ABSTRACT. This article investigates the effects of
Machiavellianism (MACH) on sales performance.
Results indicate that those who possess high
Machiavellian traits are more productive but received
lower overall managerial ratings. Findings suggest that
Machiavellianism may in certain circumstances, be
somewhat advantageous for long-term sales perfor-
mance.
Several researchers have described the link
between management and Machiavellianism
(MACH) and have developed profiles of such
individuals (Jay, 1967; Buskirk, 1974). Many
believe that salespeople who succeed have a
certain level of Machiavellianism. They suppose
that some degree of aggressiveness and manipu-
lativeness are necessary to close sales and drive
the salesperson (Greenberg and Mayer, 1964;
Willet and Pennington, 1966; Christie and Geis,
1970; Olshavsky, 1973). Does a Machiavellian
personality enhance or hinder sales performance?
The purpose of this research is to determine
which premise is more accurate in adaptive
selling situations. For clarification purposes a
brief review of Machiavellianism and other
factors that contribute to performance are pre-
sented along with our operationalization of sales
performance.
Machiavellianism and other factors
Machiavellianism is defined as “a process by
which the manipulator gets more of some kind
of reward than he would have gotten without
manipulating, while someone else gets less, at
least within the immediate context” (Christie and
Geis, 1970, p. 106). Machiavellianism (MACH),
has been used as a personality trait or dimension
to classify people for several decades (Christie and
Geis, 1970). The core of this personality type can
be explained in terms of manipulative, persuasive
behavior to accomplish personal objectives. A
Machiavellian may also employ aggressive,
exploiting, and devious behavior to achieve
The Paradox of Machiavellianism:
Machiavellianism May Make
for Productive Sales but
James Ricks
Poor Management Reviews
John Fraedrich
Journal of Business Ethics 20: 197–205, 1999.
© 1999
Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
James Ricks is Associate Professor of Marketing at Southeast
Missouri State University. He received his D.B.A. from
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, and
his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin.
His M.A. was earned at Stephen F. Austin State
University. He received a B.S. from The University of
Cincinnati. He holds a degree in Transportation
Management from The College of Advanced Traffic,
Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Ricks has publications with,
Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, and
has published in
Logistics Information Management.
He authored four sections of
Beacham’s Marketing
Reference
and many national and international pro-
ceedings. Areas of interest include: distribution, sales,
ethics, media issues.
John Fraedrich is Associate Professor of Marketing, Southern
Illinois University at – Carbondale. He received his
degrees at Brigham Young (B.S.), and Texas A&M
University (M.S., Ph.D.). His areas of interest include
ethical decision making and international marketing. He
has published in the
Journal of Macromarketing,
Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Academy of
Marketing Science
, Journal of Business Research,
Journal of Marketing Management, International
Journal of Value Based Management, and Journal
of International Consumer Marketing
. Dr. Fraedrich
has also recently completed the second edition of
Ethics:
Ethical Decision Making and Cases
, 1994,
Houghton Mifflin) on the topic of ethics.