Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to identify the strategic dimensions of sales force compensation in distribution companies. In this regard, three research questions have been answered: What are the appropriate strategies for employee compensation? What are the strategic dimensions of sales force compensation? What is the status of the study population regarding compensation? The study population consisted of sales managers in oil products distribution companies, academic professors in the field of marketing and sales at expert judgment department, 120 sales force and managers working in 20 oil products distribution companies. For statistical analysis, the Delphi method, analysis of means, binomial test and Friedman test were used. The results have shown that initially 16 strategies out of 40 proposed strategic reference points and then 17 approved strategic reference points in the sales force compensation section can be derived among which the following strategy held the top rating, “sales force compensation for services should be based on motivating factors in order to improve the competitive environment among employees and improve their sales performance”. Moreover, in terms of compensation strategy, the appropriateness of compensation for incentive service of sales force in the studied companies was at a favorite level.
Highlights
A proper strategic system in the context of compensation can create a competitive advantage for the organization; nowadays organizations are facing various issues due to the lack of a fair and integrated compensation system (Redmond and Wilkinson, 2009)
The results of current research which was focused on identification of compensation strategies in sales sector indicate that: Since the sales force and managers of distribution companies in the study believed that the first strategic reference point, i.e. “believing that compensation and rewarding practices in different sectors such as sales sector, communications department, financial department, etc.”, must vary to a large extent; the first compensation strategy in the sales sector of studied companies is as follows:
Since the sales force and managers of distribution companies in the study responded to the forth strategic reference point, i.e. “whether the company should consider a link between the efforts of sales force and compensation, or should it only provide base salary and typical rewards?”, with a moderately good average (3.9 out of 5); the forth compensation strategy in the sales sector of studied companies is as follows:
Summary
A proper strategic system in the context of compensation can create a competitive advantage for the organization; nowadays organizations are facing various issues due to the lack of a fair and integrated compensation system (Redmond and Wilkinson, 2009). The compensation subsystem as one of the main HR management subsystems in these companies requires the strategic planning of sales forces through coordination among different sectors of compensation such as the design of salary systems, reward systems, Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol [3, 112-140], February 2020 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com classification and evaluation of jobs, etc., in order to provide appropriate strategic lines to design each of these sectors coordinately. Studies have shown that due to a high gap between the incomes of line and force workers and the lack of a proper strategy in wages and salaries payment system, sale-oriented companies face problems such as a lack of incentive and commitment of sales force toward the organization This issue itself results from the lack of or inadequate HR management attention to identify the strengths and weaknesses of compensation systems
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
