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Research article

DO INTERVIEWERS SELL THEMSELVES SHORT? THE EFFECTS OF SELLING ORIENTATION ON INTERVIEWERS’ JUDGMENTS

JENNIFER CARSON MARR; DAN M. CABLE

Academy of Management Journal • 2014 • DOI

audience: factory-internalaudience: velaPeople Analyticsbridge (2)processed in meta-factory

Abstract

Drawing on alternative perspectives about the automaticity of dispositional judgments, we examine whether the motivation to attract the other (i.e., selling orientation) in interpersonal first meetings (e.g., job interviews) helps or hinders the accuracy and validity of dispositional judgments. In a laboratory study (Study 1), we found that selling orientation reduced the accuracy of interviewers’ judgments about applicants’ core self-evaluations. Then, we investigated the real-world implications of selling orientation in a field study (Study 2) with two different samples (Samples A and B) and found that a selling orientation negatively influenced the predictive validity of interviewers’ judgments. Specifically, when selling orientation was low, interviewers’ judgments accurately predicted which applicants would be most (and least) successful as newcomers in the organization (in terms of citizenship, performance, and fit). However, when selling orientation was high, interviewers’ judgments no longer predicted applicant outcomes. Together, these results suggest that making dispositional judgments in interpersonal first meetings is an effortful process that is hindered by focusing on other goals (e.g., selling). We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.

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Constructs (2)

  • Selling Orientation

    MOT_001

    A motivational inclination to attract another person during an interpersonal meeting, directing an individual's cognitions and behavior towards the goal of attracting the other.

    Domains

    MotivationDecision-Making & Judgment

    Selling orientation can vary across interactions and may be driven by dyad-specific and environmental factors.

  • Core Self-Evaluations

    WBS_002

    Fundamental, bottom-line evaluations that people make of themselves, comprising self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability.

    Domains

    Wellbeing & StressPerformance Management

    Core self-evaluations predict a broad range of fit and performance-related criteria at work.

Related

Source profile (V0). This page is a thin scaffold over the factory_documents registry; richer treatment lands once the source is ingested into Vela's editorial corpus.