Does the type of sales position matter? A multi-group analysis of inside vs outside sales

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate the differences between inside and outside business-to-business salespeople. Although prior research has highlighted a need to compare these two distinct sales positions, limited research examines the two. Specifically, this study investigates differences between inside and outside salespeople for the following constructs: positivity, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach A Qualtrics panel of 210 business-to-business salespeople from a variety of US industries was used, with 43.8% classifying themselves as inside. Multi-group analysis using partial least squares structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted where job type serves as the moderator for the entire model. Findings Results indicated four of six significant differences based on position. Specifically, positivity had a significant impact on emotional exhaustion for outside salespeople only. For extrinsic motivation, inside salespeople exhibited a stronger impact on emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, the impact of emotional exhaustion on turnover intentions was stronger for outside salespeople. The impact of job satisfaction on turnover intentions was stronger for inside salespeople. These results are supported by social exchange theory and distraction conflict theory. Practical implications This research highlights that sales managers and organizations need to consider different policies based on position type to increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover intentions. Practical guidelines for effectively managing the two positions are provided. Originality/value The value of this paper is that it indicates that there are indeed significant differences between these two types of sales positions, and thus, future research should not combine them into a single sample.

The role of grit, engagement and exhaustion in salesperson productive procrastination

“…Although this research included a diverse sample, respondents tended to be older, well-educated males; therefore, future research may want to expand the demographics of the sample to enhance generalizability. Further, this study did not distinguish between inside and outside salespeople as indicated in Matthews and Edmondson (2022) which should be considered as a potential moderator in the future. This study uses cross-sectional data; therefore, a longitudinal study could also prove insightful.…”

“…When salespeople are excited about their work, they are less likely to feel exhausted. Organizations can increase emotional engagement by hiring empathetic managers, recognizing and acknowledging salespeople’s contributions, encouraging diversity, incorporating beneficial sales coaching and providing authentic and transparent lines of open communication, A variety of other ways that organizations can help reduce emotional exhaustion of their salespeople can be found in Edmondson et al (2019) and Matthews and Edmondson (2022).…”

“…PLS-SEM is considered appropriate because this research is exploratory in nature and in the early stages of theory development (Ali and Khalid, 2017; Gottfried et al , 2017; Hair et al , 2017b). PLS-SEM has been used in similar research (Aljafari and Brown, 2020; Kwiatek et al , 2020; Matthews and Edmondson, 2022; Steinle et al , 2020). Based on Kock and Hadaya (2018), Hair et al (2022) and Sarstedt et al (2022), the minimum sample size recommendation using the inverse square root method with a 5% significance level and a minimum path coefficient of 0.15 is 275 respondents.…”

Toward a contextualized understanding of inside sales: the role of sales development in effective lead funnel management

“…While the first studies have established the conceptual grounding for inside sales by distinguishing its key configurations and outlining some of the capability requirements for applying these configurations (Sleep et al , 2020), this research has largely studied the phenomenon without paying any attention to the specificities of its different configurations (Chaker et al , 2022; Homburg et al , 2021; Matthews and Edmondson, 2022; Ohiomah et al , 2019). Thus, the extant research on specific inside sales configurations and their management remains almost nonexistent.…”