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 organizational benefits, including creating alignment, supporting monitoring and control, and enabling prediction and optimization of resource allocation, this paper argues that this paradigm is not capable of responding to increasingly complex and highly uncertain organizational 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.

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 PM field -most importantly, the broad need for a solid organizational foundation for the studies of PM and the explanation of the mechanism through which PM affects organizational performance.

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 paper draws on resource orchestration theory to investigate whether and how performance management (PM) practices interact with human resource management (HRM) practices in organizations 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 organizational 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 organizations and demonstrates the effect of this relationship on firm performance.

Purpose: This paper responds to recent calls for understanding how multiple management control and performance measurement systems are used simultaneously for managing performance, particularly in the context of SMEs.Design/methodology/approach: Data are collected during an in-depth case study of management control and performance measurement 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 implications/limitations: This article advances the research on integrating multipleaspects 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.