l toward compensation systems may also be expected to differ according to their perceptions of the organization. In this context, too, it is important for sales managers to know how perceptions of the organization and attitudes toward compensation systems may be expected to interact. Additionally, traditional industry practices tend to influence the type of compensation system employed for sales personnel. Because tradition has led to the adoption of a particular approach to the compensation of sales personnel within an organization, however, does not mean necessarily that the approach is the one favored by a firm's sales force. Thus, it is also important for sales managers to know how industry category may be expected to affect the attitudes of sales persons toward different compensation systems.
In the investigation of compensation for sales personnel, the research performed for this study was limited to a consideration of two primary approaches to compensation commission pay and salary plus bonus pay. Within the context of both the research problem stated in the preceding section and the delimitation of the problem in the context of compensation systems considered in this study, the research questions investigated through the conduct of this study were stated as follows:
1. Is the attitude of sales personnel concerning commission versus salary plus bonus compensation affected by the status of the industry in which they function (professional, manufacturing, or retail)?
2. Is the attitude of sales personnel concerning commission versus salary plus bonus compensation affected by demographic factors (age, family status, longevity with company)?
3. Is compensation type (commission or salary plus bonus) associated with the level of organizational commitment of sales personnel?
Following this introductory chapter, a review of the literature relevant to the problem investigated is presented in Chapter 2, and the res...