Learning-oriented climates and sales capability development in B2B markets: how coworker support mediates the path from climate to salesperson competence

Purpose This study aims to examine how learning-oriented organizational climates and perceived support structures relate to salesperson development in complex business-to-business (B2B) sales contexts, distinguishing between satisfaction with development and perceived competence. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from USA-based sales professionals. The study used confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling to test relationships among learning-oriented climate cues, perceived training, supervisory and coworker support, and two developmental outcomes. Internal work constraints were tested as a moderator of the coworker support–competence relationship. Findings Learning-oriented climates were positively associated with perceived support and with satisfaction with development; tolerance for mistakes was also positively associated with perceived competence, whereas openness to new ideas was not. Coworker support was the support source most consistently and significantly related to perceived competence in the full sample. In the context-specific B2B analysis, coworker support emerged as the only significant predictor of perceived competence. All three support sources were positively related to satisfaction with development, whereas perceived competence was driven specifically by coworker support. Internal work constraints significantly moderated the coworker support–competence relationship, but opposite to a substitution account: coworker support mattered more when constraints were low. Research limitations/implications The findings demonstrate that salesperson development is shaped by an integrated system of climate cues and social support rather than sharply differentiated pathways. Coworker-based learning emerges as a particularly salient component of competence formation in complex selling environments. Practical implications Managers should view capability development as embedded in social learning systems supported by learning-oriented climates and multiple support sources, rather than relying solely on formal development structures. Originality/value This study offers a theoretically grounded account of how learning-oriented climates and multisource social support jointly shape evaluative and capability-based development in B2B sales contexts, while highlighting the particular salience of coworker-based learning for competence formation in complex B2B selling.