Contrasting effects of salespeople’s emotion appraisal ability in a transaction-oriented environment

Purpose Although the role of emotions in buyer–seller exchanges is important, it remains understudied, especially in the business-to-business selling context. This paper aims to provide insights into the role of the salespeople’s ability to appraise emotions (EA ability) and its effects on job-related outcomes in a transaction-oriented environment. Design/methodology/approach Multi-source data were gathered from 152 salespeople working for a financial service firm. Customer service and sales performance ratings were reported by supervisors. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling using AMOS. Findings The study finds contrasting effects of EA ability on sales performance in the firm’s transaction-oriented environment. On the one hand, EA ability motivates better salesperson customer service, which then increases their sales performance. On the other hand, EA ability enhances emotional exhaustion, which detracts from sales performance. Practical implications Sales managers should consider the ability of new hires to appraise emotions when determining their fit with the job and the organization. Training programs that develop salesperson emotional abilities should be comprehensive as it may be detrimental to be high in EA ability without the skills to regulate or use emotions. Originality value The study is one of the first to consider the effects of emotional abilities in the context of a transaction-oriented environment. By focusing specifically on EA ability, the study provides greater understanding of the influences of the individual components of emotional intelligence, rather than salesperson’s overall capacity for emotional intelligence.