The impact of resilience and perceived organisational support on employee engagement in a competitive sales environment

Abstract

Orientation: Understanding the impact of resilience and perceived organisational support on employee engagement in a competitive sales environment.

Research purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between resilience, perceived organisational support and employee engagement among pharmaceutical sales employees in a competitive sales environment; and to establish whether resilience and perceived organisational support hold predictive value for employee engagement.

Motivation for the study: Limited research has focused on the unique context of employee engagement as a construct in professional sales. A broader understanding of resilience and perceived organisational support can provide sales organisations with a lever to create an environment where sales employees are more fully engaged.

Research design, approach and method: A quantitative, exploratory, cross-sectional survey approach was used. A sample of 125 sales representatives from a South African pharmaceutical organisation participated in the research. The measuring instruments included the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and the Perceived Organisational Support Scale (POS).

Main findings: Perceived organisational support, but not resilience impacted employee engagement in a competitive sales environment.

Practical and managerial implications: Sales organisations’ interventions to improve sales employee engagement should focus on perceived organisational support.

Contribution: The individual role of each construct provided insight into the sales context. The relationship between the constructs offered a different lens through which the drivers of employee engagement in sales can be viewed. This study contributes towards sales literature by including positive psychology and organisational support in a model of employee engagement.