Understanding effects of salesperson locus of control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of external locus of control on different job characteristic variables – i.e. role conflict, role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion, in addition to the outcome variable, job satisfaction – in a business-to-business sales setting. Design/methodology/approach – Data from B2B salespeople were used to test the proposed model using structural equation modeling. Findings – The results indicate that a more external locus of control will be: positively related to role stress factors; indirectly and positively related to emotional exhaustion; and negatively related to job satisfaction. Originality/value – This study provides a managerially actionable foundation for influencing locus of control to increase a salesperson's satisfaction with his/her position.