Unpacking the black box of salesperson entrepreneurial behavior: the role of family motivation

Purpose The objective of this research is to uncover the impact of family motivation on the process of salesperson entrepreneurial behavior (i.e. opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation). Design/methodology/approach A sample of two-wave and time-lagged data from 280 salespeople was collected and analyzed using nested-structured models. Findings The results show that family motivation positively affects salesperson opportunity recognition but negatively moderates the relationship between salesperson opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation. Moreover, the negative moderating effect is stronger for female salespeople than male ones. Research limitations/implications The study shows that opportunity recognition does not significantly affect opportunity exploitation. Future studies can examine mediators underlying the relationship as well as other moderating variables to further uncover the opportunity recognition – opportunity exploitation relationship. Practical implications The study provides managers with a better understanding of the role of family motivation in driving salesperson entrepreneurial behavior. Originality/value The study makes a theoretical contribution by introducing family motivation as one type of motivation to the sales management literature, showing that family motivation helps salespeople identify opportunities but prevents them from exploiting the identified opportunities.