Antecedents and Outcomes of Salesperson Polychronicity in B2B Industries in Malaysia

Purpose: An approach for organisations to maintain a competitive advantage is to better understand the roles of present and future salespeople. Polychronicity or multitasking makes us more distractible and prone to errors. However, the ability to multitask is a valuable skill in many industries, as it increases productivity and saves time. This paper proposes that multitasking compromises performance on how salespeople in Malaysia can be influenced by their manager’s ambidextrous leadership, their resistance to change, how it affects the service outcomes of service recovery performance, customer-directed OCB, and manager trust in salesperson. Design/methodology/approach: Salespersons were chosen randomly from a certain pool of companies Out of 190 salespeople from various sales organisations, 171 accepted the request to participate after being approached through their superiors using google form. Findings: Result shown that when sales leaders exhibit behaviors associated with openness and encouragement, salespeople tend to demonstrate higher levels of polychronicity, and have positive relationship with services recovery performance and customer-directed OCB and the manager trust in salesperson increase. However, findings show salesperson behaviors react differently when their manager exert control and less interested in the well-being of their subordinates can hinder polychronic behavior also there is no significate relationship between salesperson behaviours and their resistance to change. Originality/value: This study aims to examine the correlation between a salesperson’s polychronicity in B2B Industries in Malaysia only.


Background of the Study
The professional sales environment, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications, banking, IT, and other B2B industries, has become increasingly complex.Sales representatives now face the dual challenge of cultivating customer relationships while meeting demanding Vol 14, Issue 6, (2024) E-ISSN: 2222-6990 To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i6/21789DOI:10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i6/21789 Published Date: 15 June 2024 sales quotas.These changes are driven by evolving client preferences, such as the desire for remote interactions, and heightened market competition fuelled by the rapid growth of sales enablement systems (Koponen, 2019).
To navigate these complexities, salespeople must develop polychronicity, the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously to achieve common goals (Bartel, 2017).Effective leadership plays a crucial role in this dynamic environment.Leaders must inspire, guide, and communicate effectively with their teams, setting a positive example and creating a cohesive work atmosphere.Ambidextrous leadership, which involves balancing behaviors that both initiate and conclude tasks, is particularly influential.This type of leadership helps build trust and cooperation, essential for improving B2B interactions and driving growth (Alghamdi, 2018).
This study investigates the relationship between a salesperson's polychronicity and their leader's ambidextrous leadership, and how these factors influence the salesperson's resistance to change.Resistance to change is a significant barrier that can compromise a salesperson's ability to meet customer needs and overall performance.Salespeople who perceive changes as increasing their workload are more likely to resist, negatively impacting service recovery performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and management trust (Jaramillo et al., 2012).
Addressing resistance to change involves granting salespeople more job autonomy and clearly communicating the benefits of change.Effective service recovery, where employees proficiently manage customer complaints, is crucial for maintaining client satisfaction (Ahmad, 2020).By adopting efficient service recovery strategies, organizations can foster customer loyalty, commitment, and product acceptance, leading to stronger customer relationships and increased sales.
Understanding the interplay between ambidextrous leadership and polychronicity is vital for enhancing sales team productivity and efficiency.Managers who effectively leverage these dynamics can mitigate resistance to change, improve service recovery, and foster a positive organizational culture.This, in turn, can lead to increased job satisfaction among sales staff and better sales outcomes, driving business success.

Literature Review
This study addresses a gap in understanding by proposing that ambidextrous actions are influenced not only by short-term motivations but also by a salesperson's preference for managing multiple tasks concurrently, known as polychronicity.Salespeople who exhibit a propensity for multitasking are likely to display more ambidextrous behaviors in sales services.This is particularly relevant in B2B contexts, where sales roles demand critical service behaviors that create value during sales activities (Ahearne, 2007).The competence of B2B salespeople in performing these behaviors may indicate their ability to demonstrate ambidextrous actions (Rapp et al., 2019).

Polychronicity
Salesperson Polychronicity (SP) is the capacity to manage multiple tasks or activities concurrently.Unlike monochronic individuals who focus on one task at a time, polychronic salespeople switch between tasks within a specific period (Arndt et al., 2014).This trait, examined through trait activation theory, impacts how salespeople manage their responsibilities and exhibit ambidextrous behaviors.Research suggests that polychronicity enhances sales effectiveness in challenging situations (Mullins et al., 2020).Polychronic salespeople are often more satisfied with their jobs, better at problem-solving, and more adept at managing complex service interactions (Jang & George, 2012).

Ambidextrous Leadership (Opening and Closing Leader Behavior)
Ambidextrous leadership involves both opening and closing behaviors.Opening Leader Behavior (OLB) includes activities that set the tone at the start of a task or project, such as giving clear directions and showing enthusiasm.Closing Leader Behavior involves actions that help conclude tasks, like summarizing key points and confirming goals (Rosing et al., 2011).Effective leadership balances these behaviors to facilitate innovation, multitasking, and risktaking while minimizing variability in salespeople's actions (Alghamdi, 2018).However, closing leaders who exert control may hinder polychronic behavior, leading to reduced flexibility and customer dissatisfaction (Zacher, 2015).

Service Recovery Performance
Service Recovery Performance (SRP) refers to how effectively sales personnel address service failures and restore customer satisfaction (Ahmad, 2018).Service failures, though more common in B2C markets, significantly impact B2B enterprises.Polychronicity is crucial for achieving high SRP, enabling salespeople to manage multiple challenges and setbacks efficiently (Baliga, 2021).Salespeople exhibiting polychronic behavior are likely to deliver superior customer service and better recovery outcomes compared to their monochronic counterparts.

Customer-Directed -OCB (COCB)
Customer-Directed OCB (COCB) involves voluntary actions that benefit the organization beyond official job responsibilities (Bowler, 2006).Polychronic salespeople, who can multitask and switch tasks effectively, are often more satisfied with their jobs and inclined to assist customers beyond their regular duties (Daskin, 2016).Prominent levels of job satisfaction and polychronicity contribute to superior COCB, enhancing overall job performance and fostering a positive workplace attitude (Karatepe, 2013).

Resistance to Change in Salespeople
Resistance to change is common in B2B organizations, particularly when salespeople perceive changes as detrimental to their interests.Salespeople under closing leaders, who enforce repetitive tasks, are more likely to resist change due to reduced multitasking opportunities (Ahmad et al., 2022).This resistance hampers their ability to manage multiple activities, affecting overall performance.Therefore, higher resistance correlates with a negative impact on polychronic behavior.

Manager Trust in Salesperson Polychronicity
Trust in the workplace enhances communication and supports salespeople in managing multiple tasks (Flaherty, 2020).Trustworthy environments allow salespeople to exceed service benchmarks, ensuring customer satisfaction (Luu, 2020).Managers' trust is crucial for fostering polychronicity, leading to better performance and customer-centric behaviors.Resolute salespeople are more motivated to engage in extra-role behaviors, further benefiting organizational outcomes (Fu et al., 2022).
By understanding these dynamics, this study aims to provide insights into how polychronicity and ambidextrous leadership impact salesperson performance, resistance to change, and organizational success.

Research Methodology
This study focused on sales professionals and managers in Malaysia working in businessto-business (B2B) sales across various sectors such as banking, telecommunications, and information technology.The research involved gathering responses from salespersons and their managers to analyze correlations within these sectors.Salespersons in these industries are responsible for promoting and selling services and products to other businesses, such as financial products in banking and software in information technology.
A quantitative approach was used, employing a survey research strategy to thoroughly examine factors influencing salesperson polychronicity.The study utilized a self-administered questionnaire design to collect data, providing a direct approach to drawing conclusions about the sales community in Malaysia.Table 1 show the sources of item and their authors.

Assessment of Measurement Model
The instrument's reliability was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha.The Alpha scores for each construct are shown in the following tables.Nunnally (1978) stated that Cronbach's Alpha values equal to or greater than 0.70 are acceptable internal consistency.The salesperson's polychronicity was assessed using seven determinants: salesperson polychronicity, opening leader behaviour, closing leader behaviour, customer-directed OCB, service recovery performance, manager trust, and resistance to change.
The results are presented in Table 2, summarizes all variables analysed, number of items and the alpha scores.Based on the results, Alpha scores lie between 0.894 to 0.963.Cronbach's Alpha is greater than 0.70 and is acceptable for the purpose of analysis (Nunnally, 1978).The results presented in Table 3 highlight the correlation coefficients for Pearson's.correlation analysis.The Pearson Correlation Statistic was utilised to assess the link between the variables OLB, CLB, COCB, SRP, MT, and RC based on the hypothesis.The Pearson correlation quantifies the degree of the linear association between two variables.The value ranges from -1 to 1, where -1 indicates a complete negative linear correlation, 0 represents no correlation, and +1 signifies a complete positive correlation.Table below shows that SP has a Moderate positive correlation with OLB (0.448), COCB (0.499), and SRP (0.409) but weak positive correlations with CLB (0.363) and MT (0.361) and negligible correlation with RC (0.064, p = 0.404).The Linear Regression for hypothesis 1 show in table 4 is opening leader behavior has a positive influence on salesperson polychronicity.The coefficient for OLB is 0.426, with a standard error of 0.065 and a standardized coefficient (Beta) of 0.448.The t-value associated with OLB is 6.509, which is highly significant (p < .001).This indicates that there is a strong positive relationship between OLB and SP.Hypothesis 2 is Closing leader behavior has a negative influence on salesperson polychronicity.The coefficient for CLB is 0.374, with a standard error of 0.074 and a standardized coefficient (Beta) of 0.363.The t-value associated with CLB is 5.062, which is highly significant (p < .001)shows in table 5.This indicates that there is a significant negative relationship between CLB and SP.Hypothesis 3 is salesperson polychronicity has a positive influence on service recovery performance.The coefficient for SRP is 0.537, with a standard error of 0.092 and a standardized coefficient (Beta) of 0.409.The t-value associated with SRP is 5.825, which is highly significant (p < .001) that show in table 6.This indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between SRP and SP.The coefficient for MT is 0.430, with a standard error of 0.086 and a standardized coefficient (Beta) of 0.361.The t-value associated with MT is 5.025, which is highly significant (p < .001)show in table 9.This indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between MT and SP.Specifically, for every one-unit increase in MT, SP is estimated to increase by 0.430 units.

Discussion and Conclusion
The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of salesperson polychronicity and its relationships with leadership behavior, organizational factors, and performance outcomes.Understanding these dynamics is crucial for organizations that seeking to optimize salesperson effectiveness, enhance customer experiences, and achieve competitive advantage in dynamic market environments.

Ambidextrous Behavior (opening and closing) and Salesperson Polychronicity
These results support Hypothesis 1, which states that Opening Leader Behavior has a positive influence on Salesperson Polychronicity.The statistically significant coefficient for OLB (p < .001)and the positive Beta value (0.448) indicate that higher levels of Opening Leader Behavior are associated with higher levels of Salesperson Polychronicity.Therefore, based on this analysis, it can be concluded that there is empirical evidence to suggest that Opening Leader Behavior positively influences Salesperson Polychronicity.
These results provide support for Hypothesis 2, which posits that Closing Leader Behavior has a negative influence on Salesperson Polychronicity.The statistically significant coefficient for CLB (p < .001)and the negative Beta value (0.363) indicate that higher levels of Closing Leader Behavior are associated with lower levels of Salesperson Polychronicity.Therefore, based on this analysis, it can be concluded that there is empirical evidence to suggest that Closing Leader Behavior negatively influences Salesperson Polychronicity.
The results indicate that both opening leader behavior (OLB) and closing leader behavior (CLB) significantly influence salesperson polychronicity (SP), albeit in different directions.Opening leader behavior positively impacts SP, suggesting that supportive and communicative leadership practices enhance salespersons' ability to multitask and manage tasks effectively.Conversely, closing leader behavior negatively affects SP, highlighting the detrimental effects of unsupportive or directive leadership styles on salespersons' multitasking abilities.These findings underscore the importance of leadership behavior in shaping salesperson behaviors and performance.

Salesperson Polychronicity and Service Recovery Performance:
These results provide support for Hypothesis 3, which suggests that Salesperson Polychronicity has a positive influence on Service Recovery Performance.The statistically significant coefficient for SRP (p < .001)and the positive Beta value (0.409) indicate that higher levels of Salesperson Polychronicity are associated with higher levels of Service Recovery Performance.Therefore, based on this analysis, it can be concluded that there is empirical evidence to suggest that Salesperson Polychronicity positively influences Service Recovery Performance.
The positive relationship between SP and SRP highlights the importance of salesperson multitasking abilities in effectively addressing customer concerns and resolving service issues.Salespersons with higher levels of polychronicity demonstrate greater flexibility, resourcefulness, and critical thinking skills, leading to enhanced service recovery outcomes and improved customer satisfaction.

Salesperson Polychronicity and customer-directed OCB
These results provide support for Hypothesis 4, which suggests that Salesperson Polychronicity has a positive influence on Customer-Directed -OCB.The statistically significant coefficient for COCB (p < .001)and the positive Beta value (0.499) indicate that higher levels of Salesperson Polychronicity are associated with higher levels of Customer-Directed -OCB.Therefore, based on this analysis, it can be concluded that there is empirical evidence to suggest that Salesperson Polychronicity positively influences Customer-Directed -OCB.
The findings suggest that salespersons with higher levels of polychronicity are more likely to engage in behaviors that benefit the organization and its customers beyond their formal job roles.These behaviors may include providing extra assistance to colleagues, offering feedback for process improvement, and going the extra mile to meet customer needs, contributing to a positive organizational culture and customer experience.

Resistance to Change in Salesperson Polychronicity
These results do not provide support for Hypothesis 5, which suggests that Resistance to Change has a positive relationship with Salesperson Polychronicity.The non-significant coefficient for RC (p = .404)and the low Beta value (0.064) indicate that there is no empirical evidence to suggest that Resistance to Change has a positive influence on Salesperson Polychronicity.Therefore, based on this analysis, it cannot be concluded that Resistance to Change positively influences Salesperson Polychronicity.
The study finding of no significant relationship between Resistance to Change (RC) and Salesperson Polychronicity (SP) is intriguing and requires careful interpretation.While resistance to change is often considered a challenge in organizational contexts, its direct impact on salesperson multitasking abilities may not be as pronounced as expected.One explanation could be that salespersons, by nature of their roles, are accustomed to managing dynamic and evolving situations, making them inherently more adaptable to change.Therefore, the influence of resistance to change on their multitasking abilities may be limited.
Another interpretation could be that while resistance to change may exist within the organization, its effects on salesperson polychronicity may be mediated by other factors such as leadership support, organizational culture, or individual characteristics.Nonetheless, organizations should remain vigilant about potential resistance to change and adopt strategies to address it effectively, as it can still impact overall organizational effectiveness and even if it does not directly influence salesperson multitasking abilities.

Manager Trust in Salesperson Polychronicity
These results provide support for Hypothesis 6, which suggests that Manager Trust has a positive relationship with Salesperson Polychronicity.The statistically significant coefficient for MT (p < .001)and the positive Beta value (0.361) indicate that higher levels of Manager Trust are associated with higher levels of Salesperson Polychronicity.Therefore, based on this analysis, it can be concluded that there is empirical evidence to suggest that Manager Trust positively influences Salesperson Polychronicity.
The results highlight the importance of manager's trust (MT) in fostering salesperson polychronicity (SP).Trusting relationships between managers and salespersons create an environment conducive to opening communication, collaboration, and autonomy, enabling salespersons to effectively multitask and adapt to changing circumstances.Organizations should prioritize building trust between managers and salespersons through leadership development initiatives and supportive managerial practices to enhance sales performance and job satisfaction.
The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of salesperson polychronicity and its relationships with leadership behavior, organizational factors, and performance outcomes.Understanding these dynamics is crucial for organizations seeking to optimize salesperson effectiveness, enhance customer experiences, and achieve competitive advantage in dynamic market environments.Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions of these relationships to inform evidence-based management practices in sales and marketing contexts.

Implications
Organizations should prioritize fostering positive opening leader behaviors to enhance salesperson polychronicity.Leadership development initiatives should focus on openness, supportiveness, and effective communication, thereby improving multitasking abilities, time management, and adaptability, which boost overall sales performance and productivity.Addressing negative closing leader behaviors through training on effective communication and supportive management during closing phases can further enhance salesperson polychronicity, leading to increased efficiency and job satisfaction.
Fostering salesperson polychronicity is crucial for improving service recovery performance and customer-directed OCB.Training programs should develop multitasking and time management skills among sales personnel, while a supportive work environment encourages initiative-taking customer service, better service recovery experiences, and increased customer loyalty.Encouraging efficient task management and prioritizing customer needs also promote engagement in behaviors that benefit the organization, such as assisting colleagues and exceeding customer expectations.
Building trust between managers and salespersons is vital for enhancing polychronicity.
Trusting relationships facilitate open communication, collaboration, and autonomy, creating a supportive environment conducive to multitasking and adaptive behaviors.Investing in leadership development programs that emphasize trust-building can lead to improved sales performance, job satisfaction, and organizational outcomes.Despite the potential impact of resistance to change on salesperson behavior, organizations should focus on strategies to manage resistance without expecting it to directly affect polychronicity.
This study's primary contribution is its identification of the distinctive impacts of opening and closing leader behaviours on salesperson polychronicity.This research offers practical insights for sales management by showing that unsupportive leadership (Closing Leader Behaviour) greatly reduces multitasking abilities whereas supportive and communicative leadership (Opening Leader Behaviour) significantly increases the work performance.
By carefully analysing the subtle aspects of how opening and closing leadership behaviours affect polychronicity.These results provide useful advice for businesses looking to maximise sales force effectiveness through focused leadership development initiatives.Businesses may help their salespeople handle more duties more skilfully by providing them with the proper leadership behaviours.This will improve sales results and increase customer satisfaction.

Limitations of the Study
This study has several limitations, including its specific industry focus, sample size, and measurement techniques.These factors may restrict the generalizability of the findings.Future research should explore additional factors affecting salesperson polychronicity, examine diverse business contexts, and use longitudinal methods to understand the longterm impacts of leadership behaviors.
The reliance on self-reported measures for polychronicity and leadership behaviors may introduce bias.Future studies should use objective metrics or multi-source evaluations to enhance accuracy.Additionally, while this study focused on opening and closing leader behaviors, it did not extensively explore other factors like organizational culture, job autonomy, and task complexity.Addressing these limitations in future research will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of salesperson polychronicity and enhance the practical insights for sales management practices.

Future Research
Future research should explore a broader range of contextual factors to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of salesperson polychronicity.Acknowledging the limitations of this study allows for the identification of areas for improvement.By addressing these limitations, future research can provide deeper insights into salesperson behaviors and performance outcomes, contributing to more effective sales management practices.
Furthermore, future research could examine the influence of emerging technologies on salesperson behaviors and performance outcomes.Understanding how technologies affect salesperson multitasking behaviors and productivity, particularly in the context of digital tools, artificial intelligence, and remote work platforms, is essential.Researchers can explore ways to leverage technological advancements to enhance sales effectiveness while mitigating the negative effects of digital distractions and information overload.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework Source: Constructed for this study

Table 1
Sources of items used In the dataset consisting of 171 responses, Females made up 55.6% of respondents, while 76 Males made up 44.4% of respondents.46 respondents (26.9%) are having less than 1 year of experience, 58 respondents (33.9%) have 1 to 5 years working experience, 40 respondents (23.4%) have 6 to 10 years working experience, and lastly 27 respondents (15.8%) have 11 years and more working experience.76 respondents (44.4%) are working in information technology sectors, 33 respondents (19.3%) are working in telecommunication sectors, 33 respondents (19.3%) are working in banking sectors, and 29 respondents (17%) are working in other sectors.

Table 2
Summarizes of Cronbach scores.

Table 6
The coefficient for COCB is 0.582, with a standard error of 0.078 and a standardized coefficient (Beta) of 0.499.The t-value associated with COCB is 7.486, which is highly significant (p < .001)show in table 7.This indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between COCB and SP.The t-value associated with RC is 0.837, which is not statistically significant (p = .404)state in table 8.This indicates that there is no significant relationship between RC and SP.