Antecedents of Distributors Turnover in Multilevel Marketing
Keywords:
Multilevel Marketing, Attrition, Met expectations, Job image, job satisfaction, Intention to quitAbstract
The concept of Multilevel Marketing or referral marketing is a method of product distribution. The products are moved through independent distributors. The distributors are given an opportunity to introduce other distributors to the business. Instead of incurring massive media advertising and sales promotion cost, the savings are passed on to distributor consumers. At the same time products are available to consumers at wholesale prices.
Despite the worldwide growth in direct sales, sales force turnover continues to constitute a major problem for direct selling organisations. The level of attrition comes at a significant cost, not only in terms of recruiting, but also in terms of customer dissatisfaction at losing their direct seller contact with whom they have possibly built a valued relationship. This paper describes the problems and sets out a research paradigm to investigate the issue of distributor’s turnover in multilevel marketing in Kerala’s environment.
This study focuses in particular on the following key areas of research: unmet expectations, job image, job satisfaction, and stated intention to quit as antecedents of distributor turnover in multilevel marketing.
References
Brodie, A.S. (1995) “Salesforce Turnover in Direct Selling Organisations in the United Kingdom and France”, Masters Thesis, Keele University.
Brodie, S. & Stanworth, J. (1998). `Independent contractors in direct selling', International Small BusinessJournal, (April-June), 16(3): p.95-101.
Brodie, Stewart, John Stanworth,and Thomas R.Wotruba (2002), “Direct Sales Franchises in the UK:A Self-Employment GreyArea,” International Small Business Journal 20 (1), p.53 –76.
Brown, S. P., & Peterson, R. A. (1993). Antecedents and consequences of salesperson job satisfaction: Meta-analysis and assessment of causal effects. Journal of Marketing Research, 30(February), p. 63-77.
Cohen, A. (1993). Work commitment in relation to withdrawal intentions and union effectiveness. Journal of Business Research, 26, p.75-90.
Futrell, C. & A. Parasuraman, (1984) “The Relationship of Satisfaction and Performance to Salesforce Turnover”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 48, Fall, p.33-40.American Marketing Association.
Koch, J. L., & Steers, R. M. (1978). Job attachment, satisfaction, and turnover among public sector employees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol.12, p.119-128.
Marsh, R. M., & Mannari H. (1977). Organizational commitment and turnover: A prediction study. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, p.57-75.
Mitchell, T.R. & Lason, J.R. (1987). People in organization. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mobley, W.H., Griffeth, H., Hand, H. and B.M. Meglino, (1979) “Review and Conceptual Analysis of the Employee Turnover Process,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol.86(3), p.493-522.
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. M., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. New York: Academic Press.
Porter, L.W. and R.M. Steers (1973) “Organizational, Work and Personal Factors in Employee Turnover and Absenteesism, Psychological Bulletin, 8(2).
Raymond, M. & Tanner, J.F. (Jr) (1994). `Maintaining customer relationship in direct sales: stimulating repeat purchase behaviour,' Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol.14(3): p.67-76.
Spencer, D.G. and R.M. Steers (1981) “Performance as a Moderator of the Job Satisfaction-Turnover Relationship,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol.66(4), American Psychological Association, p.511-514
Wotruba, T.R. & P.K. Tyagi, (1991) “Met Expectations and Turnover in Direct Selling”, Journal of Marketing, 55, July, p.24-35.
Wotruba, T.R. (1990), "The relationship of job image, performance, and job satisfaction to inactivity-proneness of direct salespeople", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 18, p. 113-21.
Wotruba, T.R., Sciglimpaglia, D. & Tyagi, P.K. 1987.`Toward a model of turnover in direct selling organisations', AMA Winter Education ConferenceMarketing Theory Proceedings, p.348-353.
Wotruba, Thomas R.(1989),“The Effect of Goal-Setting on the Performance of Independent Sales Agents in Direct Selling,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management Vol.9 (1), p.22 –29.
Wunderman, L. (1996) “Being Direct”, Randon House Inc., New York, p.310.