Housing Salesperson Performance and the Peer Structure of Competition and Cooperation

This study investigates the effects of the individual characteristics of housing salespeople and the branch characteristics of housing agencies on individual performance. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to provide estimations. The sample included 518 surveys with micro-level observations and 47 surveys with branch-level observations. The empirical results suggest that individual performance varies significantly from branch to branch and is better in branches with higher levels of compensation for individual performance. Individual performance is also better in branches with requirements for hours worked. Under team compensation schemes, individual performance is not significantly better than that of salespeople in branches without team compensation schemes.