The use of incentives in organizations

Purpose - The authors aim to analyze actual practice in industry with respect to the use, choice, and effectiveness of four types of incentives, cash, prepaid cards, travel, and merchandise.Design methodology approach - The paper uses a survey of 170 practicing incentive design managers.Findings - Usage of cash and cards continue to increase but travel and merchandise are still frequently used.Originality value - This will provide useful information to practitioners who design incentive programs.