Aki Jääskeläinen

Public service productivity: how to capture outputs?

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the micro‐level (managerial) measurement of service productivity in the context of public services, in particular, the role of different output elements.Design/methodology/approach – Current knowledge on the issue is summarised based on the existing literature on service productivity and public sector performance. Measurement challenges and potential solutions are studied in four different services of the city of Helsinki, Finland.Findings – The case study demonstrates that complex service outputs can be divided into components (both tangible and intangible) that can be utilised in designing more sophisticated productivity measures. The findings add to the existing understanding about issues related to public service output definition.Research limitations/implications – This study provides knowledge to support the application of a disaggregated approach to service productivity measurement. However, more research is needed in order to fully utilise this approach in ...

Measuring the productivity impacts of new ways of working

Purpose – “New ways of working” refers to non‐traditional work practices, settings and locations with information and communication technologies (ICT) to supplement or replace traditional ways of working. They are being deployed in knowledge work context in order to increase employees working motivation, job satisfaction and productivity. However, these benefits are not self‐evident. This paper aims to examine the task of measuring the expected benefits.Design/methodology/approach – This paper synthesizes the existing literature on measurement of knowledge work productivity and identifies some key prerequisites and restrictions that should be taken into account when measuring the impacts of organizational change.Findings – The paper proposes a measurement approach for evaluating the impacts of a new ways of working initiative in a knowledge work context.Originality/value – Previous literature has focused on studying whether facilities and ICT solutions are appropriate from the viewpoint of an individual k...

Designing operative productivity measures in public services

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to find out how the productivity of public services can be measured in the operative level of organisations. In particular, the role of different output elements (tangible and intangible) is examined.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach is used. The current knowledge of the issue is presented by examining literature on public service productivity, intellectual capital and performance measurement. In the empirical part, the findings of the literature review are applied and further examined in the context of two services of the City of Helsinki, Finland.Findings – The paper identifies tangible and intangible output factors in two case services. It also illustrates how the factors can be measured in practice. The empirical examination suggests that the challenges in the operative level productivity measurement relate especially to defining measures. Identifying of different output factors is an easier task.Research limitations/implications – The stu...

Overcoming challenges in the implementation of performance measurement

Purpose – The paper aims to evaluate factors affecting the success of the measurement system implementation in the context of two case services with a specific measurement object – productivity.Design/methodology/approach – Interviews with the users of new measurement systems are used to obtain information on the role of known technical and organizational success factors supporting measurement system implementation.Findings – Two key factors were found to affect the success of the measurement system development project. First, the commitment of the operative level was achieved. Second, the chosen measurement tool was suitable for the identified managerial requirements of the organization.Research limitations/implications – In order to improve external validity, it would be useful to assess the implementation of measurement systems with a similar approach in different organizations. Could the positive results described in this study be replicated?Practical implications – The practical implications of this ...

A contingency approach to performance measurement in service operations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the contingency factors affecting performance measurement in the service context. The paper aims to review the literature on performance measurement and synthesize it to a framework that creates a basis for analyzing measurement practices in various kinds of service contexts.Design/methodology/approach – In order to obtain a fresh update to the existing knowledge on the topic, a systematic literature review was carried out. Around 8,000 articles published between 2005 and 2011 were reviewed and as a result 80 papers were chosen for a more detailed examination.Findings – The paper applies a fresh approach to performance measurement in services, increasing generalizability of case study findings. By analyzing a large set of studies, the study identifies contextual factors that affect performance measurement in service operations. The resulting framework acts as a foundation for further research on performance measurement in services.Practical implication...

Distinctive features of service performance measurement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the distinctive features of service performance measurement. It also provides an overview of current status of performance measurement in three service sectors in Finland. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on two complementary empirical studies. In the first study, data were gathered through individual interviews in Finnish service organizations. In the second study, group interviews were held in order to enhance the understanding. The service sectors studied are knowledge-intensive, public and industrial services. There are two main units of analysis in the data set: an organization and service operations. Findings – The results show that the specific performance measurement characteristics are more apparent at service operations level. The findings reveal three distinctive features of service performance measurement. First, the contingency perspective stresses a need to consider the characteristics of different service contexts. Second, custom...

Measuring performance of a service system – from organizations to customer-perceived performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of the networked and open nature of the service business on performance measurement. The literature has acknowledged that the value of service is increasingly produced by service systems, but solutions for measuring the performance of a service system are still lacking. Design/methodology/approach – The paper constructs a conceptual framework for capturing performance of a service system by combining ideas from the service management and performance measurement literatures. This framework is then applied in two service systems, one from the public sector and one from the private sector. Two different service systems provide complementary views on the phenomenon of service system performance and call for distinctive measurement solutions. In both cases, interviews, series of workshops and an analysis of documentation of the prevailing measurement systems were conducted when applying the framework. Findings – The results indicate that th...

Overcoming the specific performance measurement challenges of knowledge‐intensive organizations

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify practical ways to overcome the specific performance measurement challenges of knowledge-intensive organizations. By reviewing performance measurement, service management and human resources management literature the paper recognizes two aspects that are crucial for the success of knowledge-intensive organizations: the performance and well-being of individual knowledge workers and the ability to provide value for the customer. The authors evaluate three measurement solutions for measuring these aspects, in three empirical settings. Design/methodology/approach - Qualitative case approach, carried out as an action research, is used with empirical data obtained through interviews, workshops and analysis of documentation related to measurement systems. The empirical study consists of three case studies where two main phases were carried out: investigating the status of existing measurement practices; and development and evaluation of new measurement approaches and tools. Findings - The results of the evaluation of proposed measurement approaches provide understanding of their potential in different workplaces. Eventually, this potentially supports the managers of knowledge-intensive organizations in developing not only the measurement practices but also the overall performance of their organizations. Originality/value - As the key academic contribution, the study provides new understanding on the potential of selected measurement approaches in overcoming the specific performance measurement challenges in knowledge-intensive organizations. The results take into account the perspectives of an individual knowledge worker, a customer and an organization as a whole. In many previous studies, the main focus has been solely on the organizational perspective.

SmartWoW – constructing a tool for knowledge work performance analysis

Purpose - – New Ways of Working (NewWoW) refers to a novel approach for improving the performance of knowledge work. The purpose of this paper is to seek innovative solutions concerning facilities, information technology tools and work practices in order to be able to “work smarter, not harder.” In order to develop work practices toward the NewWoW mode there is a need for an analytical management tool that would help assess the status of the organization’s current work practices and demonstrate the impacts of development initiatives. This paper introduces such a tool. Design/methodology/approach - – Constructive research approach was chosen to guide the development of the Smart ways of working (SmartWoW) tool. The tool was designed on the basis of previous knowledge work performance literature as well as on interviews in two knowledge-intensive organizations. The usefulness of the tool was verified by applying it in four organizations. Findings - – SmartWoW is a compact questionnaire tool for analyzing and measuring knowledge work at the individual level. The questionnaire consists of four areas: work environment, personal work practices, well-being at work and productivity. As SmartWoW is a standardized tool its results are comparable between organizations. Research limitations/implications - – SmartWoW was designed a pragmatic managerial tool. It is considered possible that it can be valuable as a research instrument as well but the current limited amount of collected data does not yet facilitate determining its usefulness from that perspective. Originality/value - – This paper makes a contribution to the existing literature on knowledge work measurement and management by introducing an analytical tool which takes into account the NewWoW perspective.

A strategy framework for performance measurement in the public sector

This paper looks at a little-studied question: what are the strategic choices behind the selection and implementation of performance measurement practices in public sector entities? The paper presents a new strategy framework which provides a structured approach to the many options available for measuring performance effectively. The framework is primarily intended for large public sector organizations, such as municipalities, but will also be useful in smaller entities.