Sales Force Motivation and Outcome- or Behavior-Based Controls–Abstract

Abstract

One major objective of a sales force control system is to provide salespersons with the motivation to perform at the highest possible level. Consequently, it is reasonable to expect that important characteristics of the control system selected by management should influence salespersons’ motivation processes, as well as their motivation levels to perform various selling tasks (Stathakopoulos 1996). For instance, such control system characteristics as whether controls are exerted on outcome- or behavior-based (Anderson and Oliver 1987), and/or on quantitative or qualitative elements (Jackson, Keith, and Schlacter 1983) can be expected to have a strong impact on sales force motivation processes.