Keywords
Quota Pressure
Workplace Anxiety
Sales Performance
JD-R Model
fsQCA
How to Cite
Abstract
This research investigates the psychological and performance consequences of sales stress and quota pressure among professionals occupying high-intensity sales roles in emerging and developed market contexts. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) and Affective Events (AET) frameworks, we conceptualize sales stress as a chronic demand condition characterized by perceived inequity in performance targets, temporal overload, and client-driven pressure, all of which contribute to workplace anxiety and depressive symptomatology. Using a mixed-methods design integrating structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA), data from 320 quota-driven sales professionals reveal that quota pressure and role ambiguity significantly predict anxiety (β = 0.38, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.32, p < .001). Anxiety and depression mediate the effects of stress on sales performance (β = –0.29, p < .01) and turnover intention (β = 0.34, p < .01). The fs/QCA results uncover equifinal configurations in which high demands combined with low perceived support yield poor outcomes, whereas balanced demands and strong coping resources maintain productivity. These findings extend the JD-R model by incorporating affective and cognitive mediators, offering actionable insight for sales management and occupational-health practitioners.
References
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2023). Job demands–resources theory: Ten years later. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 25–53. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-053933
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Verbeke, W. (2004). Using the job demands–resources model to predict burnout and performance. Human Resource Management, 43(1), 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20004
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Euwema, M. C. (2005). Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10(2), 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.10.2.170
Babakus, E., Cravens, D. W., Johnston, M., & Moncrief, W. C. (1999). The role of emotional exhaustion in sales force attitude and behavior relationships. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27(1), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070399271005
Behrman, D. N., & Perreault, W. D. Jr. (1984). A role stress model of the performance and satisfaction of industrial salespersons. Journal of Marketing, 48(4), 9–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251506
Childs, D. R. N. (2024). Resource gain or resource pain? How managerial social resources influence salesperson burnout and performance. Journal of Business Research, 150, 22–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.01.015
Fiss, P. C. (2011). Building better causal theories: A fuzzy set approach to typologies in organization research. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 393–420. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.60263120
Keller, J., Schneider, C., & Tremblay, R. (2022). Stress appraisals and sales performance: The role of emotion regulation. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 914877. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.914877
Lee, Y. M. (2023). Performance pressure and mental health among finance professionals. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1234. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.01234
Liu, S., Liu, Y., & Li, Z. (2023). Factor structure and measurement invariance of the 8-item CES-D (CES-D-8): Evidence from adolescents. BMC Psychiatry, 23, 630. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05316-4
McCarthy, J. M., Trougakos, J. P., & Cheng, B. H. (2016). Are anxious workers less productive workers? It depends on the quality of social exchange. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(2), 279–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000044
Mobley, W. H. (1977). Intermediate linkages in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(2), 237–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.62.2.237
Peasley, M. C., Hochstein, B., Britton, B. P., Srivastava, R., & Stewart, G. T. (2020). Can’t leave it at home? The effects of personal stress on burnout and salesperson performance. Journal of Business Research, 117, 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.014
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306
Rizzo, J. R., House, R. J., & Lirtzman, S. I. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15(2), 150–163. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391486
Weibel, A., Schweer, M., & Hodgkinson, G. P. (2022). When pressure erodes performance: Neuroscientific foundations of the performance–pressure paradox. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(9), 1641–1658. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000981
Weiss, H. M., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes, and consequences of affective experiences at work. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior (Vol. 18, pp. 1–74). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Cortexplore