Sales managers negatively affected by AI

While artificial intelligence (AI) can be a benefit in many circumstances, a new study from an ECU College of Business professor shows it can have negative impacts on sales managers.

Dr. Michael Rodriguez, director of the Twilley Sales Academy, and Dr. Ricky Ferguson, Assistant Professor at of Middle Tennessee State Univeristy unveiled the research at the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) annual conference last month in Las Vegas, Nevada. The research examines how AI adoption pressures are reshaping the stress, performance and leadership dynamics of today’s sales managers.

According to Rodriguez, past research has focused heavily on front-line sales professionals. This new study highlights a critical gap – how AI expectations and implementation pressures uniquely affect sales managers, who must serve as both leaders and technology change agents.

“Sales managers sit at the intersection of strategy, leadership and execution,” said Rodriguez. “AI introduces both opportunity and strain, fundamentally changing how managers lead, coach and support their teams.”

The early findings suggest that AI adoption pressure significantly increases managerial stress and that this pressure negatively impacts decision making, ethical leadership and overall performance. Rodriguez said that organizational support plays a crucial moderating role. He added they found that heightened stress ultimately diminishes performance.

Rodriguez said preliminary  insights provide an important foundation for understanding the human side of AI transformation in sales organizations. The study highlights the urgent need for leadership training, AI skills development and supportive organizational cultures that can reduce stress and enable effective AI adoption at the managerial level.

“With AI accelerating faster than ever, organizations must ensure their sales managers are not just equipped technologically — but emotionally and professionally supported,” noted Ferguson. “This research provides the road map for doing exactly that.”

Rodriguez said the SMA was founded to promote excellence in marketing education and research and is a leading forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and impactful scholarship. Its annual conference draws marketing leaders from universities, businesses and government agencies committed to the advancement of marketing knowledge and practice. This year’s conference provided a timely platform for introducing research that addresses one of the most significant transformations impacting sales organizations: the rapid integration of AI.