Assessment of Performance Measurement Systems’ Ability to Mitigate or Eliminate Typical Barriers Compromising Organisational Sustainability

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the main performance measurement systems (PMSs) documented in the literature and assess their ability to overcome/mitigate a set of 19 specific barriers (identified in a previous paper) to their effectiveness. It also aims to understand what makes each PMS capable of or not capable of dealing with these barriers (i.e., what traits it has) and to explore their connection to some sustainable development goals (SDG). The PRISMA methodology was used to identify the relevant publications, which were then subjected to a detailed content analysis with statistical treatment, followed by the assessment of the potential of each PMS to deal with the barriers. The results made it possible to identify the PMSs most referred to in the literature (ordered list), quantitatively classify the PMSs according to their ability to overcome/mitigate barriers, and identify the barriers most and least addressed by the PMSs. While no single PMS offers a comprehensive solution, certain common traits contribute significantly to overcoming prevalent barriers. The complex interplay between barriers means that some traits can effectively address multiple barriers either directly or indirectly. Regarding implications, these findings provide important inputs (e.g., key recommendations) for developing or improving PMS frameworks that are able to comprehensively address the barriers, thus contributing to organisational effectiveness and, consequently, to the achievement of the SDGs. This constitutes the innovative contribution of this paper. As for limitations, this work is based on the analysis of 28 PMSs resulting from the systematic literature review in two databases (Scopus and Web of Science).