Performance measurement and management: what is next?

Citation

Taticchi, P. (2010), "Performance measurement and management: what is next?", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 59 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2010.07959baa.001

Performance measurement and management: what is next?

Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Volume 59, Issue 2

About the Guest Editor Paolo Taticchi is Assistant Professor in Management Engineering at the University of Perugia, Italy. He is also Visiting Scholar at Stern Business School, New York University, New York. Paolo Taticchi performs scientific research in performance measurement and management, business networks and operations sustainability. These research activities have been documented in many books, chapters, journal and conference papers. Recently, he has been Editor and Co-author of the book Business Performance Measurement and Management: New Contents, Themes and Challenges published by Springer. Paolo Taticchi was the Director of the 1st International Summer School Piero Lunghi on “Perspectives of Business Performance Management”, PACE University, New York – 2009.

Performance measurement and management: what is next?

Welcome to this special edition of the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. In this issue we have assembled four papers to look at some of the latest thinking in performance measurement and management research.

Eighteen years have passed since R.G. Eccles (1991), in the Harvard Business Review, proclaimed the “Performance Measurement Manifesto”. That publication could be identified as a radical innovation, seeing that it created a discontinuity in the research field evolution, based on decision to shift from treating financial figures as the foundation for performance measurement to treating them as one among a broader set of measures.

From then on, we attended the birth of many models, which tried to link strategy and operations by using performance measures, to explore the interactions between performance indicators, and to support decision-making processes. In this evolution, transition from “performance measurement” (PM) to “performance measurement and management” (PMM) is evident.

Nowadays, it is possible to affirm that PMM is a new consolidated discipline, that encompasses and gives more structured support to a large diversity of businesses.

Besides the traditional areas of applications, for instance production companies, service companies or public organizations, emerging research if focusing in new contexts, such as small and medium enterprises, collaborative environments and others.

Moreover, the multidisciplinarity of PMM is enlarging from the traditional perspectives of accounting, strategy and operations to new-ones, as confirmed by the growth of research exploring connections between PMM and project management, risk management, human resources management, or emerging topics as sustainability.

Finally, research on PMM is continuing its theoretical path so as to enhance the effectiveness of PMM systems and consequently their diffusion. As a consequence of that, emerging research focuses on the development of new PMM models, the test of traditional systems as well as the exploration of new way of measurement.

Therefore, the question “What is next?” in PMM research arises, and answer is needed in order to address future research and define a proper research agenda for next years.

The 1st International Summer School Piero Lunghi (ISSPL ’01) on “Perspectives of Business Performance Management”, PACE University, New York – 2009, was an international event which grouped leading academics, scholars and practitioners to discuss PMM perspectives and present emerging areas of research.

The papers presented in this special issue represent a thorough selection of the best papers from the ISSPL ’01, providing a comprehensive overview of recent advances in PMM research.

The first paper by Riccaboni and Leone from the University of Siena investigates the role performance measurement and control systems can play in order to translate sustainable strategies into action and how they should be modified when a strategic change in a sustainable direction occurs. The paper is supported by the interesting case study of Procter & Gamble.

The second paper by Prowse P. and Prowse J. from Bradford University examines the historical development of HRM and its emergence as a distinct management discipline. Moreover, the paper critically re-evaluates what human performance is and assesses its contribution to organizational effectiveness. The study highlights the lack of empirical literature on the contribution of HRM and business performance.

The third paper by Cagnazzo, Taticchi and Brun explores the critical success factors related to the implementation of quality improvement initiatives in supply chain environments. The use of performance measurement systems (PMS) emerges as the most important critical success factor. By reviewing the exiting PMSs available in literature, the authors propose a methodology to select the most idoneous PMS in relation to the characteristics of the SC under analysis.

The final paper by Cocca and Alberti from Brescia University reviews the literature so as to identify the characteristics of a good PMS and the peculiarities of SMEs in relation to performance measurement. In their paper they propose a framework to support SMEs in critically reviewing their PMS and enabling its effective use.

The papers grouped in this special issue confirm that research in performance measurement and management is in continuous evolution, both in terms of themes, contexts and challenges.

Paolo TaticchiGuest Editor