Title: An exploratory study on workforce engagement of direct selling independent sales representatives

Authors: Yulong Li; Ying Liao; Jason Li

Addresses: School of Business, College of Organizational, Computational and Information Sciences, Simmons University, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115, USA ' College of Business, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA ' Commonwealth School, 151 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116, USA

Abstract: Based on data from Direct Selling Association's 2018 National Salesforce Survey, this study explores the conceptual structure of workforce engagement among direct selling independent sales representatives and its impact on work experience and job performance. Our statistical analyses revealed three conceptual dimensions of engagement among direct selling independent sales representatives, namely: emotional attachment with upline sponsors, meeting operational needs by the company and feeling belongingness to the company. We have also found that those who were millennials, perceived direct selling as a serious career path, and felt engaged would have better work experiences. In terms of job performances, highly engaged independent sales representatives appeared to hold more sales parties, but did not seem to achieve higher sales revenue or net profit per party.

Keywords: workforce engagement; work experience; job performance; direct selling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLEG.2020.114797

International Journal of Logistics Economics and Globalisation, 2020 Vol.8 No.4, pp.331 - 353

Received: 20 May 2020
Accepted: 30 Aug 2020
Published online: 06 May 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article