Situational and Dispositional Predictors of Performance: A Test of the Hypothesized Machiavellianism Structure Interaction Among Sales Persons¹

Abstract

The hypothesized interaction found in laboratory studies between situational structure and Machiavellianism was tested on working samples of sales representatives. The results suggested that success or failure of Machiavellian tactics used in sales organizations appears to depend on the organization's structure: In loosely structured sales organizations high Machiavellians significantly outperformed low Machiavellians, but in tightly structured sales organizations, high Machiavellians failed to outperform low Machiavellians. These results and implications for future research are discussed.