The influence of an optimal control system on salesperson performance and championing

• We predict that a host of interconnected variables influence the relationship between control systems and performance.
• Results indicate that neither high control nor low control systems are superior in generating effective performance.
• Understanding how the control system fits with other important firm, individual, and environmental factors is important.

In this study, the effect of a deviation from an optimally blended control system on salesperson performance and championing is investigated. Blended control systems represent combinations of many different forms of control, affording sales managers the opportunity to better match a control system with the overall context in which their firm operates, addressing such things as current salesperson, firm, and environmental variables. The extent to which the blended system represents an appropriate match with the overall context, however, is of primary concern. As demonstrated here, deviations from optimal control negatively affect both individual salesperson performance, as well as salesperson championing. In combination, these findings emphasize the importance of understanding a broader picture of salesperson control than is allowed through simple direct effect analysis.