Salesperson socialization to the consumption of organizationally provided support services: differences between high- and low-performing salespeople

The current study draws upon socialization theory to investigate both antecedents and outcomes of support service utilization within a sales employee context. Research indicates high performing, in contrast to low performing, salespeople may be more adept at discerning the ways in which an organization’s support services can be useful to them. The empirical results obtained from sales personnel of a financial services firm suggest that effective socialization/communication is important in securing an employee’s reliance upon organizational support. Further, high-performing salespeople are more proactive and instrumental in relation to utilization of support services, while low-performing salespeople are more passive and conforming in interfacing with support. Implications to both practice and research are discussed.