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

Abstract

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 organisation's context. This framework sheds light on various functions of PMRs, most notably strategy implementation.

The use of management control and performance measurement systems in SMEs

“…When used interactively, the BSC also functioned as a framework for organizing verbal and mental thought processes for examining the relevance of basic assumptions of the company's objectives, strategy and operations. Moreover, echoing earlier research (Martinez et al, 2010), PM meetings seemed to be the central element that linked performance information and action and enabled the BSC to be closely tied to the belief and boundary systems, thus making it a fundamental tool that employees would extensively use.…”

The use of Web analytics for digital marketing performance measurement

“…The differences in the use of WA are examined in three dimensions: the selection of WA metrics, the processing of WA data, and the organizational context of WA use (adapted from Pettigrew, Whipp, & Rosenfield, 1989). A similar approach has been used in the performance measurement literature (Bourne et al, 1999;Bourne, Neely, Platts, & Mills, 2002;Bourne, Kennerley, & Franco-Santos, 2005;Martinez, Pavlov, & Bourne, 2010). However, this study extends Pettigrew et al's (1989) model by demonstrating how it can be applied in marketing performance measurement research.…”

“…Pettigrew et al's (1989) framework was selected as a guide for this study because it provides a sound structure for organizing disparate findings from the performance measurement literature to develop a holistic understanding of the elements that affect the firm's ability to design and exploit a marketing metrics system. The framework has been adopted in a number of studies on the use of performance measurement systems, all of which have concluded that the content, process, and context of performance measurement affect the outcome of the system (Bourne et al, 1999;2002;2005;Martinez et al, 2010). In these studies, the dimensions have been adapted to better harmonize with performance measurement research and the precise research questions.…”

“…Therefore, the following definitions are formulated by combining and summarizing the core idea of each of Pettigrew et al's dimensions in previous performance measurement studies (e.g., Bourne et al, 2005;Martinez et al, 2010):…”

Business Performance Analytics: exploring the potential for Performance Management Systems

“…PMS and any other control could be used diagnostically or interactively (Simons 1995, Tessier andOtley 2012). The 'diagnostic' role of control focuses on controlling the 'critical performance variables' or those key factors a firm should pay attention to in order to succeed in implementing its deliberate strategy (Dixon, Nanni, and Vollmann 1990;Martinez, Pavlov, and Bourne 2010;Micheli and Manzoni 2010;Tessier and Otley 2012). In this context, since managers are frequently not in a condition to justify with data the assumptions underlying their organization's competitive strategy (Buytendijk, Hatch, and Micheli 2010;Silvestro 2016), BPA should enable identifying the causal effects between impact factors -expressed in qualitative/non-financial terms -and strategic target measures.…”