Suitable and valid operational performance metrics are important means to translate an organization's strategy into action. However, developing high-quality operational metrics is challenging because such metrics need the right degree of context specificity to be meaningful to the managers and employees who will use them. We investigated whether managers consider metrics that have been co-developed with operational employees to be of higher quality and, in turn, whether they use these metrics more-and whether this use is linked to greater employee job performance. On the basis of self-determination theory, we investigated if different uses of performance metrics have different effects. We surveyed 86 pairs of operational employees and their immediate managers in various jobs and industries and tested our hypotheses with structural equation modeling. Results showed that when employees were involved in the development of performance metrics, managers perceived the metrics to be of better quality and employed those metrics more for evaluating and rewarding employees. Moreover, we found employees' performance was only higher when the metrics were used for evaluation purposes. We found no effect for using the metrics for monetary compensation or nonmonetary rewards. In sum, this study demonstrates that employee participation in the development of performance metrics has beneficial effects on the metrics' quality, and shows that the subsequent effect on job performance depends on how these metrics are used. We discuss implications for managers who want to ensure that the effect on employee job performance is positive when they involve employees in the development of operational performance metrics.

Performance measurements may stimulate employee initiatives to improve operational performance, especially when they themselves participate in the development of their own departmental performance measures. Using the theory of planned behavior, we examine why this occurs in a beverage manufacturing company where we helped bottling line maintenance technicians develop measures about the results of their own work. Our analyses are based on qualitative data gathered at 156 meetings, 34 semi-structured interviews, quantitative performance data from the company's information systems, and quantitative questionnaire data. We found that the participatory development process increased employees' attitude, perceived social pressure and perceived capability to take initiative. Moreover, the departmental performance improved when the jointly developed performance measures were put to use.

Flexible work arrangements present managers with challenges regarding how to manage employees using these arrangements. To date, little research has investigated how managers address these challenges. We investigate the relationship between the use of a specific implementation of flexible work (teleworking) and control system design, specifically the emphasis on output controls. Teleworking reduces the feasibility of monitoring employee behaviour as a control mechanism. Control theory suggests that this might be compensated by placing more emphasis on output controls. We conduct a survey (N ¼ 897) among employees of a financial services institution, of whom 69% is allowed to telework. We find that among teleworking employees, the share of teleworking hours is positively related to the emphasis on output controls. However, employees who are allowed to telework report less emphasis on output controls by their manager relative to those not allowed to telework. We pose various directions for future research, which may help in explaining these findings.

In 2002 Rynes, Colbert and Brown asked human resource (HR) professionals to what extent they agreed with various HR research findings. Responses from 959 American participants showed that there are large discrepancies between research findings and practitioners' beliefs about effective human resource practices. The current research is a replication of the Rynes et al. study among 626 Dutch HR professionals. The results show remarkable similarities with the American study: there are large discrepancies between research findings and practitioners' beliefs in some content areas, especially recruitment and selection. Dutch practitioners are somewhat more likely to agree with research findings when there education level is higher, when they read HRM professional journals more frequently and when they have a positive attitude towards the applicability and usefulness of academic research.

Enabling performance measurement in a small professional service firm Groen, B.A.C.; van de Belt, M.; Wilderom, C.P.M. Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Design/methodology/approach We used a process-consultation type of action research design. We developed an enabling PMS in close cooperation with the employees of a small PSF. The effects of this intervention were assessed by means of document analysis, participant observation, and individual/group interviews.Findings The enabling PMS development process helped the firm deal with three challenges common to small PSFs: (1) it increased employees' understanding about how to apply the firm's strategy, (2) it led to greater knowledge exchange among employees, and (3) it enabled them to create new knowledge. Research implications/limitations This study's results suggest the type of intervention usedfor developing an enabling PMS-that has already been shown to be effective in large firms-may also be useful for small PSFs. Similarities and differences with the intervention in large firms are discussed.Practical implications Small PSFs may benefit from the approach described herein: to develop a PMS in a participatory manner. It is especially useful if interested in better alignment of Operations with Strategy and/or to better explicate tacit and create new firmrelevant knowledge.Originality/value This is the first study about developing an enabling PMS in a small PSF.