When the sales manager is a woman: an exploration into the relationship between salespeople's gender and their responses to leadership styles

Article Abstract:

This paper reports the results of an exploratory study comparing the responsiveness of male versus female salespersons to differing leadership styles of female sales managers. Responding triads, made up of one female sales manager and two subordinate salespersons (one male and one female), completed questionnaires assessing the managers' leadership style, the salespersons' satisfaction with supervision, and the salespersons' selling performance. Partial correlation analysis revealed gender differences in the way satisfaction with supervision and performance effectiveness related to the female managers' leadership styles. Male sales force members were most responsive to leaders who displayed individualized consideration and used a transaction style (contingent rewards or management by exception). Saleswomen preferred charismatic leaders and those who were capable of intellectually stimulating methods. The results are discussed and recommendations made for future research. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Women executives

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Transformational leadership: an initial investigation in sales management

Article Abstract:

Numerous conceptual and empirical articles in sales management emphasize the influence sales managers can have on various job-related responses of sales personnel, such as job satisfaction, motivation, and performance. When examining this issue, the preponderance of literature has considered a leadership style where sales managers clarify for and communicate to salespeople the selling role and indicate to them how they can receive valued organizational rewards in exchange for successful performance (i.e., "transactional leadership"). Recent research in organizational behavior has found that an alternate leadership approach - "transformational leadership" - can engender improved work-related responses of employees over those produced through transactional leadership. This paper reports results of a study, however, which found that a transactional approach may be preferable to a transformational style for enhancing salespeople's affective and behavioral responses. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Organizational behavior

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Perceptions of gender stereotypic behavior: an exploratory study of women in selling

Article Abstract:

This study explores sales managers' perceptions of the relationship between saleswomen's stereotypical behavior and their functional effectiveness in selling. The results show that sales managers do perceive negative stereotypic behavior to have some deleterious associations with performance. Moreover, sales managers' knowledge of the sex role identities of saleswomen is helpful to them in recognizing those saleswomen who are least likely to be perceived stereotypically. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Social aspects, Sex role, Sex roles, Selling, Sex discrimination, Sexual division of labor

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