Cross-National Differences in Performance Reward Preferences — An Introduction -- Employee Motivation and Institutional Frameworks—A Literature Review -- Analyzing Incentives in a Multinational Corporation—From Data to Results -- Retaining and Motivating Employees in Germany and the United States —Hypothesis 1 -- Diminishing Marginal Utility of Performance Rewards—Hypothesis 2 -- An Exploratory Comparison of Performance Reward Preferences in China, Germany, Japan and the USA -- Conclusion and Outlook.

Today's managers are facing challenges that stem from overseeing a workforce in foreign countries. The question arises how to compensate and motivate employees in different countries effectively and efficiently. Based on an empirical study among employees of a multinational corporation (MNC) in Germany and the USA, Marjaana Gunkel shows that the employees in these countries have different preferences regarding incentives and that incentive plans designed for one country are not always effective in others. Money is an important motivator in both countries, but the motivational effects of non-monetary rewards differ greatly. In addition, the author presents an explorative study of employee groups in China and Japan and gives advice for designing appropriate compensation schemes for employees of MNC in different countries.