Shaping Remote Sales Team Wellbeing and Success through Ethical Leadership
Ethical leadership is critical for managing salespeople. This leadership style prioritizes moral principles, fairness, and integrity in decision-making and behavior, and it has been linked to enhanced job satisfaction and performance, improved wellbeing, and reduced turnover intentions among employees.1 However, the workforce is changing, and remote work is posing an interesting challenge for leaders within sales organizations. In 2023, remote sales positions saw the greatest increase in new job postings, up to 48% from the previous year.2 Remote work requires supervisor and subordinate interactions to occur via technology such as Zoom, FaceTime, or email, potentially impacting the perceptibility of sales managers’ ethical behaviors. As a result, there is uncertainty regarding how companies can foster ethical values and work environments when interactions are completed primarily via technology.
Our research aimed to investigate the impact of remote supervision on ethical sales leadership and employee outcomes. Specifically, we sought to understand the extent to which ethical sales leadership can be perceived when supervised remotely. To do so, we examined how remote supervision impacts the relationship between employee perceptions of ethical sales leadership and employee affective commitment. Additionally, we explored how these dynamics influence overall employee well-being and performance.
To explore how remote supervision may be beneficial for some salespeople, we conducted three studies that provided insights into its positive influence. Grounded in theoretical knowledge on ethical leadership, our study examines how technology-facilitated supervision alters the observation, interpretation, and impact of ethical leadership on key salespeople’s outcomes. We further established a theoretical foundation of ethical leadership and affective commitment, which stems from a sense of belonging and personal attachment to an organization. We hypothesized and confirmed a positive relationship between ethical leadership in sales and affective organizational commitment.
Additionally, we considered affective commitment and psychological well-being, proposing that the positive social exchange employees experience with ethical leaders fosters stronger emotional attachment to the organization and enhances psychological well-being. By examining affective commitment and job performance, we build on prior research suggesting that a higher-quality social exchange relationship leads to greater employee performance, specifically, increased sales. Thus, we propose that employees who experience positive modeling from ethical leaders will demonstrate greater affective commitment to the organization, leading to improved job performance.
Finally, we accounted for the moderating role of remote supervision. We hypothesized that remote supervision weakens the positive relationship between ethical leadership and affective organizational commitment, such that the more frequent the remote supervision, the weaker the relationship.
Real Estate Implications
Our findings offer multiple implications for real estate leaders who are often managing a team of remote agents. Managers can uphold ethical leadership to shape their remote team’s success by clearly demonstrating ethical values through positive social behaviors and genuine moral emotions. Also, it is important to maintain consistent and intentional communication of ethical values, regardless of the communication method. Managers should acknowledge the enduring nature of in-person interaction through regular in-person coaching sessions, in-person meetings, and even social events. Further, managers can solidify their role as ethical leaders by modeling integrity and enforcing clear ethical guidelines. By aligning actions and decision-making with organizational values, managers can reinforce their credibility as ethical leaders and role models.
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Recommended Reading
Serviss, Emory R., Kelly G. Manix, Matthew T. Oglesby, Matt C. Howard, and Mark R. Gleim (2024), “Ethical Leadership in a Remote Working Context: Implications for Salesperson Well-Being and Performance,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2024.2415081
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References
- Banks, George C., Thomas Fischer, Janaki Gooty, and George Stock (2021), “Ethical Leadership: Mapping the Terrain for Concept Cleanup and a Future Research Agenda,” The Leadership Quarterly, 32(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101471
- Babapour Chafi, Maral., Annemarie Hultberg, and Nina Bozic Yams (2022), “Post-Pandemic Office Work: Perceived Challenges and Opportunities for a Sustainable Work Environment,” Sustainability, 14(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010294
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About the Authors
Emory R. Serviss, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Auburn University
Dr. Emory Serviss (PhD – University of South Alabama) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing in the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University, where he brings more than two decades of industry experience into the classroom. Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Serviss held senior marketing roles at Fortune 500 companies and advertising agencies, with a focus on digital marketing and strategy. Dr. Serviss’s research interests center on ethical leadership, sales management, artificial intelligence (AI), and social media. His scholarly work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Managerial Psychology, and Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Steven J. Shaw & Joe Hair Best Paper Award from the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA)—recognized in 2020 for his work on emotional intelligence in sales communication and again in 2023 for research on relational and financial perspectives in B2B supplier relationships.
Kelly G. Manix, PhD
Assistant Professor, Middle Tennessee State University
Dr. Kelly Manix (PhD – University of South Alabama) is an Assistant Professor of Management at Middle Tennessee State University’s Jones College of Business. She holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of South Alabama, an M.B.A., and a B.S. in Music Business Management from MTSU. Her research explores humility, ethics, and moral leadership, with a focus on their impact on individual well-being. Dr. Manix’s work has been published in American Business Review, Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Applied Psychology, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Journal of Individual Differences. She has been recognized with Best Doctoral Student Ethics Paper and Best Doctoral Student Innovative Teaching Paper awards from the Southern Management Association. In addition to her academic career, she has held management roles in the recording industry, food service, and retail sectors and has successfully operated two small businesses.
Matthew T. Oglesby, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of North Alabama
Dr. Matthew Oglesby (PhD – University of South Alabama) is an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of North Alabama. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Human Resources Director for CB&S Bank in Russellville, AL. He has a broad range of experience including over 30 years of management, leadership, and public speaking experience. Matt earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Organizational and Human Resource Management and his Master of Business Administration at the University of North Alabama. He also completed a PhD in Business Administration at the University of South Alabama, and he holds SHRM-SCP and SPHR certifications in Human Resource Management. Dr. Oglesby’s current research focuses on issues relating to strategic human resource management, leadership, and research methods.
Matt C. Howard, PhD
Associate Professor, University of South Alabama
Dr. Matt Howard (PhD – Pennsylvania State University) is an Associate Professor and Interim Chair for the Department of Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and Analytics in the Mitchell College of Business at the University of South Alabama. His research interests include statistics and methodology, health and well-being, personality and individual differences, as well as technology-enhanced training and development. He has published lead-author works in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Research Methods, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Research, Applied Psychology, Information & Management, Human-Computer Interaction, Computers & Education, Virtual Reality, Vaccine, and many other outlets. He serves on the editorial boards of Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Journal of Health Psychology. He was recognized as an Association for Psychological Science Rising Star; he has appeared on the Clarivate Highly Cited List; and he has received many other awards and recognitions.
Mark R. Gleim, PhD
Associate Professor of Marketing, Auburn University
Dr. Mark Gleim (PhD – Florida State University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing in the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University. His research interests include access-based consumption, services marketing, sustainability and marketing strategy. His research has appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Marketing, and European Journal of Marketing, among others.
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