Bouncing Back After Failure

Sales is a profession in which one must not be a stranger to failure. Being a successful agent depends, in part, upon the ability to respond effectively to failure. How agents interpret failure (i.e., the attributions they make for failure) drives their expectations for future success, which in turn influences what they do (e.g., work harder, change strategy). A specific attribution for failure often leads to different responses across agents which suggests other variables beyond the experience of the agent influences the attribution-behavior link. Research in other fields indicates that individual differences influence behaviors after success and failure, which suggests that personality may play a role in agents ’ responses to success and failure. This research demonstrates the influence of individual differences on how an agent interprets a sales call and shapes the relationship between attributions for failure and the behaviors that follow. Our findings reveal that optimism and self-efficacy are important influences on how agents respond to unsuccessful sales exchanges. Attribution Theory and Behavioral Intentions When individuals fail, they attempt to identify explanations for unexpected events (Heider 1958). To understand such sense-making behavior, researchers turn to attribution theory, which suggests that 1) individuals attempt to determine causes of both their own and others ’ behavior, 2) causal explanations are assigned in some systematic manner using individual rules or perspectives, and 3) ascribed causes will influence subsequent behavior. Research supports that agents make attributions when they fail (Downey, Chacko, and McElroy 1979) and that these attributions influence agents ’ subsequent behavior (Dixon, Spiro, and Forbes 2003; Dixon, Spiro, and Jamil 2001). However, further research suggests that the attributions an agent makes in response to failure does not lead to a specific behavior, but may lead to multiple behaviors (Dixon, Spiro