The role of uncertainty and sales control in the development of sales manager trust

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend previous research on trust and sales control to develop and test an argument that links informational uncertainty to the development of managerial trust in the salesperson. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are developed suggesting that shared goals and length of attachment reduces uncertainty, which has the effect of promoting managerial trust in the salesperson. In addition, it is hypothesized that sales control will have a (negative) moderating effect on these uncertainty‐trust relationships. Data were collected from 100 sales managers to measure their: sales control strategies, degree of trust, goal congruence, and the relationship tenure with three of their salespeople. An ordinary least squares regression analysis was used to test a model of hypothesized relationships. Findings – The results supported a direct and positive relationship between lower uncertainty (via goal congruence and relationship tenure) and managerial trust in the salesperson. Furthermore, the results confirmed that sales control had a negative moderating effect on these relationships. Research limitations/implications – These study findings are important to researchers because the literature strongly suggests that trust is critical in the relationship between sales manager and salesperson and so furthering the understanding of trust‐building strategies is an important advancement to academic sales research. Originality/value – Managers can use this study to understand and recognize factors that impact trust development while avoiding the potential risks of salesperson opportunism. Examples are provided as to how practitioners can operationalize these findings to build more productive relationships with their salespeople.