Andrey Pavlov

Explaining the effects of performance measurement on performance

Purpose – Existing research evaluating the effect of performance measurement (PM) on performance produces conflicting results, indicating that the effect is poorly understood. This paper aims to address this problem by proposing a theoretical model of the effects of PM on performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the PM and MCS literature, extracting the factors that help to explain the effect of PM on performance. Then it applies the organizational routines perspective as an analytical lens to tie these factors into a coherent explanatory model.Findings – A theoretical model shows that PM has three distinct effects on the organizational processes that deliver performance – the trigger, guidance, and intensification effects.Originality/value – The paper employs the organizational routines perspective, moving beyond the description of the effects of PM on performance to offer a theoretical model explaining these effects. As such, it responds to a number of contemporary challenges in the P...

Generating organisational performance

Purpose – This paper aims to advance the current debates on the effect of performance measurement (PM) in the operations management domain. In order to accomplish that, it investigates the contribution of business PM and human resource management (HRM) practices to business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on ten case studies conducted across both manufacturing and service organisations capturing evidence from both the human resource function and line management. Findings – In the PM and HRM literatures, there is a debate about the contribution these practices make to the overall performance of the organisation. In particular, the results from the PM literature are inconclusive. This paper argues that performance is a result of employee engagement and that the PM system is a communication and guiding mechanism, which if implemented well and used appropriately, can channel the efforts of employees striving to perform. Originality/value – This paper contradicts the performance d...

Reviewing performance: an analysis of the structure and functions of performance management reviews

This article proposes an analytical framework for conceptualising performance management reviews (PMRs). Drawing on multiple literatures, the article applies Pettigrew et al.s (Pettigrew, A., Whipp R., and Rosenfield R., 1989. Competitiveness and the management of strategic change processes. In: A. Francis, and P.K.M. Tharakan, eds. The competitiveness of European industry: country policies and company strategies. London: Routledge) framework to develop our understanding of the context, process and content of PMR. The process elements of PMRs are the levers for managerial intervention as they determine the immediate outcome of PMR. They accomplish this task by acting on the content elements, transforming the subject of PMR into specific outcomes. The scope of the intervention, however, is constrained by factors in the organisations context. This framework sheds light on various functions of PMRs, most notably strategy implementation.

Modelling the impact of performance management practices on firm performance: interaction with human resource management practices

Abstract The paper draws on resource orchestration theory to investigate whether and how performance management (PM) practices interact with human resource management (HRM) practices in organisations as well as how this interaction affects firm performance. The proposed theoretical model was tested through a survey of 192 UK firms using Partial Least Squares approach for structural equations modelling. The findings show that the effect of PM practices on firm performance is better explained when the interaction between these practices and other organisational practices is considered. In particular, we examine the extent to which the interaction between PM practices and commitment-based HRM practices affects performance. We find that when HRM practices and PM practices are misaligned, their effect on performance can be negative. This is the first paper in the PM literature that establishes the relationship between PM and HRM practices in organisations and demonstrates the effect of this relationship on firm performance.

Responding to Contemporary Challenges in Performance Management: Measuring Organizational Routines

As the field of performance management (PM) progresses, the focus of the debates shifts from the design of performance management frameworks to the issues that become relevant at the stages of implementation and use, namely, the necessity to understand PM systems as a part of the organization and manage performance of complex organizational processes. New perspectives are needed to address these issues. We argue that adopting the organizational routines view and treating organizational processes as routines adds conceptual depth and practical utility to the discussion of these questions. By identifying the available measurable characteristics of routines, mapping the corresponding measures and proposing tentative classification, we make a step towards responding to the modern challenges in the PM field, providing a way of understanding the nature and characteristics of complex yet fundamental organizational processes, through which PM tasks can be accomplished.

Performance measurement and management : a system of systems perspective

Despite changes in tools and practices, the conceptual foundations of performance measurement and management (PMM) are still predominantly rooted in control systems research. While PMM approaches have delivered significant organisational benefits, including creating alignment, supporting monitoring and control, and enabling prediction and optimisation of resource allocation, this paper argues that this paradigm is not capable of responding to increasingly complex and highly uncertain organisational environments. Drawing on ideas emerging in the literature on systems engineering and complex systems, we propose a novel perspective that considers PMM from a ‘system of systems’ (SoS) point of view, whose essential characteristics are autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity and emergence. After identifying the assumptions underpinning existing PMM approaches, we outline a SoS-based paradigm to PMM and conclude by articulating the main implications for the practice of PMM and setting out a research agenda.

Performance management practices in lean manufacturing organizations: a systematic review of research evidence

Abstract This paper provides the first systematic look into the existing research on performance management (PM) practices employed in lean manufacturing organisations (LMOs). It adopts a systematic review method to examine the evidence generated in the period 2004 – 2015 and uses a comprehensive PM framework to synthesise the findings. The results suggest that PM practices that have the most prominent role in LMOs are those that, firstly, are located closest to front-line actions and, secondly, explicitly address operational realities. This calls into question the primacy of accounting-driven controls in LMOs, suggesting that operational controls may be more effective than top-down accounting-based PM practices. The results also confirm the bias towards operational-level issues but suggest that LMOs may integrate the operational and the strategic levels by using PM practices that drive organisational learning through employee involvement and engagement.

The use of management control and performance measurement systems in SMEs: A levers of control perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to respond to recent calls for understanding how multiple management control (MC) and performance measurement (PM) systems are used simultaneously for managing performance, particularly in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach Data are collected during an in-depth case study of MC and PM and management practices in a Dutch SME using multiple data sources and elicitation methods, including interviews and participant observations. Findings This study identifies managerial practices that enable the interplay of the four control systems – beliefs, boundaries, diagnostic and interactive – helping the organization manage organizational tensions in relation to short- and long-term focus, predictable goal achievement and search for new opportunities, internal and external focus, and control and creativity. Research limitations/implications This paper advances the research on integrating multiple aspects of performance management, particularly technical and social. This research is based on a single case study; future qualitative and quantitative studies could explore the interplay between the four control systems in other settings and explore the relationship between control systems and leadership style. Practical implications Managing performance requires active and continuous use of all four control systems. This is particularly salient in SMEs where less formal controls play a key role and where balance needs to be ensured despite the lack of managerial processes and capabilities. Originality/value The findings advance PM and management theory and practice in the context of SMEs.

Micro – Yes! Foundations – No!

This paper offers a critique of the micro-foundations agenda by arguing that excessive attention to macro-level concepts and their origins threatens to derail the true potential of micro-foundations research – the resurgence of the interest in micro-level phenomena. The paper offers a critical analysis of the role that macro-level constructs play in both management theory and practice, questioning the value of such constructs and, by implication, the value of the search for their origins. The paper concludes that the micro-foundations project is better served by moving away from the focus on macro-level constructs and instead looking for theoretical lenses that provide a direct link between observable micro-level phenomena and equally observable organization-level outcomes.

Strategy Practices and the Micro-Foundations of Advantage

Resource-based advantages are ‘built’, not bought, and have typically emerged from complex development processes that are, to a significant degree, ‘unmanaged’. Set against this reality are strategy process prescriptions that encourage managers to adopt deliberate, formal, analytical approaches to deriving strategies. Thus, our understanding of what gives a firm unique advantage seems to be at odds with generic strategy practice prescriptions. To address this paradox, we examine the micro-foundations of advantage, showing that it is processual in nature and that it resists disaggregation that would make it amenable to design-led managerial interventions. We then suggest strategy practices that may be more congruent with the fundamental nature of resource-based advantages. Such practices should enable the firm to continually adapt to the unfolding environment.