The Mediating Role of Ambidextrous Salespeople in the Relationship between Stress and Performance

Abstract In this paper we suggest that an employee's ambidexterity mediates the negative effect of job stress on sales performance. The traditional literature posits ambidexterity as mediator in the context of product development, strategic flexibility and dynamic nature of the environment. We extend the ambidexterity literature by positing it as a mediator in the relationship between stress and sales performance. A survey was developed with 307 frontline bank employees who sell products and services and manage client accounts in banks. The findings showed that the ability of the salespeople to balance provision activities with sales services activities improves ambidexterity, which in turn has a positive impact on performance. The results also showed that the negative effect of perception of role ambiguity about performance measurement (work satisfaction and sales) is mediated by a salesperson's ambidextrous behavior.