Retailer organizational prestige is defined as employees' own beliefs and perceptions about how individuals external to the organization judge and evaluate the status and prestige of their firm. Although researchers and professionals recognize that retailer organizational prestige is a well-known driver of firm performance, the sales literature has largely neglected the mediating and moderating mechanisms linking organizational prestige to outcomes at the sales force level.
We collect data from retail companies in Brazil that sell building, electrical and painting materials. The sample comprises 239 salespeople across 62 retail stores.
First, the results show that retailer organizational prestige indirectly affects sales performance and turnover intentions through organizational identification. Second, the link between organizational identification and sales performance is amplified by professional identification, a moderator, in such a way that the positive effect is weaker when professional identification is high. However, this moderating effect does not extend to turnover intentions. The article concludes with managerial implications and directions for future research.
Drawing on social identity theory, this study proposes and tests a mediation mechanism (salespeople's organizational identification) and a boundary condition (professional identification as moderator), highlighting how multiple identification foci jointly shape sales outcomes.
