Self-Monitoring Personality And Sales Performance:

As the bridge between enterprise and market, salesperson’s performance has direct impact on enterprises’survival and development (Mackenzie, Podsakoff&Fetter,1998; Levy&Weitz,2003). Companies’success depends heavily on salesperson because in the eyes of customer, they are the representatives of the company (Crosby, Evens&Cowles,1990), and they have direct impact on customer behavior (Williams&Attaway,1996). This phenomenon is explicit in insurance companies that rely heavily on marketing.Why the resources acquired by individuals enjoying the same Social Network and occupying the same position differ in quality and quantity? We have to focus on individual difference to analyze this phenomenon because Social Network position and forms fail to explain (Kilduff&Krackhardt,1994). Researchers aboard has studied the relation between the "Big Five" personality, self-monitoring, proactive personality and social network construction (Thompson,2005; Kilduff&Tsai,2007; Xia, et al.,2009). Researches in China also proved the influence of social demographics and class structure on social network (HE Zhai-ping,2004; Zhang Wen-hong,2006).Chen Rongde’s research(2004)fond that self-monitoring personality and Conscientiousness personality traits have significant positive influence on instrumental network centrality and affection network centrality. Liu Lou’s research (2008) proved that self-monitoring personality has positive impact on the formation of advice network and friendships network centrality. Lots of researches aboard studied the influence of self-monitoring on network’s single dimension or single variable (Mehra, Kilduff&Brass,2001). The research results on the influence of self-monitoring personality on individual performance differ. Spiro and Weitz (1990) found that Ability to modify self-presentation dimension in Lennox and Wolfe’s (1984) self-monitoring scale has significant positive impact on sales performance. However, Dubinsky and Hadley’s (1986) research shows that there is no relation between self-monitoring personality and work performance. In order to clarify this difference, Goolsby, Ramsey&Boorom(1992)used Lennox and Wolfe’s(1984) self-monitoring scale to study salesperson from different industries. The result shows high self-monitors outdo those of low self-mentors in every performance dimension. Oh&Kilduff (2008) thinks that high self-monitors is easy to take the broker position in social network because they are good at imitating behaviors of successful person and displaying different roles and images.The doubt emerged is that whether the high self-monitors and the social network feature they constructed is related to higher individual performance? Whether self-monitoring personality as direct impact on individual performance? If so, the influence is a linear relation or non-linear relation? Under the collectivist cultural background, high self-monitors is regarded as chameleon, a word with derogatory meaning. Therefore, person with the highest or the lowest level of self-monitoring can not adapt to the society well enough, and only person with adequate level of self-monitoring could get along with others harmoniously (Xiao Conghao,2005).Therefore, this paper plans to study the influence of salesperson’s self-monitoring personality and social network construction on sales performance, with the purpose of finding out the adequate level of self-monitoring that will boost social network construction and sales performance. It is hoped that this paper could extend the application of social network theory in the theory and practice of sales management.Ⅰ.Research MethodThis paper contains six chapters, the introduction, literature review, conception model and hypotheses, research method, hypotheses test and conclusions. Chapter one is introduction, introducing the background, research method, point of innovation and limitation of this paper. Chapter two and three focus on theory introduction and development, putting forward the framework of this research form social exchange theory, social capital theory, social network, and literatures on personality and social network, individual social network and individual performance, personality and individual performance. This part focuses on the impact of self-monitoring personality on the features of individual social network and relation, as well as the impact of self-monitoring personality on sales performance. We puts forward the inverted U-shaped relation between salesperson self-monitoring and the quantity of salesperson ego-centric network’s strong ties, the inverted U-shaped relation between salesperson self-monitoring and salesperson ego-centric network density, the inverted U-shaped relation between salesperson self-monitoring and sales performance, as well as the inverted U-shaped relation between size of salesperson ego-centric network and sales performance, the inverted U-shaped relation between density of salesperson ego-centric network and sales performance. We also put forward the partial mediate effect hypotheses of salesperson ego-centric network. Chapter four and five introduces the research design, research method and the positivist research, and test the model and hypotheses by the data collected form questionnaires. Based on data collected from sales person from six different insurance companies in Panzhihua city, China, Following Anderson and Gerbing (1988), we refine the perceptual measures and assess their construct validity by running a confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling. We adopt Hierarchical Regression Analysis to test the hypotheses of this study. Chapter six is the conclusion, explaining the result of research and pointing out the limitations and implications for future research.Ⅱ. Results of positivist researchWe adopt data collected from177effective questionnaires in six insurance companies, Panzhihua city, China to carry out model fitting, and we tested the ten hypotheses.The data analysis results indicate that the following hypotheses are supported:1. H1a:The salesperson self-monitoring has a positive effect on salesperson’s ego-centric network size.2. H1b:salesperson self-monitoring has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the number of strong ties in salesperson ego-centric network, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level.3. Hic:salesperson self-monitoring has an inverted U-shaped relationship with salesperson ego-centric network density, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level.4. H1d:salesperson self-monitoring has a positive effect on the heterogeneity of salesperson ego-centric network. 5. H2a:the size of salesperson ego-centric network has an inverted U-shaped relationship with sales performance, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level.6. H2b:the number of strong ties in salesperson ego-centric network has a positive effect on sales performance.7. H2c:the density of salesperson ego-centric network has an inverted U-shaped relationship with sales performance, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level.8. H3:salesperson self-monitoring has an inverted U-shaped relationship with sales performance, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level.9. H4:salesperson ego-centric network partial mediate the effect salesperson self-monitoring personality on sales performance.The hypothesis H2d:The heterogeneity of salesperson’s ego-centric network has significant positive impact on sales performance does not supported by research dada. It might because of the features of insurance products and the sample limitations.Ⅲ. Point of innovationThe innovation of this paper is manifested in the following perspectives.1. This paper fills in the structural hole between structuralism and individualism of social network analysis in China. There is no agreement on structuralism and individualism in social network analysis. That is, there is a structural hole between researches focusing on social network but neglecting individual psychology and researches focusing on individual psychology but neglecting the social network individuals embedded in (Kilduff&Tsai,2003). Mehra, Kilduff and Brass (2001) stated that social network researchers should pay more attention to the source of network structure, especially the influence of individual personality on network position (Oh&Kilduff,2008). This paper researches the relation between individual self-monitoring personalities and establishes the relation between self-monitoring personality and ego-centric network. It fills in the stricture hole in the current theory.2. This paper puts forward and tests the inverted U-shaped relation between salesperson self-monitoring personality and the construction of salesperson ego-centric network. The results show that salesperson self-monitoring has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the number of strong ties of salesperson’s ego-centric network, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level. The results also show that salesperson self-monitoring has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the density of salesperson’s ego-centric network, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level. In the process of concept localization, Xiao Conghao (2005a, b) thought people with the highest or the lowest level of self-monitoring can not adapt to society well enough. Only people with adequate level of self-monitoring could get along with other harmoniously.3. This paper puts forward and tests the inverted U-shaped relation between the size of salesperson’s ego-centric network and sales performance, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level. As well as puts forward and tests the inverted U-shaped relation between the density of salesperson’s ego-centric network and sales performance, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level.4. This paper puts forward and tests the inverted U-shaped relation between the salesperson self-monitoring and sales performance, such that the positive effect decreases after a threshold level. Available research results about the effects of self-monitoring personality on performance are inconsistent. Some studies show that self-monitoring personality has a positive impact on sales performance (Spiro&Weitz,1990; Crosby&Bridges,2006and so on). Another report self-monitoring has no effect on sales performance or minimal effects (Dubinsky&Hadley1986; Eppler, et al.,1998). The possible reason is that these studies assume the relationship between self-monitoring and sales performance is linear. This study found that the inverted U-shaped relation between the salesperson self-monitoring and sales performance. Additionally, this study also puts forward and tests the salesperson ego-centric-network partial mediate the effect salesperson self-monitoring personality on sales performance.5. Different from the traditional dyadic relation, this paper introduces social network analysis into sales management and studies the influence of salesperson’s network relation on sales performance, which enriches and extends the application value of social network theory.IV. Limitations1. The sample. This paper focuses on sales person from insurance company as the subject. Although the samples are from six different insurance companies, they are from the same city. What’s more, without comparison study based on data from other industries, the applicability of the conclusions is limited to a certain degree, which influences external validity.2. The lack of objective sales performance. Although this paper tests salesperson’s overall performance, we are still lack of the objective sales performance data.