The Evolutionary Path of Performance Measurement and Management in Light of Global Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

In the current business context, it is essential to develop excellent performance measurement and management systems, i.e., a reporting system that provides feedback to employees on the outcome of the actions taken (Bititci, 2015). Achieving a balance between performance measurement and management is the goal of effective performance measurement and management design (Smith and Bititci, 2017).

Before defining this Special Issue’s objectives, it is useful to define the two main concepts: performance measurement and performance management. The literature defines performance measurement as a process composed of activities such as the collection, analysis, and visualization of information aimed at reporting on company performance (Smith and Bititci, 2017). Performance management is a process composed of activities such as dissemination, communication, and improvement of the achieved performance, which is aimed at using measures to manage the performance of organizations (Franco-Santos et al., 2012). For the development of an efficient and effective system, companies should ensure that both performance measurement and management processes are developed, as are the right interactions between the various activities of the two processes. The balance between performance measurement and performance management should establish the basis for designing, implementing, and using a performance measurement and management system (Bititci, 2015). This system reflects the control of the corporate strategy adopted within the organization and provides the information necessary to verify the content and validity of the implemented strategy (Ittner and Larcker, 2003). Furthermore, it should allow performance communication, relationship management, and learning through continuous feedback (Franco-Santos et al., 2012).

Despite the scientific literature investigating these aspects for decades, the current economic, environmental, and social context presents new challenges to be solved in order to support the public, private, and non-profit sectors. An article published in the International Journal of Management Review (Bititci et al., 2012) identified eight major challenges, such as the development of performance measurement and management in collaborative organizations, innovative companies, and international organizations. The recent research outlines the scarce adoption of performance measurement and management systems suitable for new organizational environments characterized by an important technological impact and strong globalization (Jardioui et al., 2019; Sardi et al., 2020, 2021). Although numerous studies investigated this topic, the performance measurement literature needs more contributions to explain how the current highly uncertain, volatile, and ambiguous operating environment is affecting performance measurement and management (Nudurupati et al., 2021) and how organizations should be managed in increasingly complex organizational environments (Bourne et al., 2018; Sardi et al., 2022; Smith and Bititci, 2017).

The overall objective of this call for papers is to improve the current knowledge and identify the current evolutionary path of performance measurement and management. To achieve this goal, we are asking for theoretical and practical contributions on performance measurement and management in order to support the literature and the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.

Bititci, U.S. (2015), Managing Business Performance: The Science and the Art, Wiley Blackwell, Edinburgh, U.K.

Bititci, U.S., Garengo, P., Dörfler, V. and Nudurupati, S. (2012), “Performance Measurement: Challenges for Tomorrow”, International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 305–327.

Bourne, M., Franco-Santos, M., Micheli, P. and Pavlov, A. (2018), “Performance measurement and management : a system of systems perspective”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 56 No. 8, pp. 1–12.

Franco-Santos, M., Lucianetti, L. and Bourne, M. (2012), “Contemporary performance measurement systems: A review of their consequences and a framework for research”, Management Accounting Research, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 79–119.

Ittner, C.D. and Larcker, D.F. (2003), “Coming Up Short on Nonfinancial Performance Measurement”, Harvard Business Review., Vol. 81 No. 11, pp. 88–95.

Jardioui, M., Garengo, P. and El Alami, S. (2019), “How organizational culture influences performance measurement systems in SMEs”, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 69 No. 2, pp. 217–235.

Nudurupati, S.S., Garengo, P. and Bititci, U.S. (2021), “Impact of the changing business environment on performance measurement and management practices”, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 232, p. 107942.

Sardi, A., Sorano, E., Ferraris, A. and Garengo, P. (2020), “Evolutionary Paths of Performance Measurement and Management System: The Longitudinal Case Study of a Leading SME”, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 495–510.

Sardi, A., Sorano, E., Garengo, P. and Ferraris, A. (2021), “The role of HRM in the innovation of performance measurement and management systems: a multiple case study in SMEs”, Employee Relations, Vol. 43 No. 2, pp. 589–606.

Sardi, A., Sorano, E., Giovando, G. and Tradori, V. (2022), “Performance measurement and management system 4.0: an action research study in investee NPOs by local government”, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, No. ahead-of-print.

Smith, M. and Bititci, U.S. (2017), “Interplay between performance measurement and management, employee engagement and performance”, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 37 No. 9, pp. 1207–1228.

Dr. Alberto Sardi
Dr. Enrico Sorano
Dr. Guido Giovando
Dr. Vania Tradori
Dr. Christian Rainero
Guest Editors

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• performance measurement
• performance management
• business performance
• public and private sectors
• not-for-profit organizations
• healthcare sector
• public administration
• government