What is performance measurement for? Multiple uses of performance information within organizations
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Author | Pietro Micheli,Andrey Pavlov |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12382 |
SYMPOSIUM ARTICLE
What is performance measurement for? Multiple
uses of performance information within
organizations
Pietro Micheli
1
|Andrey Pavlov
2
1
Warwick Business, School, University of
Warwick, Coventry, UK
2
Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield
University, Cranfield, UK
Correspondence
Pietro Micheli, Warwick Business, School,
University of Warwick, Scarman Road,
Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Email: pietro.micheli@wbs.ac.uk
Recent research in performance measurement has focused on
the tension between two uses of performance information: ‘pas-
sive’, to ensure compliance, and ‘purposeful’, to improve services.
This article presents an in-depth study of two public sector orga-
nizations in England and shows that the main tension may actu-
ally lie between a combined purposeful and passive use, and an
exclusively passive one. This tension was most pronounced
between organizational levels, where a combined use was domi-
nant among senior managers, and an exclusively passive one was
prevalent among middle managers and frontline staff. This split
was not intentional—instead, it reflected how people interpreted
the role of performance measurement, suggesting that simply
promoting greater use of information may not be sufficient for
linking measurement with service improvement. This study
extends the theoretical understanding of the dynamics of perfor-
mance information use in organizations and generates implica-
tions for using performance measurement to improve service
delivery.
1|INTRODUCTION
Over the past three decades, governments have made substantial investments to design and implement perfor-
mance measurement systems at both national and local levels (Bevan and Hood 2006; Moynihan and Kroll 2016).
The concept of performance has permeated public sector reforms (Van Dooren et al. 2010), and the use of mea-
surement systems is becoming ubiquitous around the world (Johnston and Pongatichat 2008; Arnaboldi et al. 2015;
Li 2015).
Recent research has identified the use of performance information as a critical factor in explaining the effective-
ness of performance measurement programmes (Taylor 2011a; Lavertu and Moynihan 2013). Indeed, the use of
performance information has been regarded as the ultimate test of performance reforms, assuming that public offi-
cials will make better decisions through the regular use of such information (Taylor 2009).
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12382
Public Administration. 2020;98:29–45.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd29
While significant effort has been devoted to explaining the extent and drivers of performance information use,
a number of studies have found that organizations utilize performance information in different ways (Moynihan
et al. 2011). For example, the typology of performance information uses adopted in most recent empirical studies
(see, e.g., Kroll and Vogel 2014; Moynihan and Kroll 2016) identifies several kinds, the two attracting the most
attention being ‘passive’, which refers to employees’use of performance information mainly to report and comply,
and ‘purposeful’, which indicates the use of information with the main aim of improving performance
(Moynihan 2009).
While these are ideal types and organizations may be expected to use information in multiple ways, little is
known about how different uses are introduced and how they relate to each other. Several scholars have investi-
gated the antecedents of performance information use, specifically of a ‘purposeful’kind, and policy-makers have
attempted to strengthen the link between performance information use and service improvement (Kroll and Vogel
2014). However, there still remains evidence that ‘agencies use performance indicators more for meeting external
reporting requirements than for achieving internal improvements’(Taylor 2011a, p. 860), suggesting that simply pro-
moting the use of performance information may not lead to service improvement.
This research sets out to explore the interplay of passive and purposeful uses in organizations. It examines the
uses of performance information in two organizations in England—a local authority and a fire authority—in a period
when performance measurement was regarded as a key means to improve performance (Bevan and Hood 2006;
Döring et al. 2015). Moreover, senior management devoted substantial efforts to promoting a purposeful use within
both organizations (Moynihan et al. 2012). More specifically, this research is guided by the following questions: how
do passive and purposeful uses interact? And what implications does this interaction have for the overall aim of
using performance information to improve services?
This article generates four main findings. First, tensions were identified not between separate uses
(i.e., purposeful vs. passive), but between a combined purposeful and passive use on one hand, and an exclusively
passive use on the other. Second, these tensions were most pronounced between hierarchical roles. Senior man-
agers tended to use performance information in a combined way, whereas frontline employees utilized it mainly for
reporting and compliance. Third, the decoupling between combined and exclusively passive use appeared to be nei-
ther strategic nor intentional, but principally the consequence of divergent interpretations of the goals and purposes
of performance measurement. Such diversity in interpretations contributes to explaining the lack of use of perfor-
mance information by frontline staff to achieving service improvement. Finally, the results indicate that differences
in use are distinct and persistent. This suggests that, on its own, an emphasis on performance measurement and on
greater use of information is unlikely to lead to the desired kind of use. Instead, getting the frontline staff to see
beyond the passive use may require efforts to help them reconsider assumptions and reinterpret the role of perfor-
mance information.
2|MEASURING AND MANAGING PERFORMANCE
In principle, a performance measurement system should perform the double function of an information acquisition
and an information representation system (Mari 2007). Therefore, such a system should provide accurate, complete
and trustworthy performance information, which could support decision-making processes and actions, thus helping
organizations manage and improve their performance (Micheli and Mari 2014).
This rational approach to monitoring and improving government performance has driven various reforms in
Western European countries (see, e.g., Van Dooren et al. 2010; Arnaboldi et al. 2015), retaining its appeal in specific
sectors such as education (Teelken 2015; Destler 2017) and expanding its reach to other regions of the world
(Cheung 2011; Li 2015; Ma 2016). However, it has been repeatedly shown that simply introducing and refining
measurement systems does not contribute directly to performance improvement (Taylor 2009; Gerrish 2016). Thus,
empirical studies have increasingly questioned the link between the production and use of performance information.
30 MICHELI AND PAVLOV
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