Salesperson work engagement and flow

Adrian Medhurst · Simon L. Albrecht

31 citations0/0 files storedQualitative Research in Organizations and Management An International Journal

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Flow Experience in Various Fields Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior Workaholism, burnout, and well-being

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an interpretation of the lived experiences of salespersons’ work engagement and work-related flow and how these states are related. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-methods qualitative investigation on a sample of 14 salespeople from a large Australian-based consumer goods enterprise was conducted. Using interpretative phenomenological analyses and ethnographic content analyses the antecedents and conditions for salesperson work engagement and work-related flow were investigated. Findings – The data showed that affective, cognitive and conative dimensions underpinned the experience of work engagement and work-related flow. Work engagement was interpreted as an aroused and self-regulated psychological state of energy, focus and striving aimed to address the situational and task relevant opportunities and demands encountered. Work-related flow was characterized by passion, absorption, eudaimonia and automatic self-regulation of goal pursuit. Research limitations/implications – The sample was from a single manufacturing organization with sales roles focussed primarily on business-to-business selling, and as such the generalizability of results to salespeople working in different contexts (e.g. retail sales, telesales) needs to be established. Practical implications – The research helps sales managers to take more account of the conditions that foster salesperson engagement and flow. Originality/value – This study represents one of the first attempts to interpret, compare and contrast the lived experience of salesperson work engagement with that of work-related flow. The study also adds to the relative paucity of research published on work engagement using qualitative methods.

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References

1980A circumplex model of affect.2001Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective 2007The Job Demands‐Resources model: state of the art 1990Flow: the psychology of optimal experience 1990PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT AND DISENGAGEMENT AT WORK.2002The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: A Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach 1991THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A META‐ANALYSIS 2020Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

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2023Sales employees’ polychronicity and sales-service ambidexterity: Mediation of work engagement and moderation of store manager support 2024How Ethical Leadership and Ethical Self-Leadership Enhance the Effects of Idiosyncratic Deals on Salesperson Work Engagement and Performance

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