Other reasons for the importance of compensation and incentive systems can be enumerated. Nevertheless, the fact remains that compensation and incentive systems are among the most under-researched areas in HR. This issue of HRMR seeks to begin correcting this neglect. Of course, a single journal issue cannot do this alone, but we hope that this is the beginning of a spate of good compensation thinking and research. We also hope that better thinking and better evidence will, ultimately, enable payroll expenses to be targeted better to achieve the recruitment, selection, and retention of a highly-motivated, high-performing work force. These, after all, are the espoused goals of compensation systems.