International Business Review Volume 24 Issue 3 2015 [Doi 10.1016%2Fj.ibusrev.2014.08.009] Katsikea,...

7/26/2019 International Business Review Volume 24 Issue 3 2015 [Doi 10.1016%2Fj.ibusrev.2014.08.009] Katsikea, Evangeli

1/13

Why

people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales

managers

Evangelia Katsikea a,1, Marios Theodosioub,*, Robert E. Morgan c,2

aAssistant Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing and Communication, Athens University of Economics and Business, 76 Patission Street,

10434 Athens, GreecebAssociate Professor of Marketing, Department of Business and Public Administration, School of Economics and Management, University of Cyprus,

Kallipoleos 75, PO Box 20537, CY-1678 Nicosia, Cyprusc Sir Julian Hodge Chair of Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK

From afar it can appear to be glamorous, jetting off a couple of

times

per

month

to

faraway,

exotic

destinations

to

close

major

deals.

In

truth

it

can

be

extremely

hard

work

and

is

not

a

role

for

the faint hearted. Many export sales professionals that weve

workedwith are renowned experts in airportdeparture lounges

and

unfortunately

see

little

of

the

countries

to

which

they

travel

(an

International

Recruitment

Consultancy,

2011).

1. Introduction

Sales organizations invest substantial financial and human

resources in developing effective salesforces (Ahearne, Rapp,

Hughes, & Jindal, 2010). To gain maximum return from this

investment, organizations must be able to retain competent and

experienced

salespeople

on

a

long-term

basis

(Homburg

&

Stock,

2004). In practice, however, all sales organizations face a certain

degree of salesperson turnover. Importantly though, evidence

suggests

that

salespeople

are

the

highest

risk

group

in

terms

of

staff

turnover

with

some

estimates

between

30%

to

70%

per

annum

(JDH Group, 2011). This undesirable phenomenon results in the

loss of knowledgeable and experienced salespeople, causes

significant

replacement

costs,

and

has

many

other

detrimental

effects

for

the

organizations

(Noble,

2008).

The deleterious effects of salespeoples turnover are even more

severe in the case of export sales organizations. In todays highly

globalised

and

competitive

international

business

environment,

export

sales

managers

play

a

critically

important

role

in

the

development and implementation of effective export sales

strategies and tactics. In small and medium sized firms in

particular,

export

sales

managers

are

commonly

the

only

company

personnel

that

travel

overseas

and

make

direct

contact

with

foreign customers. Personal visits to foreignmarkets enable export

sales managers to acquire valuable knowledge and first-hand

experience

regarding

local

market

conditions

and

export

customer

requirements

and

preferences.

The

literature

that

informs

existing

knowledge regarding international sales personnel turnover is

limited. Insights exist from expatriate adjustment theories,

International Business Review xxx (2014) xxxxxx

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 26 November 2012

Received in revised form 11 July 2014

Accepted 13 August 2014

Available online xxx

Keywords:

Employee turnover

Export sales

Job satisfaction

Management control

Organizational structure

A B S T R A C T

Predictably, sales organizations invest substantialfinancial andhumanresources in developingeffective

salesforces and yet salespeople are among the highest risk group in terms of staff turnover. For export

sales settings, theorganizational consequencesof thisformof turnover areevenmore severe. This study

develops a comprehensive conceptual model of seventeen hypothesized relationships among key

structural, supervisory-related, and psychological factors, and examines this nomological network that

leads to explaining export salesmanagers intentions to quit. Thefindings reveal the favorable impactof

formalization and the unfavorable impact of centralization upon both role ambiguity and role conflict.

The study finds that both formalization and centralization relate positively to the export sales

management behavior control system. Role stressors deleteriously affect export sales managers job

satisfaction, which in turn affects negatively intentions to quit. The study also discovers moderation

effects of psychic distance and export sales managers experience.

2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +357 22893606; fax: +357 22895030.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E. Katsikea), [email protected]

(M. Theodosiou), [email protected] (R.E. Morgan).1 Tel.: +30 2108203417; fax: +30 2108203417.2 Tel.: +44 2920870001.

G Model

IBR-1140; No. of Pages 13

Please

cite

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article

in

press

as:

Katsikea,

E.,

et

al.

Why people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales

managers. International Business Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.08.009

Contents

lists

available

at

ScienceDirect

International Business Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier .co m/locate / ibus rev

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.08.009

0969-5931/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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voluntary employee turnover theories,job embeddedness theories

as

well

as

domestic

sales

theories.

However,

the

particular

role,

intrinsic and extrinsic demands, and contextual determinants that

confront the export sales manager mean that these theories, at

best, only partially explain the high turnover rates that these

personnel

are

victim

of.

Employee

turnover

presents

many

challenges

for

firms

from

the

high replacement costs, demanding training requirements, loss of

learning and experience effects, reduced morale among the

remaining

organizational

members

and

the

critical

financial

performance

consequences

(Reiche,

2008). Established

business

relationships may be undermined, and valuable knowledge

regarding certain export markets, as well as personal networks,

may

be

lost.

In

addition,

the

export

sales

organizations

will

incur

a

significant

replacement

cost,

whereas

it

may

take

many

years

before sales performance reaches previous levels in the affected

markets. Thus, export sales organizations can benefit greatly by

minimizing

turnover

rates

among

these

employees.

Surprisingly,

the

relevant

literature

devotes

limited

research

on

the

factors

the

influence the role perceptions, job-related attitudes and behavior,

work outcomes, and turnover rates of export sales personnel.

The

present

study

aims

to

enhance

the

existing

body

of

knowledge

regarding

the

determinants

of

export

success

by

focusing on the role of the export sales manager. A review ofthe pertinent export marketing literature indicates that the vast

majority

of

previous

studies

on

export

performance

have

exam-

ined

the

impact

of

export

marketing

strategy

elements,

firm-

specific factors and external/environmental influences (e.g.,

Cavusgil & Zou, 1994; Leonidou, Katsikeas, & Samiee, 2002;

Morgan,

Kaleka,

&

Katsikeas,

2004;

Murray,

Gao,

&

Kotabe,

2011).

Furthermore,

within

the

rich

research

stream

that

examines

the

performance outcomes of export marketing strategy, attention has

focused on the export strategy planning process and the planned

export

marketing

strategy,

whereas

the

implementation

of

planned export marketing strategy has been largely ignored

(Morgan,Katsikeas,&Vorhies, 2012).Wepropose that export sales

managers

play

a

crucially

important

role

in

the

implementation

of

export marketing strategies in specific foreignmarkets, as they arecommonly the only company personnel that have direct personal

contacts with current and prospective foreign customers/distri-

butors

to

promote

exports

and

negotiate

sales

deals.

As

a

result

of

their

personal

visits

to

foreign

markets,

export

sales

managers

acquire valuable knowledge and first-hand experience regarding

foreign customers needs and preferences and local market

conditions,

while

at

the

same

time

have

the

opportunity

to

develop

successful

business

relationships.

In

addition,

export

sales

managers can directly assess export customers response to the

strategic actions enacted by a firms export marketing plan.

Therefore,

export

sales

managers

can

significantly

enhance

an

exporting

firms

external

implementation

effectiveness,

as

defined

by

Morgan, Katsikeas, and Vorhies (2012, p. 273).

When

an

experienced

export

sales

manager

quits

his/her

job,the

export

organization

loses

a

valuable

resource

that

is

extremely

difficult,

costly,

and

time

consuming

to

replace,

whereas

in

the

meantime established profitable relationships with specific export

customers may deteriorate. To safeguard the long-term perfor-

mance

of

exporting

operations

exporting

organizations

must

adopt

appropriate

management

practices

that

will

enable

them

to

retain

their most competent export sales managers on a long-term basis.

This study aims to fill a notable gap in the extant export marketing

literature

by

offering

a

comprehensive

conceptual

framework

that

explains

how

export

sales

managers

form

intentions

to

quit

the

export sales organization. The findings of this study provide useful

insights to export executives in terms of the action they can take in

order

to

predict

quitting

intentions

and

take

appropriate

measures

in

order

to

reduce

this

undesirable

outcome.

Our study makes also an important contribution to sales

management

theory

by

demonstrating

that

organizational

struc-

ture and management control systems are distinct but comple-

mentary mechanisms that enable the export sales organization to

direct the attitudes and behavior of export sales personnel toward

desirable

outcomes.

Previous

research,

conducted

predominantly

in

a

domestic

sales

context,

has

focused

on

sales

management

control systems which are commonly implemented at the level of

field salesmanagerswho are responsible formonitoring, directing,

evaluating,

and

rewarding

field

salespeople

(Anderson

&

Oliver,

1987;

Challagalla

&

Shervani,

1996).

In

contrast,

less

research

attention has been devoted on the role of organizational structure,

which is an alternative form of control, usually determined at

higher

levels

in

the

organizational

hierarchy,

but

which

can

still

be

very

effective

in

directing,

influencing,

and

shaping

the

attitudes

and behavior of salespeople (Jaworski, 1988). We posit that the

role of organizational structure is increasingly important in the

case

of

export

sales

organizations.

The

personal

interaction

between

export

sales

managers

(travelling

abroad)

and

their

immediate supervisors (based in the home-market) is seriously

constrained as a result of the large geographicaldistances involved,

and

therefore

traditional

management

control

approaches

become

less

effective.

Organizational

structure

can

eliminate

this

flaw

by

setting the decision-making boundaries for export sales managers,clarifying their lines of responsibility and authority, and deter-

mining

the

nature

of

their

relationship

with

their

immediate

supervisors.

Finally, we expand the existing sales management literature by

providing empiricalevidence regarding the chain-of-effectsamong

key

organizational,

supervisory-related,

and

psychological

factors

that

ultimately

lead

to

the

reduction

of

export

sales

managers

intentions to leave the organization. Our study also theorizes, and

empirically confirms, that within the export sales context, it is

imperative

to

consider

factors

which

reflect

the

inherent

complexities in international business activities, or enable

managers to deal with this complexity. In this respect, we examine

the

moderating

effects

of

psychic

distance

and

export

sales

managers experience.The rest of the article is organized as follows. The next section

presents the conceptual framework of the study and develops

research

hypotheses.

Section

three

presents

the

research

method-

ology,

and

section

five

reports

the

results

of

statistical

analysis.

The

article concludes with a discussion of the key findings, managerial

implications, limitations and directions for future research.

2.

Conceptual

framework

and

research

hypotheses

Given the ubiquity of empirical studies devoted to employee

turnover

in

the

literature,

it

is

incongruous

to

suggest

that

still

little

insight

is

available

into

why

people

quit

their

jobs

(Lee,

Gerhart, Weller, & Trevor, 2008). Turnover refers to the actual

number

of

employees

that

leave

an

organization

within

a

specifiedtime

period

(Jaramillo,

Mulki,

&

Boles,

2013). A

high

turnover

rate

has

significant

negative

consequences

for

the

firm

that

include

increased costs and reduced effectiveness and efficiency in serving

existing customers and prospects (Sager, Varadarajan, & Futrell,

1988).

Although

salespeople

may

leave

the

organization

for

various

reasons,

most

research

attention

has

been

devoted

on

identifying the factors that drive them to voluntarily resign from

theirjob. Mobley (1977) proposes a model of the turnover process

that

includes

various

psychological

and

behavioral

stages

that

precede

an

employees

final

decision

to

quit.

A

key

proposition

of

this model is that a salesperson withdraws from thejob and starts

exhibiting dysfunctional behavior (e.g., absenteeism, passive job

behavior)

well

before

actually

quitting

the

job.

Moreover,

as

Mobleys

model

suggests,

job

attitudes

are

more

directly

related

E. Katsikea et al./ International Business Review xxx (2014) xxxxxx2

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Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

Katsikea,

E.,

et

al.

Why people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.08.009http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.08.009


3/13

to withdrawal cognitions associated with the decisions to leave

and

only

indirectly

related

to

the

actual

turnover

behavior

(Mowday, Koberg, & McArthur, 1984, p.80). A number of empirical

studies find that propensity to leave/intention to quit is the

stronger predictor of actual turnover behavior (Johnston, Varadar-

ajan,

Futrell,

&

Sager,

1987;

Sager

et

al.,

1988).

The

present

study

aims

to

expand

the

pertinent

literature

on

salespeoples turnover to the context of export sales managers. As

previously discussed, the negative consequences associated with

export

sales

managers

turnover

are

even

more

severe.

Domestic

sales

organizations

are

often

able

to

fill

vacant

sales

positions

in

particular sales territories through transfers from nearby territo-

ries. Although redesigning sales territories can still have devastat-

ing

effects

on

existing

customersalesperson

relationships,

at

least

replacements

will

still

operate

within

a

familiar

business

environment. However, export sales organizations face a

completely different situation. Finding a competent person to fill

a

vacant

sales

position

in

a

specific

export

market

may

be

extremely

difficult,

as

valuable

knowledge

regarding

environmen-

tal and market conditions, business practices, and relationship

norms that prevail in foreign markets accumulates after many

years

of

personal

experience

and

repeat

visits

to

each

market.

Therefore,

retaining

competent

and

experienced

export

sales

managers should be an important priority for export salesorganizations. Academic research can assist export sales organiza-

tions

to

reduce

turnover

rates

by

investigating

the

factors

that

drive

export

sales

managers

to

form

turnover

intentions,

and

this

was the primary motive for the execution of this study.

Given the lack of relevant studies in an export marketing

context,

we

reviewed

the

mainstream

sales

management

literature

for

insights

regarding

the

key

antecedents

of

salespeoples

propensity to leave a sales organization. Our objective was not

only to identify the immediate precursors of intentions to leave,

but

also

to

adopt

a

backward

induction

process

in

order

to

establish a sequence of effects that ultimately leads to export sales

managers propensity to leave. We also tried to develop a concise

conceptual

model,

capable

of

explaining

a

significant

percentage

of

the variance of propensity to leave, but without adding unneces-sary complexity by including variables whose contribution in

explaining additional variance is negligible.

Drawing

on

the

extant

sales

management

literature,

and

integrating

insights

from

our

pre-study

interviews,

we

developed

the conceptual model outlined in Fig. 1. In particular, we propose

that

export

sales

managers

propensity

to

leave

is

directly

influenced by their level of job satisfaction. In turn, job stress, as

determined by role ambiguity and role conflict, is the main

antecedent of export salesmanagersjob satisfaction. Based on our

conceptualization,

export

sales

organizations

can

reduce

export

sales

managers

role

stress

by

employing

appropriate

control

mechanisms, at two different levels. At the lower level, the export

sales management control system focuses on the working

relationship

between

an

export

sales

manager

and

his/her

immediate

supervisor.

In

this

study,

we

focus

on

sales

manage-

ment behavior control, which involves the activities which

supervisors undertake in order to influence the behavior of export

sales

managers

and

provide

appropriate

encouragement,

guidance

and

support

(Anderson

&

Oliver,

1987;

Challagalla

&

Shervani,

1996). At a higher level, the top management of an export sales

organization designs an appropriate organizational structure that

determines

the

job

duties

and

responsibilities

of

export

sales

managers

and

their

immediate

supervisors,

the

delegation

of

decision making authority at different hierarchical levels, and the

rules, policies and procedures that organizationalmembers should

follow

in

performing

their

job.

According

to

Jaworski

(1988,

p.

27)

although

structure

is

not

part

of

the

traditional

management

control system, it should be considered as an additional form ofcontrol, insofar as it directs, influences, and shapes individual and

group

behavior.

Furthermore,

as

a

higher-level

control

mechanism,

organizational

structure

influences

the

employment

of

an

effective

sales management control system.

Our conceptual model includes also two moderating variables,

psychic

distance

and

export

sales

managers

experience,

which

capture

to

some

extent

the

unique

circumstances

faced

by

export

sales organizations. Psychic distance is defined as the perceived

differences between the home country and the foreign country in

terms

of

economic

development,

climatic

conditions,

lifestyles,

consumer preferences, language, education, and cultural values

(Sousa&Bradley,2006). The internationalizationprocess literature

suggests

that

firms

are

more

familiar

with

psychologically

close

countries, and therefore canmanage better their operation in thesecountries than in more distant ones (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977).

Therefore, export sales managers should be more familiar with

business

practices

and

market

conditions

in

psychologically

close

countries,

and

have

a

thorough

knowledge

and

understanding

of

Formalization

Centralization

Export Sales

Management

Control

Role

Ambiguity

Role

Conflict

Job

Satisfaction

Propensity to

Leave

Psychic Distance

Psychic Distance

Export sales

manager

experience

Fig. 1. A conceptual model of organizational structure, export sales management control, job satisfaction, and propensity to leave.

E. Katsikea et al./ International Business Review xxx (2014) xxxxxx 3

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Please

cite

this

article

in

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Katsikea,

E.,

et

al.

Why people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales



4/13

export customers characteristics, preferences, requirements, and

purchasing

habits.

Therefore,

we

expect

that

control

mechanisms

(i.e., organizational structure and sales management control) will

have a stronger impact on export sales managers role stress in

more distant export markets. Similarly, experienced export sales

managers

are

more

capable

in

coping

with

the

uncertainty

and

complexity

inherent

in

international

business

activities.

Conse-

quently, an export sales management control system is likely to be

more effective in reducing the role stress of less experiencedexport

sales

managers.

We develop

the

rational

for

each

of

the

hypothesized

relationships

in

the

following

paragraphs.

2.1. Organizational structure and role stress

During

the

past

four

decades,

empirical

research

examined

the

negative influence of role stress on important sales job outcomes

like job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job perfor-

mance

(Netemeyer,

Brashear-Alejandro,

&

Boles,

2004).

By

contrast,

the

organizational

factors

that

can

potentially

contribute

towards reducing role stress receivedmuch less researchattention.

Role stress consists of role ambiguity and role conflict (Johnson &

Sohi,

2014). Role

ambiguity

is

the

extent

to

which

an

individual

is

uncertain

about

the

expectations

of

role

partners,

whereas

role

conflict refers to the perceived incompatibility among roleexpectations and demands (e.g., from supervisors, customers,

policies)

(Rizzo,

House,

&

Lirtzman,

1970). Thus,

in

order

to

effectively

handle

feelings

of

role

stress

among

their

export

sales

managers, export sales organizations must find ways to reduce the

uncertainty surrounding their job, and assist them in handling

conflicting

requests

and

demands.

Organizational

structure

can

serve

as

an

effective

control

mechanism

and

contribute

signifi-

cantly towards achieving these objectives.

The structural constructs that have attracted most research

attention

in

the

relevant

literature

include

formalization

and

centralization (Chi & Sun, 2013). Formalization is the degree to

which rules define roles, authority relations, communications,

norms

and

sanctions

and

procedures

(Hall,

Johnson,

&

Haas,

1967).

As implied in this definition, formalization provides guidance toproblem solving, creates less confusion, lowers divergent inter-

pretations to similar activities, reduces double standards, clarifies

role

expectations,

and

shifts

the

risk

and

attribution

of

failure

to

management

(Auh

&

Menguc,

2007;

Michaels,

Cron,

Dubinsky,

&

Joachimsthaler, 1988). Therefore, provided that the content of

formal rules and procedures is appropriately determined (Jaworski

&

Kohli,

1993),

formalization

can

potentially

reduce

perceptions

of

role

ambiguity.

The relationship between formalization and role conflict is

more controversial. In particular, some authors suggest that

formalization

increases

role

conflict

by

reducing

the

flexibility

available

to

salespeople

to

deal

with

conflicting

demands

and

preventing them from adapting to idiosyncratic circumstances

(Agarwal,

1993).

Although

these

claims

have

some

merit,

they

arebased

on

the

assumption

that

formal

standards

and

policies

are

very

strict

and

prevent

salespeople

from

exercising

any

discretion

when negotiating with customers. However, our pre-study inter-

views revealed that the main objective of exporting firms when

developing

formal

standards

and

policies

is

to

determine

the

boundaries

within

which

export

sales

managers

can

operate.

Formalization makes export sales managers less vulnerable to the

pressures and unreasonable demands of foreign customers, and

enables

them

to

devote

their

time

and

selling

efforts

on

the

most

promising

customers

and

prospects.

Formal

rules

and

procedures

can be viewed as a guiding framework that serves as a point of

reference for export sales managers when dealing with foreign

customers.

Therefore,

formalization

is

expected

to

reduce

percep-

tions

of

role

conflict.

Limited

empirical

evidence

also

supports

a

negative relationship between formalization and role stressors

(Michaels

et

al.,

1988).

H1.

Formalization

relates

negatively

to

role

ambiguity

H2. Formalization relates negatively to role conflict

In a highly centralized export sales organization, export sales

managers

have

restricted

decision-making

authority.

However,

the

boundary-spanning

nature

of

their

job

often

forces

them

to

makedecisions and resolve conflicts between foreign customer expec-

tations and demands and company offerings (Sohi, 1996).

Furthermore, greater centralization prevents export sales man-

agers from participating in determining company policies and

standards whereas their input, thoughts and ideas are excluded

from the decision making process (Auh & Menguc, 2007). In such a

working environment, they are less likely to understand the

expectations of their supervisors or devote effort on defining their

role requirements (Sohi, 1996). Moreover, they may feel that

company policies and standards do not reflect market realities

overseas and impose unreasonable constraints on their behavior

(Walker, Churchill, & Ford, 1975). Similarly, centralization con-

strains export salesmanagersflexibility and reduces their ability to

resolve conflicting demands between customers expectations and

company standards, increasing perceptions of role conflict. Based

on the above discussion, we posit the following:

H3.

Centralization

relates

positively

to

role

ambiguity

H4.

Centralization

relates

positively

to

role

conflict

2.2.

Organizational

structure

and

export

sales

management

behavior

control

Previous

research

has

devoted

limited

research

attention

on

the

factors

that

either

guide

the

choice

of

a

particular

control

system

or

determine its effective implementation (Baldauf,Cravens,& Piercy,

2005). The existing typologies of sales management control

(Anderson

&

Oliver,

1987;

Challagalla

&

Shervani,

1996)

emphasize

the

working

relationship

between

a

supervisor

and

his/her

subordinates. However, they do not explicitly examine the factors

that determine the particular type of control system that an

organization

adopts

or

the

hierarchical

level

at

which

this

decision

is

made.

To be effective, a particular sales management control system

must be centrally developed and implemented consistently

throughout an export sales organization. In particular, organiza-

tion-wide

policies,

rules,

and

directives

must

define

the

nature

of

the working relationship between export sales managers and their

immediate supervisors. Upper management should specify the

preferred form, frequency and content of information exchange

between

the

two

parties

(e.g., informal

meetings

versus

formal

reports). Moreover, the responsibilities of supervisors in terms ofproviding constructive feedback, guidance and support to export

sales managers must be formally specified. Otherwise, the

effectiveness of the control system will depend solely on the

discretion and eagerness of individual supervisors. Based on this

discussion, this study proposes that an export sales organization is

more likely to develop and implement an effective sales

management control system under a formalized and centralized

organizational structure.

H5.

Formalization

relates

positively

to

sales

management

behav-

ior control

H6.

Centralization

relates

positively

to

sales

management

behav-

ior

control


G Model


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

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E.,

et

al.

Why people

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employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales



5/13

2.3. Export sales management behavior control and role stressors

Behavior control systems concentrate on developing and

maintaining relationships and encourage long-term results rather

than short-term outcomes (Baldauf, Cravens, & Grant, 2002).

Behavior

control

systems

emphasize

managerial

coaching

and

mentoring

designed

and

implemented

to

develop

subordinate

skills and capabilities (Mallin, Asree, Koh, & Hu, 2010). Challagalla

and Shervani (1996) make a distinction between two types of

behavioral

control,

namely

activity

control

and

capability

control.

Activity

control

concentrates

on

the

routine

activities

that

employees are expected to perform on a regular basis, the

monitoring of actual behavior and the administering of rewards

and

punishments

on

the

basis

of

the

performance

of

specified

activities.

Capability

control

emphasizes

the

development

of

individual skills and abilities, and represents an attempt to

influence performance by ensuring that employees possess the

set

of

skills

and

abilities

that

enable

good

performance

(Challagalla

&

Shervani,

1996,

p.

90).

The effective implementation of a behavior-based control

system requires the close cooperation and richer communication

between

export sales managers

and

their immediate

supervisors.

Supervisors

are induced

to

commit time

and

effort in

monitoring

and providing feedback to export sales managers, as well as inassessing their skills and capabilities and providing guidance and

support

for improvement.

Through

this

interaction,

export

sales

managers

acquire

a

greater

knowledge and

understanding of

their supervisors expectations, and recognize what activities and

behaviors are consistent with the export sales strategy and are

likely

to

lead

to

desired

end-results

(Challagalla &

Shervani,

1996).

Moreover,

under a

behavior-based

control

system, export

sales managers can work closely with their supervisors and rely

on their guidance and support in order to handle effectively

customers

demands

and

requests that

may

be

incompatible

with

company policies and standards. Therefore, behavior control is

expected to lower export sales managers role ambiguity and

role

conflict.

Available empirical

evidence also supports

a

negative relationship between behavior control and role stress(Challagalla & Shervani, 1996; Jaworski, Stathakopoulos, &

Krishan, 1993).

H7. Sales management behavior control relates negatively to role

ambiguity

H8. Sales management behavior control relates negatively to role

conflict

2.4. Role stressors and job satisfaction

During

the

past

four

decades

numerous

studies

have

examined

the effects of job satisfaction on important work outcomes like

organizational

commitment,

job

performance,

and

turnoverintentions

(Netemeyer,

Johnston,

&

Burton,

1990;

Netemeyer,

Brashear-Alejandro, & Boles, 2004; Singh, Verbeke, & Rhoads,

1996).Although thefindings of these studies have not always been

consistent

(particularly

regarding

the

causal

direction

between

job

satisfaction

and

other

work

outcomes)

conventional

wisdom

suggests that high levels of job satisfaction are desirable. The

extant literature has also devoted significant research attention on

the

antecedents

of

job

satisfaction.

In

particular,

previous

research

has

studied

extensively

the

effects

of

role

ambiguity

and

role

conflict (Netemeyer et al., 1990). Theoretically, role stress leads to

tensions and pressures due to job requirements, including the

psychological

and

physical

consequences

of

such

pressures,

and

therefore

reduces

job

satisfaction

(Fry,

Futrell,

Parasuraman,

&

Chmielewski,

1986).

Furthermore,

empirical

research

indicates

that both role ambiguity and role conflict have a significant

negative

effect

on

job

satisfaction

(Fry

et

al.,

1986).

H9.

Role

ambiguity

relates

negatively

to

job

satisfaction

H10. Role conflict relates negatively to job satisfaction

2.5. Job satisfaction and propensity to leave

Propensity to leave is defined as the subjective estimation of anindividual regarding the possibility to quit the organization in the

near future (Mowday et al., 1984). This construct represents a

behavioral intention that precedes actual salesperson turnover

(Brown & Peterson, 1993). Conceptually, the contention that

intention to leave predicts actual turnover is consistent with the

Fishbeins (1967) model of attitudes, intentions, and behavior.

Previous research provides consistent evidence that propensity to

leave is the most effective predictor of salespeople turnover

(Brown & Peterson, 1993).

A low turnover rate among salespeople is desirable because it

reduces significantly replacement costs and keeps knowledgeable

and experienced personnel in the sales organization (Good, Page,&

Young, 1996). Understanding the underlying causes of turnover

can provide insights into how to control the phenomenon (Goodet al., 1996). Therefore, intention to leave is a key construct

examined in models of salespeoples role perceptions, job

attitudes, behavior, and performance (Johnston, Parasuraman,

Futrell, & Black, 1990; Netemeyer et al., 1990, 2004; Sager, 1994;

Singh

et

al.,

1996).

The

results

of

these

studies

indicate

that

job

satisfaction

is

a

primary

determinant

of

turnover

intentions,

and

a

direct negative relationship exists between the two constructs.

Thus, satisfied salespeople are less likely to leave the organization.

H11. Job satisfaction relates negatively to propensity to leave

2.6. Moderating effects

2.6.1. Psychic distance and formalizationThe concept of distance has attracted interest to international

business and marketing scholars who aim to explain variations in

international

business

and

marketing

strategies

and

operations

across

foreign

markets

(Prime,

Obadia,

&

Vida,

2009,

p.

184).Psychic

distance includes factors that can prevent the flow of information

from and to a foreign market (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977). Examples

include

differences

in

language,

education,

business

practices,

culture

and

industrial

development.

Due

to

the

geographical

distances involved and the inherent complexities associated with

international operations (Piercy, Low, & Cravens, 2011), which are

more

evident

in

psychologically

distant

markets,

the

prescription

of

clear

rules,

policies

and

guidelines

through

a

highly

formalized

organizational structure is essential in order to reduce export sales

managers

perceptions

of

role

conflict

and

ambiguity.

On

the

otherhand,

export

sales

managers

are

more

capable

and

knowledgeable

to

deal

with

job

requirements

and

customer

demands

in

psychologically close export markets. Therefore:

H12. The influence of formalization on export salesmanagers role

ambiguity is stronger in psychologically distant markets

H13. The influence of formalization on export salesmanagers role

conflict is stronger in psychologically distant markets

2.6.2. Psychic distance and centralization

In

a

centralized

organization,

export

sales

managers

have

limited

decision

making

authority.

By

contrast,

export

executives

must

initiate

or

approve

all

major

decisions.

Still,

export

executives


G Model


Please

cite

this

article

in

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as:

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E.,

et

al.

Why people

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employee

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intentions

among

export

sales



6/13

are based in the companys headquarters and travel much less

frequently

than

export

sales

managers.

Therefore,

their

exposure

to the environmental and market conditions that prevail in export

markets is rather limited. Moreover, they may lack a thorough

understanding of export customers needs, preferences, and

purchasing

habits.

Under

these

circumstances,

decisions

made

by

export

executives

are

unlikely

to

reflect

market

realities

in

export countries. In addition, export sales managers will experi-

ence higher levels of role ambiguity and role conflict since they

will

have

limited

participation

in

decision

making,

constrained

flexibility

to

respond effectively

to

the

idiosyncrasies

of

export

markets, and incapability to resolve conflicting demands between

customers expectations and company standards. However, both

export

executives

and

export sales

managers

have

more

accurate

knowledge

with

respect

to

export markets

that

are

perceived

as

psychologically close. Consequently, export executives are better

equipped to make decisions regarding these markets, whereas

export

sales

managers

areable

to

carry

out

more

effectively

their

job

duties

and

responsibilities,

despite

the

constrains

imposed

by

centralization. Therefore, this study expects that the negative

influence of centralization on export sales managers role percep-

tions

will

be

stronger

in psychologically

more

distant

markets.

H14. The influence of centralization on export sales manager roleambiguity is stronger in psychologically distant markets

H15.

The

influence

of

centralization

on

export

sales

managers

role

conflict

is

stronger

in

psychologically

distant

markets

2.6.3. Export sales managers experience

Experience is an important variable that moderates relation-

ships among salespeoples perceptions, attitudes and behavior

(Cron,

Dubinsky,

&

Michaels,

1988).

Compared

to

their

experienced

counterparts, inexperienced salespeople are more sensitive and

react strongly to work related factors such as role stressors (Russ &

McNeilly, 1995). Therefore, sales managers must devote greater

attention

and

provide

more

extensive

guidance

and

support

to

inexperienced salespeople. Although the authors argue thatbehavior control is an effective mechanism for reducing stress

among all export sales managers, they expect that an individuals

level

of

job

experience

moderates

this

influence.

In

particular,

experienced

export

sales

managers

are

in

a

better

position

to

deal

with problems and difficulties that may arise when performing

selling activities in export markets. Moreover, they are more

familiar

with

company

policies

and

standards,

and

accustomed

with

organizational

culture

and

top

managements

leadership

style. Hence, although experienced export sales managers also

benefit by the direction and support they receive from their

immediate

supervisors,

their

less

experienced

colleagues

are

in

a

much

greater

need

for

such

assistance.

Therefore,

this

study

expects that the contribution of behavior-based control towards

reducing

role

ambiguity

and

role

conflict

will

be

greater

amongless

experienced

export

sales

managers.

H16.

The

influence

of

behavior

control

on

role

ambiguity

is

stron-

ger for less experienced export sales managers

H17.

The

influence

of

behavior

control

on

role

conflict

is

stronger

for less experienced export sales managers

3.

Research

methodology

3.1. Sample and data collection procedures

This

study

tests

the

proposed

conceptual

model

and

hypotheses

using

data

collected

from

small-

and

medium-sized

exporters

in

the United Kingdom. The sampling frame for this study is drawn

from

the

Dun

and

Bradstreet

commercial

database

of Key British

Enterprises. To be eligible for inclusion in the study sample, a firm

must meet the following thresholds: exporting at least for three

years; employ up to 500 full-time employees; and, operate in one

of

the

following

industrial

sectors:

textile

mill

products;

apparel

and

other

finished

goods

made

from

fabric

and

other

similar

materials; chemical and allied products; rubber andmiscellaneous

plastics products; machinery except electrical; and electrical and

electronic

machinery,

equipment

and

supplies.

The

selection

of

a

multi-industry

sampling

design

is

necessary

in

order

to

enhance

the generalizability of the research findings. A random sample of

1000 eligible firms is selected for inclusion in this study.

This

study

employs

a

mail

survey

methodology

for

data

collection,

following

the

guidelines

provided

by

Dillman

(2000).

A mail package is sent to the Head of Exporting Operations to

each of the 1000 sample firms, along with a cover letter that

explains

the

purpose

and

objectives

of

the

study,

and

a

postage-

paid

return

envelope.

Recipients

are

instructed

to

pass

on

the

survey packet to one individual that fulfills the export sales

manager role in their firm. The initial mailing and two further

waves

produce

160

usable

responses,

for

a

response

rate

of

16%.

However,

191

of

the

firms

that

were

initially

included

in

the

study

sample are dropped, mainlybecause of incorrect conductdetails ortermination of their exporting operations. Thus, the effective

response

rate

is

19.8%

(160

of

the

eligible

809

firms).

The

demographic

characteristics

of

the

sample

are

presented

in

Appendix.

3.2.

Response

issues

Following ArmstrongandOverton (1977) guidelines, thedataare

checked for non-response bias by comparing early and late

respondents

on all

study

constructs as

well

as

on

key

company

characteristics including number of full-time employees, export

experience, export sales, and number of export markets. Non-

response

bias

checks

also

involve

comparing a

random

sample

of

75 non-respondents with respondents in terms of the aforemen-tioned company characteristics. The non-significant t-test results

indicate thatnon-response bias isnot amajorproblem in this study.

The

key

informant

in

this

study

is

the

export

sales

manager.

This

study

employs

certain

steps

in

order

to

ensure

the

quality

of

responses. First, the cover letter explains clearly and in details the

job activities and responsibilities of an export sales manager and

instructs

the

recipients

of

the

mailing

package

that

the

question-

naire

must

be

filled

by

a

person

in

the

exporting

firm

that

performs

this role. Second, it stresses that the study is conducted under the

guidance of an academic institution for purely academic research

purposes.

Third,

participants

are

promised

anonymity

and

confidentiality

of

responses,

and

are

offered

a

copy

of

the

study

results. Fourth, this study follows thewidely accepted practices for

questionnaire

design

and

survey

administration.

Further,

a

posthoc

test

for

key

informant

quality

is

performed.

In

particular,

the

last

section

of

the

questionnaire

includes

four

statements

that

assess respondents: (1) knowledge regarding the firms exporting

activities; (2) involvement with the firms exporting activities; (3)

responsibility

for

the

firms

exporting

activities;

and

(4)

confidence

in

answering

the

questions

of

the

survey

instruments.

The

mean

scores for these statements range between 6.01 and 6.40 (on a

seven-point scale anchored by Low and High) indicating that

potential

bias

attributable

to

the

key-informant

is

negligible.

This

study

employs

the

Harmans

one-factor

test

(Podsakoff

&

Organ, 1986) to test for common method bias (CMB). First, this

analysis involves a principal components analysis of all constructs

examined

in

this

study.

The

two

second-order

constructs,

namely

export

sales

management

control

system

and

job

satisfaction,

are


G Model


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

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E.,

et

al.

Why people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales



7/13

represented in this analysis by the summated scales of their

underlying

first-order

factors,

whereas

all

other

constructs

by

their

original measurement items. The unrotated solution results in

seven factorswith eigenvalues greater then 1.0, accounting for71%

of the variance. No general factor emerges, whereas the first factor

explains

only

25%

of

the

variance.

Second,

a

CFA

approach

to

Harmans

one-factor

test

is

used

in

which

the

summated

scales

of

the 15 first-order factors included in the structural model are

restricted to load on a single factor. The results obtained from this

analysis

indicate

a

poor

fit: x2(90)= 662.64, p


8/13

Table 1

Measurement scales, confirmatory factor analysis results, and reliabilities.

Constructs and measurement items Standardised loadingsa

Formalization (a= .81; CR= .82; AVE= .61) (Aiken & Hage, 1966, 1968) (seven-point scale, anchored by Strongly Disagree

and Strongly Agree)

How things are done here is left up to the employee doing the work (R) .63 (7.78)

Employees here are left to do as they please (R) .92 (11.81)

Most people here make up their own rules in the job (R) .77 (9.73)

Centralization

(a=

.88;

CR

=

.89;

AVE

=

.72)

(Aiken

&

Hage,

1966,

1968)

(seven-point

scale,

anchored

by

Strongly

Disagreeand Strongly Agree)

Even small matters have to be referred to someone higher up for a final answer .75 (10.16)

I have to ask my immediate manager before I do almost anything .98 (14.71)

Any decision I make has to have my immediate managers approval .80 (11.01)

Export sales management control (Second-order factor) (Challagalla & Shervani, 1996) (Items measured on a seven-point scale,

anchored by Strongly Disagree and Strongly Agree)

A. Activity Information (a= .92; CR= .92; AVE= .70) .77 (7.67)

My immediate manager informs me about the export sales activities I am expected to perform .73b

My immediate manager monitors my export sales activities .85 (10.05)

My immediate manager informs me on whether I meet his/her expectations in the venture market .89 (10.62)

My immediate manager tells me to adjust my export sales activities, if he/she feels that there is need to do so .85 (10.09)

My immediate manager evaluates my export sales activities .85 (10.12)

B. Activity rewards (a= .93; CR= .93; AVE= .87) .68 (7.68)

If I perform export sales activities well my immediate manager will commend me .91b

I would be recognized by my immediate manager if he/she was pleased with how well I perform export sales activities .95 (13.53)

C. Activity punishment (a= .86; CR= .87; AVE= .68) .63 (6.67)

I would receive an informal warning if my immediate manager was not pleased with how I perform export sales activities .81b

I would receive a formal reprimand if my immediate manager was unhappy with how I perform export sales activities .93 (11.70)

I would be put on probation if my immediate manager was unhappy with how I perform specified export sales activities .72 (9.40)

D. Capability information (a= .93; CR= .93; AVE= .74) .83 (8.89)

My immediate manager has standards by which my selling skills are evaluated .79b

My immediate manager periodically evaluates the selling skills I use to accomplish a task .87 (11.89)

My immediate manager provides guidance on ways to improve selling skills and capabilities .91 (12.79)

My immediate manager evaluates how I make sales presentations and communicate with foreign customers .85 (11.60)

My immediate manager assists by suggesting why using a particular sales approach may be useful .89 (12.28)

E. Capability rewards (a= .81; CR= .80; AVE= .58) .83 (7.61)

Assignment of better territories or accounts depends on how good my selling skills are .71b

I am commended if I improve my selling skills .85 (8.67)

Promotion opportunities depend on how good are my selling skills and capabilities .71 (7.65)

F. Capability punishment (a= .93; CR= .91; AVE= .76) .64 (7.47)

I receive an informal warning if my immediate manager is not pleased with my selling skills and capabilities .89b

I receive a formal reprimand if my immediate manager is not pleased with my selling skills and capabilities .89 (19.95)

I am put on probation if my immediate manager is not happy with my selling skills and capabilities .84 (14.51)

Role conflict (a= .78; CR= .79; AVE= .50) (Rizzo et al., 1970) (seven-point scale, anchored by Never and Always)

I work with two or more groups who operate quite differently .62 (7.16)

I receive incompatible requests from two or more people .84 (10.35)

I do things that are apt to be accepted by one person and not accepted by another .75 (9.07)

I receive an assignment without adequate resources and material to execute it .57 (6.52)

Role ambiguity (a= .90; CR= .90; AVE= .64) (Rizzo et al., 1970) (seven-point scale, anchored by Never and Always)

I feel certain about how much authority I have (R) .76 (9.71)

I have clear, planned goals and objectives for my job (R) .75 (9.58)

I know what my responsibilities are (R) .87 (11.80)

I know exactly what is expected of me (R) .87 (11.91)

Explanation is clear of what has to be done (R) .74 (9.33)

Job satisfaction (second-order construct) (Churchill, Ford, & Walker, 1974) (seven-point scale, anchored by Strongly Disagree

and Strongly Agree)

A. Satisfaction with overall job (a= .93; CR= .93; AVE= .78) .71 (6.48)

My work gives me a sense of accomplishment .87b

Mywork

is

exciting

.88

(13.69)My work is satisfying .93 (15.13)

I am really doing something worthwhile in my job .86 (13.13)

B. Satisfaction with Fellow Workers (a= .85; CR= .87; AVE= .63) .67 (6.02)

The people I work with are very friendly .86b

The people I work with help each other out when someone falls behind or gets in a tight spot .84 (11.80)

My fellow workers are pleasant .90 (12.97)

My fellow workers are selfish (R) .51 (5.99)

C. Satisfaction with supervision (a= .90; CR= .90; AVE= .70) .60 (5.15)

My immediate manager is up to date .71b

My immediate manager has always been fair in dealings with me .82 (8.91)

My immediate manager gives us credit and praise for work well done .95 (9.98)

My immediate manager lives up to his/her promises .85 (9.20)

D. Satisfaction with customers (a=0.87; CR=0.87; AVE=0.63) .52 (4.43)

My customers live up to their promisesb .72b

My customers are trustworthy .84 (8.78)

My customers are loyal .83 (8.66)

My customers are understanding .78 (8.25)


G Model


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

Katsikea,

E.,

et

al.

Why people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales



9/13

model. Fit statistics (x2(339)= 626.69, p


10/13

to a model in which one relationship is set free implies that the

moderator

variable

has

a

significant

influence

on

that

relationship.

Table

4

presents

the

results

obtained

from

this

analysis.

Concerning psychic distance, the results indicate that the

negative influence of formalization on role ambiguity is stronger

when

export

sales

managers

operate

in

more

distant

export

markets (high-distance group: b = .44, t = 3.17; low-distancegroup: b = .02, t = .19; Dx2(1)= 10.74,p .05). Even though the estimated coefficients

for these associations are stronger in more distant markets, chi-

square differences are not statistically significant. Therefore, no

support

is

provided

for

H13

and

H14. With

respect

to

export

salesmanagers experience, the findings indicate that the export sales

management behavior control system ismore effective in reducing

perceptions of role ambiguity among less experienced export sales

managers (more experienced managers groups: b = .13, t = .96;

less experienced managers group: b = .39, t = 2.83; Dx2

(1) = 4.58, p


11/13

Against the backdrop of the salespersons propensity to leave,

this

study

is

primarily

interested

in

the

control

aspect

of

export

sales

management. Given the nature of the salespersons role and their

characteristic flexibility, control becomes a focal sales management

activity. Whilst researchers know a great deal about control and

how

it influences

the

attitudes

and

behavior

of

workers

(Anderson

&

Oliver, 1987;

Jaworski,

1988)

it

is

important

to

recognize that

control mechanisms can be established at different hierarchical

levels within an organizationandparticularlyhow topmanagement

develop

control mechanisms

that

define

an

appropriate

framework

for

the

operation

of

the

sales

organization,

thereby

determining

the

specific activities to be performed by individual members. In line

withJaworskis (1988) theoretical assumption, this study identifies

organizational

structure

as

such

a

control

mechanism.

The

study

findings

reveal

the

favorable

impact

of

formalization

and the unfavorable impact of centralization upon both role

ambiguity and role conflict. Local market adaptation and the sales

functions

ability

to

customize

their

engagement

activity

are

central

to

export

strategy

(Cavusgil

&

Zou,

1994).

When

operating

under conditions of centralization, this structural constraint

handicaps the export sales managers ability to adapt according

to

the

necessary

conditions

and

role

conflict

and

role

ambiguity

become

inevitable

consequences.

Centralization

effectively

becomes a straightjacket and removes the discretion that isrequired for the export salesmanager to confront challenges in vivo

and

address

appropriate

response

to

customers

in

export

markets.

In

contrast,

formalization

provides

a

framework

and

offers

rules

and procedures that govern role behavior. Although standardized,

these rules encourage specific action responses and reduce

confusion

and

judgmental

reasoning.

These

benefits

mean

that

role

clarity

and

role

ambiguity

are

less

apparent

under

conditions

of high formalization because many of the sources of these role

stressors have been managed out by standardized practices.

As

forms

of

hierarchical

control,

the

study

finds

that

both

formalization and centralization relatepositively to the export sales

managementbehavior control system. Indesigning and administer-

ing

a

behavior-based

control

system,

managers

need

to

collate,

map,

and audit important export sales activities and capabilities. Thefindings show that the administrative mechanisms that therefore

underlie this type of control system are traits of formalization for

codification

and

centralization

for

uniformity.

Interestingly,

the

findings

also

reveal

how

the

export

sales management

behavior

control system reduces role ambiguity by improving the clarity of

export sales managers expectations because it focuses attention

ontothecontrolledactivitiesandcapabilities.Butthisfindingwasnot

mirrored

forexport

salesmanagers

perceptions

of

role

conflict

upon

which behavior-based control has no influence.

Although seemingly paradoxical, the working life of the export

sales

manager

benefits

from

formalization

while

simultaneously

suffers

from

centralization.

The

implication

of

this

is

clear

exporting firms need to improve standardization of work routines

and

operating

methods

without

correspondingly

centralizingdecision

making.

The

challenge

of

this

organizational

solution

provides

tangible

benefits

for

the

outreach

activities

of

the

export

sales manager. By formally delineating clearly the routines and

practices required whilst also ensuring that centralized processes

do

not

hinder

their

day-to-day

responsibilities,

export

sales

managers

will

benefit

in

their

work

roles

(Steward,

Walker,

Hutt,

& Kumar, 2010). The role stressors of role ambiguity and role

conflictdeleteriously affect export salesmanagersjob satisfaction.

It

is

not

surprising

that

when

these

managers

suffer

an

array

of

demands,

each

at

variance

with

another,

their

job

satisfaction

declines. Correspondingly, this study finds that export sales

managers propensity to leave is a likely consequence of this

chain

of

effects.

This,

in

turn,

can

set

in

train

a

number

of

consequences

for

management

attention

and

so

auditing

the

extent of role ambiguity and role conflict by encouraging feedback

and

open

lines

of

communication

will

help

to

support

more

this

key boundary spanner (Piercy, Cravens, Lane, & Vorhies, 2006).

Moderation analysis results indicate that psychic distance

explains important distinctions in the proposed model. For

example,

in

more

distant

markets,

formalization

has

a

stronger

negative

impact

on

export

sales

managers

role

ambiguity.

Similarly, the challenges that centralization imposes on export

sales managers role conflict are also increasingly evident in more

distant

markets.

For

exporting

firms,

these

emphases

imply

a

greater

need

for

formalization

and

lesser

need

for

centralization

in

improving, respectively, role ambiguity and role conflict of their

export sales managers. By way of export sales managers

experience,

this

study

finds

a

novel

effect

in

that

the

export

sales

management

behavioral

control

system

is

more

effective

at

reducing perceptions of role ambiguity among less experienced

export salesmanagers. Thismeans that the conformity that control

systems

engender

invokes

role

clarity

at

earlier

stages

of

an

export

sales

managers

career

when

learning

and

development

opportu-

nities are at their greatest. Therefore, appropriate training needs to

be established so that less experienced export sales managers

suffer

less

role

ambiguity

by

better

understanding

the

control

dashboard

that

is

used

to

monitor

their

behavior.

This study has also important implications for theory develop-ment in the neglected areas of export sales management. In

particular,

it

highlights

the

critical

role

of

export

sales

managers

in

export

success,

and

emphasizes

the

need

to

retain

these

personnel

in the firm on a long-term basis. The extant research on exporting

focuses on the export strategic planning process, and integrates

relevant

theories

like

the

resource-based

view

of

the

firm,

and

the

industrial

organization

theory,

in

an

effort

to

explain

the

drivers

of

superior export performance. Numerous studies on exporting

during the past four decades have contributed to the development

of

a

rich

body

of

knowledge

regarding

export-related

issues.

Surprisingly; however, these studies paid limited attention to the

fact that export sales managers are commonly the only firm

personnel

that

visit

foreign

markets

to

meet

prospective

buyers

and establish mutually beneficial relationships with them.Therefore, their contribution to export success is invaluable. To

advance further export-related theories, academic research must

devote

more

effort

on

the

peoples

aspect

of

exporting,

and

examine

appropriate

managerial

practices

that

can

positively

influence the job-related attitudes and behavior of export sales

managers, and direct their behavior towards achieving organiza-

tional

objectives.

The

present

study

contributes

to

this

emerging

stream

of

research

by

showing

how

control

mechanisms

at

different organizational levels contribute towards reducing export

sales managers intention to leave, which is a highly desirable

outcome

with

important

long-term

benefits

for

export

sales

organizations.

Future

studies

must

investigate

other

important

dimensions of export sales managers job, and identify the key

factors

that

either

enhance

or

restrain

export

sales

managersperformance.

6. Limitations and future research

This

study

has

several

limitations

that

should

be

addressed

in

future

research.

First,

the

study

accommodates

for

international

market variation in the researchmodel by incorporating ameasure

ofpsychicdistance.Although the researchmodel explains overhalf

of

the

variance

about

the

mean

of

managers

propensity

to

leave,

inevitably

testing

the

extent

to

which

competing

explanations

offer insightful viewpoints is important. To this end, individual

level endogenous triggers such as managers perceived ease of

movement,

receipt

of

unsolicited

job

offers,

and

work-family

conflict

should

be

considered

while

also

firm

level

exogenous


G Model


Please

cite

this

article

in

press

as:

Katsikea,

E.,

et

al.

Why people

quit:

Explaining

employee

turnover

intentions

among

export

sales



12/13
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.08.009http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0190http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0190http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0180http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0180http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0180http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0175http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0175http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0175http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0170http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0170http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0165http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0165http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0165http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0160http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0160http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0160http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0155http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0155http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0155http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0150http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0150http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0150http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0145http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0130http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0125http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0125http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0125http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0120http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0120http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0120http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0115http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0115http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0110http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0110http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0105http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0105http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0100http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0100http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0100http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0095http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0095http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0095http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0090http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0090http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0090http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0085http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0085http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0085http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0080http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0080http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0070http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0070http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0075http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0075http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0065http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0065http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0065http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0055http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0055http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0055http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0060http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0060http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0060http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0050http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0050http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0045http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0045http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0045http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0040http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0040http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0030http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0030http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0035http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0035http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0025http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0025http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0020http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0020http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0005http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0005http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0005http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0015http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0015http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0969-5931(14)00128-0/sbref0015


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Jaworski, B. J., Stathakopoulos, V., & Krishan, S. H. (1993). Control combinations inmarketing: Conceptual framework and

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