Sales Force Compensation: Trends and Research Opportunities

Altogether, when designing sales force compensation, decision makers are faced with a complex issue involving many variables, some of which are unobservable, interdependent, or uncertain. Moreover, compensation is often viewed as salespeople's primary motivator and in many corporations, it is the dominant sales expense. The objective of this monograph is to review the many insights provided by empirical research to date, some of which are just emerging in the marketing literature. We first discuss how plans should be designed according to the dominant research stream and contrast research findings with actual sales force compensation policies. Then, we highlight topics related to sales force compensation that are notably under-researched and show how taking them into account will enrich knowledge on compensation. Finally, we conclude with future trends in sales force compensation.