Research to date has left unanswered the fundamental question of whether successful managers in marketing and sales differ in their characteristics. In addressing this subject, the authors apply the contingency approach to leadership to the context of marketing and sales. By using a unique dyadic data set consisting of 63 marketing and sales managers along with 191 of their employees, the authors empirically show that managers’ personality traits and leadership styles lead to different outcomes in marketing and sales. Thereby, instrumental traits are preferable in sales, whereas expressive traits are more beneficial in marketing. Furthermore, a transformational leadership style is more advantageous in sales, whereas a transactional leadership style is more valuable in marketing. These results indicate that when staffing and training for marketing and sales manager positions, firms should consider the effect of specific manager characteristics on their employees. Moreover, managers in marketing and sales should be aware of the effect their leadership style has on the employees.
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