus, & Spreng, 2019; etc.) tied to key Consequently, political skill offers salespeople a means for managing
outcomes (Bateman & Valentine, 2015). Consequently, the importance and meeting customer needs to fulfill performance goals. Thus,
of identifying customer-oriented selling antecedents (Gerlach, Rödiger,
Stock, & Zacharias, 2016) provides potentially important linkages with H3. There is a positive relationship between political skill and sales
political skill. performance.
Influenced by internal and external factors (Feng, Wang, Lawton, &
Luo, 2019), political skill and customer-oriented selling are both ad 2.5. Political skill and customer-directed deviance
vantageous (Varela, Bande, Del Rio, & Jaramillo, 2019). The premise of
this hypothesis is political skill reflects understanding others, and Ferris, Davidson, et al.(2005) proffer political skill allows one to
customer-oriented selling is a focus on interests and behaviors that will assess, sway, alter social settings and establish trust and confidence
benefit the other party. Political skill occurs when the salesperson em while not being perceived as coercive or manipulative (Ferris et al.,
ploys interpersonal qualities to skillfully understand buyers (Gansen- 2007). The latter is important because it suggests the influencing
Ammann et al., 2019) and influence their actions (Ferris, Davidson et al., capability of political skill should not be perceived as unethical.
2005). Subsequently, the seller can then seek commitments and actions While the sales and ethics literature provides evidence of the
through appropriate behaviors to satisfy a customer-oriented selling importance of ethical behavior as tied to sales outcomes, only limited
focus on the customer’s long-term needs. Political skill in this context is studies have investigated “customer-directed deviance” which occurs
an interpersonal mechanism by which salespeople become engaged and when a salesperson purposefully “commits any voluntary behavior that
committed behaviorally long-term to the customer through customer- violates significant organizational norms and in doing so threatens the
35
well-being of its customers” (e.g., Darrat, Amyx, & Bennett, 2010, p. 6). not include the impact on deviance from adopting a customer-oriented
Focusing on acts (such as exaggerating benefits, using coercion or selling approach (Darrat et al., 2010, 2017). We however propose an
deception to obtain a sale, and intentionally selling flawed products) inverse link between customer-oriented selling and customer-directed
that are designed to make the sale regardless of the detriment to cus deviance. We expect customer-oriented selling to be associated with
tomers, encompass customer-directed deviance (Darrat, Amyx, & Ben less frequent customer-directed deviance. Our logic suggests actions that
nett, 2017). are right/wrong for the customer are actions that relate to the devel
Widely identified in organizations (e.g., Dabholkar & Kellaris, 1992), opment of long-term customer relationships. For example, salespeople
the ongoing prevalence of seller misdeeds (Rostami, Gabler, & Agni who are high in the quality of seeing others from their perspective (high
hotri, 2019; Jelinek & Ahearne, 2006b) raises the importance of un allocentric) define themselves and behave according to their group’s
derstanding customer-directed-deviance and factors such as political cultural norms and feel a moral duty to satisfy the needs of others (Lam,
skill that have not been linked. We propose here that the positive po Chen, & Schaubroeck, 2002). Associations between relationship build
tential of political skill (Frieder & Basik, 2017) indicates it can be used to ing and allocentrism by salespeople (Bradford, Liu, Shi, Weitz, & Xu,
constructively affect others. For example, political skill mitigates 2019) signify more customer-oriented selling will be tied to less
workplace ostracism (Yang & Treadway, 2018), altering undesired be customer-directed deviant behaviors. We propose
haviors. Workers possessing strong political skill view the environment
H6. There is an inverse relationship between salespeople’s use of
opportunistically, and as a setting to use their skills to reduce uncer
customer-oriented selling and their frequency of customer-directed
tainty and develop more control (Kacmar et al., 2013). In essence,
deviance.
salespeople who possess political skill are believed to use it to create the
“right customer path.” Those successfully employing political skill (not
2.8. Customer-relationship-building competence and customer-directed
coercive or manipulative) would be less likely to commit customer-
deviance
directed deviant actions as these are detrimental to customers. There
fore, we expect
The behaviors of salespeople can directly affect their external orga
H4. There is an inverse relationship between political skill and fre nizational interactions (Jelinek & Ahearne, 2006b) reminding sellers of
quency of customer-directed deviance. the value of effectively managing customer relationships as key pro
ductivity generators. Yet, while developing customer relationships,
2.6. Customer-relationship-building competence and customer-oriented salespeople face ethical challenges to complete transactions in the short
selling term. Because sales work is often outside the office (and away from the
watchful eye of a supervisor) and can be coupled with demanding
Previous research proposed the importance of both customer- quotas, the temptation to commit deviant behavior may be substantial.
oriented selling and building long-term customer relationships (cf., Given that customer-directed deviance is both prevalent and costly to
Schwepker, 2003). Salespeople who adopt a customer orientation rely organizations (Lo Iacono, Weaven, & Griffin, 2016), its presence and
on the notion that sellers’ beliefs and values should be directed towards impactful negative consequences (e.g., Darrat et al., 2017) remain
the best interests of customers while placing importance on satisfying important for investigation with other sales aspects.
their needs (Chakravarty, Kumar, & Grewal, 2014; etc.). For example, A relationship-building focus may discourage sellers from commit
customer-oriented salespeople tend to not focus customer attention on ting deviant behaviors that may harm the customer. In fact, recent
products just because they are only beneficial to the seller (Hughes et al., research finds a negative relationship between customer-relationship-
2019). This underscores customer-oriented selling as an effective strat building competence and customer-directed deviance (Schwepker &
egy through the buying process (Homburg, Müller, & Klarmann, 2011) Good, 2021). Thus, for model completeness, we include and test the
in which customer-oriented behaviors represent a long-term focus that following relationship in this study.
can shape customer actions. None of the previous research examined
H7. There is an inverse relationship between the frequency of
this relationship when political skill preceded the development of
customer-relationship-building competence and customer-directed
customer relationship building.
deviance.
We include this relationship in our model to confirm its support
when influenced by salesperson political skill. One would expect sales
2.9. Customer-relationship-building competence and sales performance
people who possess the skills to forge customer relationships (i.e.,
customer-relationship-building competence), would be more likely to
Positive sales outcomes are based on thoughtful, strategic processes,
use selling behaviors (cf., Schwepker, 2003) focused on providing long-
decisions, and actions designed by sellers to build relationships between
term customer satisfaction (i.e., customer-oriented selling). The accep
business entities (Wathne, Heide, Mooi, & Kumar, 2018). Business-to-
tance of this perspective rests with the belief that customer-oriented
business buyer–seller relationships have particularly critical long-term
selling generates a marketplace differential advantage (Yang & Tsai,
requirements (Gupta, Kumar, Grewal, & Lilien, 2019). These long-
2019). Therefore, we suggest
term requirements may create various challenges (Wood, 2019) where
H5. There is a positive relationship between customer-relationship- sellers have to adjust (Schmitz, Friess, Alavi, & Habel, 2020), or the
building competence and customer-oriented selling. relationship and ultimately their performance will be negatively
impacted.
2.7. Customer-oriented selling and customer-directed deviance Our rationale for including this link between customer-relationship-
building competence and sales performance in this study is supported by
Sellers who attempt to increase long-term client satisfaction have previous research indicating building customer relationships should
been shown to avoid behaviors, not in the buyer’s best interest (Wach result in improved performance (Munksgaard & Frandsen, 2019, etc.).
ner, Plouffe, & Gregoire, 2009). This suggests that salespeople who are The direct and moderating impact of political skill on stress, tension, and
highly customer-oriented (and long-term focused) are concerned for outcomes was studied in restaurants (Kim, Karatepe, & Chung, 2019)
themselves and others (Schwepker & Good, 2011) and would emphasize and how to measure B2B relationship value to increase satisfaction and
long-term needs and satisfaction that are mutually important to both loyalty was estimated (Ruiz-Martínez, Frasquet, & Gil-Saura, 2019).
buyers and sellers. Neither of these studies assessed the link between relationship building
As mentioned earlier, only limited research has focused on customer- and seller performance (Miao, Evans, & Li, 2017) which supports our
directed deviance as part of the ethics literature. Two of these studies did further investigation of these two aspects in business-to-business
36
marketing. Thus, (Chandler, Rosenzweig, Moss, Robinson, & Litman, 2019). An email was
sent to 8,828 salespeople in the organization’s database inviting them to
H8. There is a positive relationship between customer-relationship-
participate in the survey (with new invitations sent approximately every
building competence and sales performance.
8 hours when recruitment was live). This led to 556 salespeople
accessing the online survey (see Table 3 for questionnaire scale items).
2.10. Customer-directed deviance and sales performance Of these, 262 respondents were eliminated after answering the first
survey question which was used to determine if the salesperson was
The vastness of wrongful acts (Rostami, et al., 2019) suggests employed full-time in business-to-business sales. Of the remaining
customer-directed deviance commonly occurs in the sales environment, sample of 294, four respondents were eliminated for not fully
especially due to the high emphasis on quantifiable performance results. completing the survey, another for having zero years of sales experience
The more frequently the deviant behaviors are utilized, the more likely (the respondent indicated he/she worked in human resources), and 49
they could impact the seller’s sales performance. Some research has failed an attention check and were removed, leaving a final sample of
primarily focused on motivations of deviance (Hochstein, Lilly & Stan 240 business-to-business salespeople who received a small incentive
ley, 2017). We propose in this study to focus specifically on the impact of from the data collection agency for participating. Given the database
customer-direct deviance on sales performance, which typically involves from which the sample was drawn included both B2C and B2B sales
activities related to generating sales (Plouffe, 2018) because under people, we estimated the response rate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta
standing factors impacting sales performance in a business-to-business tistics indicates approximately 14% of salespeople are B2B. Therefore
setting is important. we estimate only 1,236 (14%) of the database were B2B salespeople.
Although limited, empirical evidence suggests a negative relation Based on this number, our response rate is approximately 19.4%. Results
ship exists between customer-directed deviance and sales performance. from a time-trend extrapolation test in which early and late respondents
Broadly speaking, salespeople perform better when they comprehend were compared across demographic and study variables found no sta
their company’s ethical policies (Weeks & Nantel, 1992). One study of tistically significant differences (F = 1.16, significance F = 0.06) sug
salespeople found a positive relationship between ethical behavior and gesting nonresponse bias is likely not a problem (Armstrong & Overton,
share of customer (Hansen & Riggle, 2009), suggesting that ethical 1977).
behavior results in greater salesperson performance. Evidence shows a The sample is comprised of mostly unmarried (52.9%) female
positive relationship between business-to-business salespeople’s moral (52.5%) college-educated (32.1% have a bachelor’s degree; 13.8% have
judgment and sales performance (Schwepker & Good, 2021, 2013; a graduate degree; 13.8% have a two-year degree; 23.3% have at least
Schwepker & Ingram 1996). Ethical behavior has been demonstrated to some college) salespeople whose average age is 39.1 years and median
be positively related to sales performance (Agnihotri and Krush 2015) income is $55,000. On average, salespeople have 11.0 years of sales
while unethical intent, a precursor to unethical behavior, negatively experience and a majority (45.8%) sell both goods and services, while
affects salesperson performance (Schwepker, 2015). As a form of un 34.2 percent sell principally physical goods, and the remainder (20.0%)
ethical behavior, customer-directed deviance represents similar poten sell mainly services. The average ratio of fixed to variable income is
tially damaging conduct towards customers. For example, salespeople 59.6%. Respondents work in a variety of industries selling for service
engaging in unacceptable behavior negatively impacts their perfor (37.5%), wholesaling (26.7%), manufacturing (22.5%), government
mance (Ferrell, Johnston, Marshall, & Ferrell, 2019). When a sales (2.9%), nonprofit (0.8%) and “other” (9.6%) organizations.
person uses deception (Darrat et al., 2017) to obtain a sale it would be
considered deviant if it harms the customer. If discovered, the deviance,
3.2. Operationalization of study variables
as with other types of unethical behavior, may result in current or future
lost sales. Therefore,
Salesperson’s political skill (PS) was assessed using a 12-item scale
H9. There is an inverse relationship between the frequency of used by Bolander et al. (2015) who adapted it from Ferris, Treadway,
customer-directed deviance and sales performance. et al. (2005). It consists of four components (social astuteness, inter
personal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity)
3. Methodology measuring one’s political skill. Salespeople’s customer-relationship-
building competence (CRBC) was measured with a four-item scale adapted
3.1. Sample and data collection from Miao, Evans, & Li (2017) and Hunter & Perreault (2007). Each of
these measures used a seven-point Likert scale ranging from (1)
The data used in this study was part of a larger data collection “strongly disagree” to (7) “strongly agree”. Customer-directed deviance
whereby a national data broker was contracted to obtain a nationwide (CDD) (Darrat, Amyx & Bennett, 2010; 2017), which assesses the fre
electronic data collection survey utilizing their online platform quency with which a salesperson engaged in deviant behaviors directed
Table 2
Descriptive Statistics, Reliabilities and Intercorrelation Matrix of Constructs in the Study.
PS CRBC CDD COS SP AGE S_EXP Gen
Mean 5.79 6.02 2.05 6.06 5.37 39.41 11.02 0.53

Stand Dev 1.12 0.94 1.69 0.87 1.05 11.70 8.89 0.50
PS (0.96)
CRBC 0.41** (0.85)
CDD − 0.08 − 0.30** (0.98)
COS 0.43** 0.57** − 0.31** (0.88)
SP 0.48** 0.53** − 0.01 0.41** (0.91)
AGE 0.10 0.10 − 0.24** 0.21** − 0.02
S_EXP 0.08 0.12 − 0.24** 0.18** − 0.01 0.69**
Gender − 0.06 0.07 − 0.24** 0.16** − 0.05 − 0.05 0.00
PS = Political Skill; CRBC = Customer-relationship-building Competence; CDD = Customer-Directed Deviance; COS = Customer-Oriented Selling; SP = Sales Per
formance; Age; S_Exp = Sales Experience; Gen = Gender (male = 0, female = 1).
**
significant at p ≤ 0.01; *significant at p ≤ 0.05.
37
Table 3 Table 3 (continued )

Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results: Factor Loadings and t-Values. Political Skill (Bolander et al., 2015; Ferris et al., 2005) Factor t-
Political Skill (Bolander et al., 2015; Ferris et al., 2005) Factor t-
(1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree) Loading Value
(1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree) Loading Value
SP4 Quickly generating sales of new company
Social Astuteness 0.933 —————a products.
PS1 I am particularly good at sensing the motivations 0.691 ————— SP5 Identifying and cultivating major accounts in your 0.850 11.36
and hidden agendas of others. territory.
PS2 I understand people very well. 0.860 12.13 SP6 Exceeding sales targets. 0.767 10.44
PS3 I have good intuition or “savvy” about how to 0.876 12.33 SP7 Assisting your supervising manager in meeting his 0.706 9.74
present myself to others. or her goals.
Interpersonal Influence 0.994 10.91
Notes: aconstrained to 1.0; p < 0.001 for each factor loading; CFI = 0.92, NFI =
PS4 I am able to communicate easily and effectively 0.811 —————
with others. 0.86, RMSEA = 0.07, χ2 = 1,077.94, df = 513, p = .000; PS = Political Skill;
PS5 I am good at getting people to like me. 0.871 16.17 CRBC = Customer-Relationship-Building Competence; CDD = Customer-
PS6 It is easy for me to develop a good rapport with 0.842 15.37 Directed Deviance; COS = Customer-Oriented Selling; SP = Sales Performance.
most people.
Networking Ability 0.938 11.16
at customers within the past year, consisted of a seven-item measure using
PS7 I am good at building relationships with influential 0.874 —————
people at work. the following scale ranging from (1) “never” to (7) “daily.” Customer-
PS8 I am good at using my connections and networking 0.915 20.40 oriented selling (COS) was assessed using the five customer-oriented
to make things happen at work. items from a reduced ten-item version of the Saxe & Weitz (1982)
PS9 I spend a lot of time at work developing 0.854 17.84
SOCO scale developed by Thomas, Soutar & Ryan (2001). Participants
connections with others.
Apparent Sincerity 0.857 10.28
responded to the items using a seven-point scale anchored with (1) “True
PS10 I try to show a genuine interest in other people. 0.857 ————— for none of your customers” and (7) “True for ALL of your customers”.
PS11 It is important that people believe I am sincere in 0.846 16.33 Finally, sales performance (SP) was measured with a seven-item measure
what I say and do. developed by Sujan, Weitz & Kumar (1994) that was adapted from
PS12 When communicating with others, I try to be 0.878 17.30
Behrman & Perreault’s (1982) measure of sales performance. It de
genuine in what I say and do.
termines the extent to which salespeople achieve quantity and quality
Customer-relationship-building Competence (Hunter & sales objectives. Using a scale ranging from (1) “much worse” to (7)
Perreault, 2007; Miao, Evans & Li, 2017)
(1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree)
“much better”, salespeople were asked to evaluate how well they believe
CRBC1 I listen attentively to identify and understand 0.686 ————— their current level of performance is in various areas relative to other
the real concerns of my customers. salespeople in their organization. Considerable empirical evidence
CRBC2 I work out solutions to customers’ questions or 0.753 10.34 supports the validity of self-reports of performance, finding them
objections.
significantly correlated with objective judgments made by observers
CRBC3 I work with customers to help them improve 0.814 11.02
their profitability. (Churchill, Ford, Hartley, & Walker, 1985; Schneider, Ashforth, Higgs, &
CRBC4 I work with buyers to develop a partnership 0.835 11.24 Carr, 1996).
that’s profitable to both parties.
Customer-Directed Deviance (Darrat, Amyx & Bennett, 3.3. Measure assessment

2010; 2017)
(Within the last year, how frequently have you done
the following? 1 = Never to 7 = Daily)
Each measurement scale has a Cronbach (1951) alpha above 0.70,
CDD1 I have used deception to make a sale. 0.918 ————— suggesting acceptable reliability (Nunnally, 1978). Descriptive statistics,
CDD2 I have knowingly sold a defective product/ 0.934 26.34 reliabilities, and intercorrelations for the study’s constructs are in
service. Table 2.
CDD3 I have intentionally delayed an order to punish a 0.937 26.61
The validity of the measures was tested using confirmatory factor
customer.
CDD4 I have used coercion on a customer to get an 0.894 23.02 analysis with AMOS 25. Table 3 provides parameter estimates that are
order. statistically significant indicating convergent validity (Anderson &
CDD5 I have provided poor service to a customer based 0.953 28.27 Gerbing, 1988). Moreover, the average variance extracted for each
on his/her ability/inability to pay. construct surpasses a recommended critical value of 0.50, providing
CDD6 I have made an ethnic, religious, or racial remark 0.948 27.71
to a customer.
additional evidence of convergent validity (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).
Customer-Oriented Selling (Thomas, Soutar & Ryan, 2001)

(1 = True for none of your customers to 7 = True for
Table 4
ALL of your customers) Discriminant Validity: Average Variance Extracted, Shared Variance, Confi
COS1 I try to get customers to discuss their needs with 0.722 ————— dence Interval.
me.
Shared Confidence
COS2 A good salesperson has to have the customer’s 0.710 10.47
Variance Interval
best interests in mind.
COS3 I try to bring a customer with a problem together 0.862 12.63 PS (0.722)a ↔ SP (0.602) 0.271 0.113 to 0.429
with a product that helps solve that problem. PS ↔ COS (0.606) 0.212 0.088 to 0.336
COS4 I offer the product of mine that is best suited to 0.810 11.94 PS ↔ CDD (0.866) 0.007 -0.209 to 0.209
the customer’s problem. PS ↔ CRBC (0.599) 0.209 0.232 to 0.476
COS5 I try to find out what kind of product would be 0.749 11.06 CDD ↔ CRBC 0.107 -0.069 to 0.069
most helpful to a customer. CDD ↔ SP 0.001 -0.189 to 0.189
CDD ↔ COS 0.115 -0.063 to 0.063
Sales Performance (Sujan, Weitz & Kumar, 1994) CRBC ↔ COS 0.398 0.294 to 0.502
(relative to other salespeople 1 = much worse to 7 = CRBC ↔ SP 0.354 0.232 to 0.476
much better) COS ↔ SP 0.354 0.104 to 0.324
SP1 Contribution to your company’s market share. 0.659 —————
SP2 Selling high profit margin products. 0.764 10.41 PS = Political Skill; CRBC = Customer-Relationship-Building Competence; CDD
SP3 Generating a high level of dollar sales. 0.853 11.39 = Customer-Directed Deviance; COS = Customer-Oriented Selling; SP = Sales
0.811 10.93 Performance.
a
The average variance extracted for each construct is in parentheses.
38
Table 4 provides support for the discriminant validity of the con statistics).
structs. First, the correlations between each pair of study constructs do Hypothesis one proposing a positive relationship between sales
not contain the value of 1.0 at a 95 percent confidence interval person political skill and customer-relationship-building competence is
(Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). Second, for each measurement construct supported (beta = 0.460, p < .001) as previously supported by
the average variance extracted is larger than its shared variance with Schwepker and Good (2021). Likewise, political skill is positively
every other study construct (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). related to customer-oriented selling as expected in H2 (beta = 0.254, p
The variance inflation factor (VIF) was examined for each variable in < .001). In addition, salespeople’s use of political skill is positively
the model to evaluate multicollinearity. The highest VIF is 1.87 (R2 = related to their sales performance (H3, beta = 0.297, p < .001). How
0.47) for CRBC, well under the suggested cutoff value of 10.0, indicating ever, contrary to what was expected in H4 political skill is not signifi
little or no multicollinearity exists (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & cantly related to customer-directed deviance. As hypothesized in H5,
Tatham, 2006). salespeople’s customer-relationship-building competence is positively
Various steps were taken to manage common method variance. First, related to customer-oriented selling (beta = 0.541, p < .001). H6, which
to avoid common method bias survey participants were afforded ano proposed a negative relationship between customer-oriented selling and
nymity and were informed there are no right or wrong answers. The customer-directed deviance is confirmed (beta = -0.240, p < .05). As
questionnaire included unambiguous scale items, separated the con previously found by Schwepker and Good (2021), we find salespeople’s
structs, and avoided bipolar numerical scale values (Podsakoff, MacK customer-relationship-building competence is negatively related to their
enzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). Second, using confirmatory factor customer-directed deviance (H7, beta = -0.211, p < .05). A positive
analysis, each of the measurement scale items was allowed to load on a relationship between salespeople’s customer-relationship-building
single factor. The model’s poor fit statistics (χ2 = 4,832.67, df = 527, p competence and their sales performance is confirmed as expected in
= .000, CFI = 0.41, NFI = 0.38, RMSEA = 0.19) suggest common H8 (beta = 0.522, p < .001). Finally, although a significant relationship
method variance is not a serious problem (Podsakoff et al., 2003). exists between salespeople’s customer-directed deviance and their sales
Regardless, to control for any possible common method variance, when performance, H9 is rejected because the relationship is positive rather
estimating the structural model each indicator could load on a latent than the expected negative (beta = 0.144, p < .05).
common method factor allowing the response variance to be partitioned To determine if mediation exists, a bootstrapping technique
into three components: trait, method, and random error (Podsakoff (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) was used. This involves estimating indirect
et al., 2003). This technique has been used in investigations with self- effects by repeatedly sampling from the data set. Results show customer-
report measures (e.g., Jaramillo, Grisaffe, Chonko, & Roberts, 2009; relationship-building competence partially mediates the relationships
Dimitriou & Schwepker, 2019; Schwepker & Good, 2017). between political skill and both customer-oriented selling (beta = 0.249,
p < .01), and sales performance (beta = 0.226, p < .01). Both customer-
4. Analysis and results oriented selling and customer-relationship-building competence fully
mediate the relationship between political skill and customer-directed
The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling with deviance (beta = -0.218, p < .01). Customer-directed deviance
AMOS 25. Age and sales experience, both found to affect sales perfor partially mediates the relationship between customer-relationship-
mance (Churchill et al., 1985), were used in the analysis to control for building competence and sales performance (beta = -0.049, p < .01).
sources of variation outside the hypothesized relationships. To account Finally, customer-directed deviance fully mediates the relationship be
for any differences between males and females, we also used gender as a tween customer-oriented selling and sales performance (beta = -0.035,
control variable. Based on the fit statistics provided in Table 5, the p < .05).
model adequately fits the data (see Hair et al., 2006 for suggested fit
5. Discussion and implications
Table 5
Final Path Model - Standardized Structural Parameter Estimates. The results of the hypotheses and overall model (Fig. 1) provide
Path Hypothesis Coeff. R 2 valuable theoretical and managerial implications for a network of re
lationships that to our knowledge previously have not been examined
PS → CRBC H1 (+) accept 0.460*** 0.215
and offer several significant contributions to the research literature. The
Gender → CRBC 0.105
PS → COS H2 (+) accept 0.254*** 0.515 overall model provides insight into the role of political skill in influ
CRCB → COS H5 (+) accept 0.541*** encing business-to-business salespeople’s customer-oriented selling,
Gender → COS 0.167** relationship-building competence, ethical behavior, and sales perfor
PS → SP H3 (+) accept 0.297*** 0.474 mance. This research extends political skill beyond intra-organizational
CRBC → SP H8 (+) accept 0.522*** skills (Gansen-Ammann et al., 2019; etc.) and performance (Lvina et al.,
CDD → SP H9 (-) reject 0.144* 2018; etc.) to address impacts and valuable external sales outcomes.
Age → SP -0.070
Business-to-business salespeople who report higher levels of political
S_EXP → SP -0.015
Gender → SP -0.033 skill focus on customer-oriented selling and relationship building with
customers and also report higher levels of performance on quantitative
PS → CDD H4 (-) reject 0.122 0.187
aspects of performance (e.g., contribution to company’s market share,
COS → CDD H6 (-) accept -0.240*
CRBC → CDD H7 (-) accept -0.211* selling high-profit margin products, generating sales dollars, etc.).
Gender → CDD -0.173** We grow our knowledge of factors impacting unethical salesperson
Gender → PS -0.077 0.006
behavior as provided in models of ethical decision making (cf., Schwartz
2
2016). We find political skill can negatively indirectly influence sales
Goodness-of-fit Statistics: χ = 1,062.55
people’s use of customer-directed deviance through both customer-
df = 578, p = .000
CFI = 0.94 oriented selling and customer-relationship-building competence. We
NFI = 0.87 learn specifically that customer-directed deviance is negatively related
RMSEA = 0.06 to both customer-oriented selling and customer-relationship-building
PS = Political Skill; CRBC = Customer-Relationship-Building Competence; CDD competence, providing us with deeper insight for managing and con
= Customer-Directed Deviance; COS = Customer-Oriented Selling; SP = Sales trolling unethical salesforce behavior.
Performance; S EXP = Sales Experience. We add to our understanding of both customer-oriented selling and
***
p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05. relationship building in sales. Political skill and customer-relationship-
39
building competence can positively impact salespeople’s use of For starters, salespeople in need of developing their customer-
customer-oriented selling, which is negatively related to customer- relationship-building competence would benefit from being mentored
directed deviance. Further, the findings reinforce the notion those skil by salespeople high in this skill. Coaching and training should focus on
led at building relationships are less likely to participate in behaviors developing listening skills, effectively addressing questions and over
that might be construed as unethical by buyers (Román & Ruiz, 2005). coming objections, and understanding the financial consequences to
These findings also suggest sellers recognizing the importance of customers from adopting the seller’s proposition. In addition, given
both relationship building and performance can purposefully design research showing an ethical climate can positively influence salespeo
internal political skill development programs (recruitment, training, ple’s customer orientation (Schwepker & Good, 2004), effort should be
coaching, etc.) to advance customer relational and performance out taken to create an ethical climate by developing and implementing
comes. Further, the ability of political skill to provide “users” other in ethical codes and policies, as well as reprimanding those who behave
ternal benefits (e.g., eases job tension and stress- Kim et al., 2019) in unethically (Schwepker & Good, 2004). This may help curb salespeo
demanding sales positions, suggests multiple gains are possible. ple’s use of political skill in an inappropriate manner with customers. It
As expected in H1, salespeople’s political skill positively affects their should be emphasized to salespeople that unethical actions which only
customer-relationship-building competence. The current finding ex result in short-term gain (e.g., deception to make a sale to meet an
tends the reach of political skill beyond the organization to its cus impending quota) will not be tolerated, as they typically come at the
tomers. Because politically skilled individuals come across as authentic, expense of long-term customer relationships.
genuine, and forthright, they appear honest and as such are able to Salesperson customer-relationship-building competence is nega
establish trust (Ferris et al., 2007), which is a critical factor in rela tively related to salesperson customer-directed deviant behavior (H7).
tionship building (Dwyer, Schurr & Oh, 1987). In addition, being so This finding augments ethical decision-making models in sales (Ferrell
cially astute, politically skilled salespeople can get along with various et al., 2019) by tying an important antecedent, salesperson customer-
buyers and adjust their behaviors to help develop relationships with relationship-building competence, to unethical decisions, reinforcing
them. By developing salespeople’s political skill, the sales organization the importance of developing and nurturing salespeople’s customer-
can provide salespeople with skills that will enable them to not only relationship-building skills. These same skills lead to positive sales
successfully navigate their organization, but to build and strengthen person performance.
relationships with customers. Contrary to expectations with H9, customer-directed deviance is not
Results suggest politically skilled salespeople are adept at customer- negatively related to sales performance. The performance measure we
oriented selling (H2). Consistent with Kimura (2015), we find political used focused on sales outcomes. Because sales outcomes are measured in
skill can be applied between entities, rather than simply internally, as the near term, a salesperson’s improved sales performance may come at
the skilled salesperson is likely to use interpersonal qualities (i.e., po the expense of long-term relationship building. Research indicates some
litical skill) to understand buyers and influence their direction (Ferris, employees focus more on the outcomes of their behaviors, and ignore
Davidson et al., 2005) to satisfy their needs (i.e., customer-oriented the means for achieving them (Flynn 2005). Under such circumstances,
selling). Given the significance of customer-oriented selling employees may seek shortcuts that run counter to the sustainable
(Schwepker, 2003) and the importance of understanding its antecedents development of their organizations (Zhang & Jia, 2013). Egoism, a
(Gerlach et al., 2016), this finding aids in understanding a means for teleological approach to ethical reasoning, suggests acting consistently
fostering or improving the use of customer-oriented selling among with one’s individual or organization’s self-interest is ethical, with in
salespeople. dividual consequences taking priority, regardless of the consequences to
Per hypothesis three, salesperson political skill is positively related to others (White & Taft, 2004). If benefits from an unethical action exceed
sales performance, furthering our understanding of both factors the harm to another, an individual may rationalize the behavior as
affecting sales performance, as well as types of performance (in this case benefitting more than it harms and then justifies it (Mintz, 2013). In a
“sales performance” which often differs from other internally generated study of business-to-business salespeople, Good & Schwepker (2019)
types of performance in organizations) influenced by political skill. found unethical intent mediated the relationship between customer-
Political skill may enhance salespeople’s achievement of various sales oriented selling and outcome sales performance such that customer-
outcomes (e.g., sales dollars, profit margins, products sold, etc.). This oriented selling negatively influences unethical intent, which posi
makes sense if one considers the politically skilled individual cannot tively influences sales performance. This is similar to our findings in that
only influence customers through relationship building but has the customer-directed deviance (a form of unethical behavior) fully medi
ability to build internal networks (e.g., in shipping, financing, ware ates the relationship between customer-oriented selling and sales per
housing, etc.) within the seller’s organization which might be tapped to formance in the same fashion. These findings lend credence to those in
best satisfy customer needs. Moreover, politically skilled individuals are agency theory that finds agents do not consistently behave in the best
keen negotiators who instill in others trust due to their authentic, interest of principals (Bosse & Phillips, 2016).
genuine, and forthright demeanor. Since customer relationships equate to repeat sales over the long-
We failed to confirm H4 that hypothesized a negative relationship term and we found customer-relationship-building competence like
between salesperson political skill and customer-directed deviance. wise is positively related to sales performance (H8), it behooves the
Nevertheless, we found a negative indirect relationship between politi salesperson to focus on building long-term relationships as a means for
cal skill and customer-directed deviance through both customer rela improving sales performance. Such outcome improvements are likely to
tionship building competence and customer-oriented selling. Politically be more enduring than achieving sales outcomes through deviant be
skilled salespeople tend to be competent at building customer relation haviors, which negatively impact relationship building.
ships and using customer-oriented selling and as such are less likely to Managerially, the overall model provides insight into the role of
direct deviant behaviors toward customers. This makes sense as the political skill in influencing business-to-business salespeople’s
former two actions would likely help in building long-term customer customer-relationship-building competence and sales performance.
relationships while deviant behaviors would not. Salespeople should be taught political skills including social astuteness,
As anticipated in H5, salespeople’s customer-relationship-building interpersonal influence networking ability, and sincerity. Being socially
competence is positively related to their use of customer-oriented astute involves salespeople learning to observe others, interpret in
selling, adding to our knowledge of factors associated with customer- teractions between and with other people, and adjusting their behaviors
oriented selling. Because salespeople who practice customer-oriented to meet various circumstances (Ferris et al., 2007). To improve sales
selling are less likely to participate in customer-directed deviance, people’s networking ability, they must be taught how to identify and
steps should be taken to encourage the use of customer-oriented selling. develop relationships with crucial, resource-heavy contacts within their
40
organization so that they can utilize these resources to their advantage. children for their “benefit” (e.g., Roberts, 2014), and consistent with the
In addition, they must be trained on how to access and utilize organi idea that sales deviance does not have to conflict with client interests
zational information. Improving salespeople’s conflict management and (Jelinek & Ahearne, 2006a), do business-to-business relationships
negotiation skills will enhance their ability to network (McAllister et al., become so close that sellers will act deviantly because they believe it to
2018). Finally, apparent sincerity can be fostered by educating sales be in the clients’ best interest? Also, under what circumstances are
people in perception management. When interacting with others, salespeople willing to commit deviant behaviors in a relational-oriented
salespeople need to say and do things that make them appear authentic, environment? Understanding levels of customer closeness and percep
genuine, and forthright. They must be honest in their dealings with tions of what this means may provide valuable business-to-business
others and avoid any coercive or manipulative actions. Training sales insight for future research.
people in ethics via reviewing company codes of ethics or using sce
narios to train salespeople how to handle ethical situations may help in Funding
this regard. This is particularly critical given the finding in this research
that while customer-relationship-building competence improves sales This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
performance, certain customer-directed deviance may likewise improve agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors
sales performance. While customer-directed deviant behaviors may
result in improved performance outcomes, these are likely to be tem
porary as opposed to the long-term performance gains anticipated from Declaration of Competing Interest
relationship building. Although deceived customers may be tricked into
buying once, long-term these behaviors lead to deterioration of trust and The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
dissolved relationships. interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
6. Limitations and directions for future research
Acknowledgments
Like most models, the model examined in this study is constrained by
the variables chosen and as such it offers a limited view of the ante The authors would like to express our appreciation for the anony
cedents and consequences of any of its constructs. Considering this study mous reviewers and editor, whose input contributed considerably to the
examined political skill as it relates to outcome sales performance, development of the final manuscript.
future research may wish to examine salesperson political skill as it re
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of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Selling
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to-business sales performance and customer relationships. Journal of Business Ethics, Harbert Marketing Professor at the University of Central Missouri. He has experience in
98(4), 609–625. wholesale and retail sales and conducts research in sales management and personal selling.
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organization, moral judgment and performance through transformational Business Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
leadership. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 28(7), 535–546. Management, and Industrial Marketing Management, among others. Charlie has received
Schwepker, C. H., Jr., & Good, M. C. (2021). Influence of salesperson political skill: both teaching and research awards. He is a member of five editorial review boards and has
Improving relationship building and reducing customer-directed deviance. Journal of won several awards for outstanding reviewer. He is a coauthor of Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision-Making, 10th ed. (2020) and SELL 6 (2020).
43

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Journal of Business Research

Business-to-business salespeople and political skill: Relationship building,

Table 1 Table 1 (continued )

Fig. 1. Hypothesized Relationships Among Study Variables.

Mean 5.79 6.02 2.05 6.06 5.37 39.41 11.02 0.53

Table 3 Table 3 (continued )

Customer-Directed Deviance (Darrat, Amyx & Bennett, 3.3. Measure assessment

Customer-Oriented Selling (Thomas, Soutar & Ryan, 2001)

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