Business software firm SAP has launched a €300 million incentive plan to motivate staff to double the company's market capitalisation by 2010.
The German software maker said today that it would pay up to €100 million to executives, €100 million to senior managers and another €100 million to other key staff if they could raise SAP's market capitalisation to €90 billion by then.
"We have very ambitious goals. But we have a unique chance to accomplish even more for the company," SAP co-founder and supervisory board chairman Hasso Plattner told the company's annual shareholder meeting.
SAP's current market capitalisation is already twice what it was three years ago, and the shares have gained nearly 40 per cent in the last 12 months alone as it grabs more market share with software that can knit together all sorts of systems.
SAP also aims to increase the market it can address to €70 billion by 2010 from €30 billion now by selling more software to smaller firms, as well as the large enterprises that form its traditional customer base.
"To make this happen requires an extraordinary performance from management," Plattner said.
Executive bonuses at other German companies have come in for criticism from unions, who have accused management of failing to share profits.
The SAP bonuses announced will be paid if the company achieves the targeted market capitalisation increase and also outperforms the Goldman Sachs technology index.