Effects of monetary incentives on sales targets : the case of a pharmaceutical company in Johannesburg

M. Tech. Business AdministrationThe findings of the study indicate that monetary incentives motivate the salesforce to achieve sales targets. This was further affirmed by the finding of a significant negative relationship between monetary incentives and reduced performance, in that the presence of monetary incentives was not reducing the performance of the salesforce. In addition, it was found that task complexity plays a role, with difficult tasks rendering the influence non- existent, as they might be unachievable regardless, while no statistically significant relationship was found with easy tasks and monetary incentives. Quarterly incentives, yearly salary increases based on individual performance and commissions were the most common forms of monetary incentives offered to the salesforce by the pharmaceutical company in which the study was conducted