Customer orientation and salesperson performance

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of customer orientation, at the levels of both the company and the salesperson, on salesperson performance. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 283 salespeople provides the database that was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – Prior studies suggest that both company and salesperson customer orientation has a positive effect on performance. The findings of this study suggest that a salesperson's customer orientation completely mediates the relationship between company customer orientation and salesperson performance. Thus, the influence of a company's customer orientation on salesperson performance acts through the customer orientation of the salespeople. Originality/value – The study reinforces the importance of customer orientation and the role of salespeople in putting customer orientation into practice.