Examining the effects of B2B sales leadership styles on employee engagement

Abstract

Employees are the most valuable asset a company can have, as their work contributes to the results of any business. A highly motivated and comitted workforce is a key factor in the success of any organisation. Leadership, as well as leadership style, is an important factor in the engagement of employees. In business-to-business (B2B) sales in particular, leadership has an impact on the sales team. Sales managers who use a certain leadership style are affecting the engagement of their team in one way or another. As there is a gap in the existing literature on sales leadership styles and employee engagement, this Master´s thesis investigates how different styles of leading a sales team affect the engagement of salespeople. The research question underpins this and sheds light on the impact of a particular leadership style on employee engagement of B2B sales teams. In order to narrow down the leadership styles, the full range of leadership model was used, which includes transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership. In order to answer the research question, a qualitative approach for the methodology of this master thesis has been chosen, namely in-depth interviews with experts. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and May 2024. The interviews were held with ten sellers from four Upper Austrian B2B companies belonging to different industries. Two to three salespeople from the same team were interviewed about their manager for comparison. In order to derive meaningful insights from the data, the summarizing qualitative content analysis according to Philipp Mayring was applied. Firstly, it can be said that the leadership style has an impact on the engagement of B2B salespeople. Sales managers who take a laissez-faire leadership approach offer their sellers a lot of freedom and flexibility which highly motivates them. By having the right team and the trust from the manager, salespeople show a higher commitment towards their workplace. In addition, by applying transformational leadership characteristics, such as providing a clear vision, values and targets, can further enhance engagement. It also helps if the respective manager is acting as a role model. A lack of trust, constant monitoring and the use of micromanagement, on the other hand, have a negative impact on the engagement of B2B salespeople, as highlighted by the experts. Moreover, it is crucial to adapt the leadership style to the individual. People are human beings and have different needs, some need more transactional leadership, others more transformational or laissez-faire. It always depends on the person and their preferences. The results of the thesis cannot be generalized and require further investigation. Finally, the study concludes by providing areas for further research as B2B sales leadership styles and employee engagement will continue to play a key role in the future.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Robert Füreder (Supervisor)