Ambiguity in performance management systems of complex multi-stakeholder organisations

Abstract

This study undertakes an in-depth and rigorous exploration and explanation of the sources and implications of ambiguity in performance measurement systems and performance management practices (PMM) systems of complex multi-stakeholder organisations. In doing so, it contributes to the literature on performance measurement theories. The study is undertaken in the form of a fine-grained, inductive case study with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) of the National Health Service of England. Data are obtained from multiple exploratory interviews with CAMHS stakeholders. The study surfaces factors that create ambiguities in the PMM practices of complex multi-stakeholder organisations, which interact in complex ways, raising questions over the value of PMM systems and practices. The originality of the paper is threefold. First, it opens a new area of debate in relation to performance measurement in complex multi-stakeholder organisations. Second, the findings demonstrate the complex interrelationships between the sources and manifestations of ambiguity advance the knowledge of PMM systems and implications in such organisations. Third, the findings reveal that the nature of complex multi-stakeholder organisations suppresses open, participative and inclusive social controls.

Keywords:

• Performance measurement
• complex multi-stakeholder organisations
• ambiguity
• organisational control

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Udechukwu Ojiako

Udechukwu (Udi) Ojiako is Professor of Engineering Management at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He currently serves as an Associate Editor of Production Planning & Control. He is also Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Business, Law and Politics, University of Hull. He has held prior academic positions in the UK, South Africa and now the United Arab Emirates. Udi holds a PhD in Project Management obtained from the University of Northumbria, and a PhD in Business obtained from University of Hull. He has recently completed a third PhD in Law, from Aberystwyth University. His articles have been accepted and published in journals such as International Journal of Project Management, Project Management Journal, Production Planning & Control, ASCE Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution and the Proceedings of the ICE: Management, Procurement & Law.

Umit Bititci

Umit Bititci is the Professor of Business Performance at the Heriot Watt University, School of Management and Languages, Edinburgh. He has a unique blend of industrial and academic experience that spans across 35 years. He has dedicated his career to understanding what makes high-performing companies different. He has worked with an international portfolio of companies and public sector organisations. He has led several international research and development projects with a research portfolio of approximately £20 million. He has published over 200 academic papers and he regularly appears at international conferences and workshops as guest/keynote speaker.

Alasdair Marshall

Alasdair Marshall is currently Associate Professor in Risk Management at Southampton Business School where he joined as a Lecturer in Risk Management in September 2008. Both his MA (Hons) degree and PhD are in Social Science, from the University of Glasgow. Between 2003 and 2008, Alasdair worked at Glasgow Caledonian University, where he contributed to Risk Management teaching within Caledonian Business School and was involved in a broad range of research and consultancy projects within the Cullen Centre for Risk and Governance.

Maxwell Chipulu

Max Chipulu is a Professor in The Business School, Edinburgh Napier University. Previously, he was associate professor of business analytics and head of teaching of the Department of Decision, Analytics and Risk at the University of Southampton, and thematic cluster pathway coordinator for the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. He had earlier served as a senior lecturer in operational research at the University of Hertfordshire. Max earned an ESRC-funded PhD in Management Sciences and Statistics, an MSc in Management Sciences and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering, all from the University of Southampton. His articles have been accepted and published in journals such as OR Insight, International Journal of Information Management, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, International Journal of Logistics Management and International Journal of Project Management.

Graham Manville

Graham Manville is an Associate Professor of Strategy at Zayed University, College of Business, United Arab Emirates and a Visiting Academic at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom. He has a PhD from the University of Southampton and is an Academic Fellow of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI). Graham is a multi-awarding winning academic whose cross disciplinary outputs have been published in leading CABS & ABDC journals including: Environment and Planning A and Public Management Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management and Production Planning and Control.

Subha Jayanti Muthalagu

Dr Subha Muthalagu is a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Clinical Leader and Innovator in the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, UK. She has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and two master’s degrees including an MBA from the University of Southampton (Distinction) and a MSc in Healthcare Leadership. In 2016–2018, Subha has led a project that was shortlisted for a prestigious national award in the ‘Innovation Team’ category at the 2018 British Medical Journal (BMJ) Awards, which celebrate excellence and innovations in healthcare that improve outcomes for patients and communities across the country. She is also a Senate Member on the South East England Clinical Senate.

Thomas Farrington

Thomas Farrington is an Assistant Professor at the Edinburgh Business School, within Heriot-Watt University’s School of Social Sciences. Tom has taught at South East European University in Tetovo and at the University of Edinburgh, where he received his PhD, MSc, and MA (Hons). His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Marketing Management, the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, the Journal of the International Council for Small Business, and Tourism Management.