The Effect of Monetary Incentives on Employee Engagement in Fairtrade Horticultural Firms in Kenya

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of monetary incentives on employee engagement in Fairtrade horticultural firms in Kenya. Methodology: Grounded in Expectancy Theory, the research adopted a pragmatist philosophy and employed a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The unit of analysis comprised 41 Fairtrade horticultural firms, with 5,600 employees as the unit of observation. A sample of 373 respondents was drawn from lower, middle, and top‑level management using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Primary data were collected through questionnaires, and both descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26. Linear regression analysis at a 5% significance level was applied to test the relationship between monetary incentives and employee engagement.‑sectional descriptive survey design Findings: The findings indicated that monetary incentives have a positive and significant effect on employee engagement in Fairtrade horticultural firms in Kenya. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: From the results, the study recommended the need for horticultural firm to strengthen their monetary incentives aspects. In particular, the firms should develop better monetary incentives since they offer an incentive for personnel training and development which enhances efficiency within the firm.