Has this large number of performance measurement publications contributed to its better understanding? A systematic review for research and applications

Abstract

This paper uses a systematic review to answer two research questions: (1) has this large number of performance measurement systems (PMS) publications contributed to a better understanding of performance measurement? and (2) what would a better understanding of PMS lead us to? This paper found that the field has not evolved substantially for the past 30 years. While various PMS are discussed and proposed, there are many instances of a common ground on what were discussed but in a few instances, there is little to no agreement concerning the activities and characteristics used to describe them, and there is also a great deal of overlap in the meaning of definitions and terms. Nevertheless, the synthesis review revealed that many of the discussions of the fundamental characteristics useful and in certain cases, interesting and insightful. Research gaps were identified and narrowed by synthesising instances of a common ground, and if a common ground is not forthcoming, references to non-PMS articles were made in order to ascertain the ‘true’ meaning of terms, purposes and applications of PMS. This improves our understanding of PMS, and thus we can use the result of the review to conceptualise and present coherent arguments in the pursuance of a good PMS. This research has important implications for both practitioners and academics in the area of performance measurement within an organisation, and shall provide a basis on which ongoing and future research efforts on this field can be built upon.

Keywords:

• performance measurement
• performance measurement system
• organisation

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank the Editor Prof. Alexandre Dolgui as well as the anonymous referees for their constructive feedback that improved this paper.

Notes

1. The abbreviation, PMS is used in the singular and plural contexts.

2. This paper is republished in the same journal in original form in 2005.

3. Accounting, Organisation & Society, Business Process Management Journal, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Productivity & Performance Management (previously, Work Study), Journal of Operations Management, Management Accounting (USA), Management Accounting Research & Measuring Business Excellence.

4. These papers were later consolidated in the 2006 paper on social science measurement, available online.