Public service motivation and performance: The role of organizational identification

Although the association between public service motivation (PSM) and job performance has received increased attention, there is limited knowledge of the mechanisms underlying its effects. Utilizing data from Chinese civil servants and their supervisors, the authors found that PSM results in higher levels of organizational identification and leads to higher levels of job performance because civil servants perceive the organization’s fate and results as their own.

IMPACT

Our study demonstrates that organizational identification is a key mechanism that explains how public service motivation (PSM) leads to higher levels of performance. To improve performance, public agencies should create an environment that helps employees identify with the organization, for example by highlighting the distinct services that the organization provides for the public and by establishing socialization practices for newcomers.     

Strategy,performance measurement techniques and information technology of the firm and their links to organizational performance

This study investigates the relationships between organizational performance and customer-focused strategies, performance measures and information technology. The results indicate that when a firm does not follow a customer-focused strategy, contemporary management accounting systems in combination with advanced information technology are related to high customer performance. The results also indicate that contemporary performance measures do not help firms with a highly customer-focused strategy to achieve high customer performance. Finally, the results show that a fit between the customer-focused strategy and financial performance measures improves customer performance.     

Transformation in the defence sector: The critical role of performance measurement

This paper presents a longitudinal case study of strategic transformation in a complex organisation – Her Majesty's Naval Base (Clyde). The research identifies nine Critical Success Factors from the change management literature and analyses their position in driving the transformation. Findings suggest that many of the success factors suggested by the literature were not present during the transformation. However the presence of a robust performance management system within the organisation resulted in significant progress towards the strategic goals despite the absence of other factors. This paper demonstrates how strategic change can be accomplished by the use of more operational toolsets such as performance management systems.     

The role of criticism in the dynamics of performance evaluation systems

Drawing on the concept of “trial,” developed by French sociologists, this article analyzes the dynamics of employees’ performance evaluation systems, particularly those involving accounting performance measures. A case study is presented as an illustration of our proposal to consider these systems as one of the major trials in the business world, that is, social arrangements organizing the testing of people and resulting in ordering them, and further in consistent social goods allocation. This analysis emphasizes the role of criticism in the dynamics and evolution of performance evaluation systems and enables us to revisit concepts like controllability or objectivity which have been presented for decades as cornerstones of performance evaluation systems either in management control or in human resource management fields.     

Business intelligence systems use in performance measurement capabilities: Implications for enhanced competitive advantage

The purpose of this study is to better understand how the quality of a Business Intelligence (BI) system improves the diagnostic and interactive dimensions of management control systems (MCS), thereby enhancing performance measurement capabilities, which in turn are positively associated with competitive advantage. Integrating theory from performance measurement, organizational learning and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a theoretical model is developed that considers three concepts of BI quality (infrastructure integration, functionality, and self-service) and the roles they play in enhancing diagnostic and interactive performance measurement capabilities. Data collected via survey from 324 CEOs and CFOs provides support for the theorized effects of BI quality on performance measurement capabilities. These capabilities in turn are positively associated with competitive advantage.     

The perceived fairness of performance evaluation: The role of uncertainty

This paper investigates the relationship between performance evaluation procedures and managerial perceptions of procedural justice. We examine two metric and two process characteristics. Metric characteristics are the diversity of metrics used by superiors and their reliance on outcome vs. effort metrics. Regarding process characteristics, we analyse the amount of subordinate's voice in the performance evaluation process, and the extent of formalization of the process. Using uncertainty management theory, we argue that justice effects of performance evaluation procedures may not be direct but are instead conditional on the amount of task uncertainty managers face in the their job context as well as on managers’ tolerance for ambiguity. Using a sample of 178 managers from the banking industry, we find that all four performance evaluation characteristics are related to justice perceptions, yet their effect depends on the level of task uncertainty and tolerance for ambiguity. These findings explain some inconsistencies in extant studies on fairness of performance evaluation procedures.     

The effect of comprehensive performance measurement systems on role clarity,psychological empowerment and managerial performance

This study examines how comprehensive performance measurement systems (PMS) affect managerial performance. It is proposed that the effect of comprehensive PMS on managerial performance is indirect through the mediating variables of role clarity and psychological empowerment. Data collected from a survey of 83 strategic business unit managers are used to test the model. Results from a structural model tested using Partial Least Squares regression indicate that comprehensive PMS is indirectly related to managerial performance through the intervening variables of role clarity and psychological empowerment. This result highlights the role of cognitive and motivational mechanisms in explaining the effect of management accounting systems on managerial performance. In particular, the results indicate that comprehensive PMS influences managers’ cognition and motivation, which, in turn, influence managerial performance.     

The performance measurement manifesto

The leading indicators of business performance cannot be found in financial data alone. Quality, customer satisfaction, innovation, market share--metrics like these often reflect a company's economic condition and growth prospects better than its reported earnings do. Depending on an accounting department to reveal a company's future will leave it hopelessly mired in the past. More and more managers are changing their company's performance measurement systems to track nonfinancial measures and reinforce new competitive strategies. Five activities are essential: developing an information architecture; putting the technology in place to support this architecture; aligning bonuses and other incentives with the new system; drawing on outside resources; and designing an internal process to ensure the other four activities occur. New technologies and more sophisticated databases have made the change to nonfinancial performance measurement systems possible and economically feasible. Industry and trade associations, consulting firms, and public accounting firms that already have well-developed methods for assessing market share and other performance metrics can add to the revolution's momentum--as well as profit from the business opportunities it presents. Every company will have its own key measures and distinctive process for implementing the change. But making it happen will always require careful preparation, perseverance, and the conviction of the CEO that it must be carried through. When one leading company can demonstrate the long-term advantage of its superior performance on quality or innovation or any other nonfinancial measure, it will change the rules for all its rivals forever.     

A path model examining the relations among strategic performance measurement system characteristics,organizational justice,and extra- and in-role performance

Economic theory suggests that multiple financial and non-financial measures (i.e., a strategic performance measurement system “SPMS”) be used in compensation contracting to properly direct employees’ attention and motivate behavior aligned with organizational goals. Conversely, linking incentives to the SPMS can result in various dysfunctional behaviors, including game playing by employees, the achievement of unbalanced performance, and the potential of basing compensation on an incomplete performance measurement system. Prior literature has investigated the use of subjectivity in compensation contracting as a means of potentially mitigating these problems; however, subjectivity can introduce other problems including claims of favoritism and bias. Economic theorists have recently begun expanding the traditional agency model to include the notion of fairness or justice. In this study, we obtain data from an organization that uses an SPMS as the basis for the allocation of bonuses and investigate whether characteristics of the SPMS are associated with perceived organizational fairness. Specifically, we hypothesize and show that the extent to which employees perceive that the SPMS reflects a strategic causal model and the degree to which it is technically valid are positively associated with their perceptions of organizational justice. We also provide evidence that heightened levels of organizational justice are the mechanism though which the perceived characteristics of the SPMS are associated with employee performance. The implication is that firms do not necessarily need to introduce subjectivity into the incentive contracting system, but can enhance performance by linking incentive contracts to their SPMS if the system contains characteristics that enhance employees’ perceptions of justice.     

The theory and practice of performance measurement

This paper builds on principles and techniques developed in measurement science, as currently understood in physical sciences and engineering, to improve the theory and practice of performance measurement. To do so, it firstly discusses three fundamental positions on measurement, characterized as metaphysical, anti-metaphysical and relativistic. Subsequently, it lays the foundations of a pragmatic epistemology of measurement in both physical and social sciences. Finally, these insights are integrated through the examination of possible advances in both the theory and practice of performance measurement in organizations.     

The politics of financial development: The role of interest groups and government capabilities

Although financial development is good for long-term growth, not all countries pursue policies that render full financial development. This paper builds on an extensive political economy literature to construct a theoretical model showing that the intensity of opposition to financial development by incumbents depends on both their degree of credit dependency and the role of governments in credit markets. Empirical evidence for this claim is provided, and the results suggest that lower opposition to financial development leads to an effective increase in credit markets’ development only in those countries that have high government capabilities. Moreover, improvements in government capabilities have a significant impact on credit market development only in those countries where credit dependency is high (thus, opposition is low). This paper therefore contributes to this rich literature by providing a unified account of credit market development that includes two of its main determinants, traditionally considered in isolation.     

Manufacturing shareholder value: The role of accounting in organizational transformation

This paper explores the role of accounting calculations in constructing shareholder value within the context of organizational transformation in work organization. Using an intensive longitudinal case study (Conglom, a pseudonym), the paper relates innovation and experimentation in new forms of work organization to a drive for shareholder value creation. The priority given to shareholder value creation was articulated through a proliferation of accounting metrics and calculations that intermediated between the strategic preoccupation with securing financial profitability, as demonstrated by the share price, and the operational challenge of squeezing costs and improving margins to boost short-term performance through outsourcing, programme management and divestment. We interpret the discourse of shareholder value creation and the development of related accounting metrics as a hegemonic move which is central to the reassertion of capital – a development that, we contend, is symptomatic of a shift towards a more ‘despotic’ mode of capitalist reproduction [Burawoy, M., (1985). The politics of production. London: Verso], where the whip of the market, allied to notions of possessive individualism, free choice and self-determination, progressively replaces the velvet glove of the corporatist state.     

Can superior CRM capabilities improve performance in banking

The market enthusiasm generated around investment in customer relationship management (CRM) technology is in stark contrast to the nay-saying by many academic and business commentators. This raises an important research question concerning the extent to which banks should continue to invest in CRM technology. Drawing on field interviews and a survey of senior bank executives the results reveal that a superior CRM capability can deliver improved performance. The paper then demonstrates that in order to be most successful, CRM programs require a combination of technical, human and business capabilities.     

Factors influencing the role of management accounting in the development of performance measures within organizational change programs

Many companies are undergoing organizational changes encompassing innovative approaches to organizing production processes, restructuring work practices and developing new planning and control mechanisms. This paper explores the role that management accounting played in the development of performance measurement systems within five organizations implementing change programs. The major case study is of a large manufacturing firm undertaking changes which included the development of team structures, the adoption of a customer-focused strategy and the implementation of new performance measurement systems. In this company, a lack of integration of operational performance measures with strategic priorities contributed to poor integration of team activities with overall strategy. The paper proposes five interrelated factors that may help explain the extent to which management accountants contribute to the development of integrated performance measures and change programs. Case evidence drawn from a further four firms is presented to provide some validation of conclusions drawn from the primary case study.     

经济增加值在企业业绩评价中的应用

业绩评价是公司进行绩效管理的依据和经营决策的基础，现有的业绩衡量指标没有扣除企业权益资本的成本。且在确认收入和费用时采取保守的态度，从而对企业资本和利润的反映存在部分失真。为了适应新形势的要求，企业迫切需要一些新的财务指标来衡量其经营业绩，本文在介绍经济增加值基本思想的同时，着重阐述了该指标的显著优越性及其在我国的应用意义。     

The role of organisational concern for workplace fairness in the choice of a performance measurement system

Prior studies linking performance management systems (PMS) and organisational justice have examined how PMS influence procedural fairness. Our investigation differs from these studies. First, it examines fairness as an antecedent (instead of as a consequence) of the choice of PMS. Second, instead of conceptualising organisational fairness as procedural fairness, it relies on the impression management interpretation of organisational fairness. Hence, the study investigates how the need of senior managers to cultivate an impression of being fair is related to the choice of PMS systems and employee outcomes. Based on a sample of 276 employees, the results indicate that the need of senior management to cultivate an impression of being fair is associated with employee performance. They also indicate that a substantial component of these effects is indirect through the choice of comprehensive performance measures (CPM) and employee job satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of organisational concern for workplace fairness as an antecedent of choice of CPM. From a theoretical perspective, the adoption of the impression management interpretation of organisational fairness contributes by providing new insights into the relationship between fairness and choice of PMS from a perspective that is different from those used in prior management accounting research.     

Behavioral effects of fairness in performance measurement and evaluation systems: Empirical evidence from France

The measurement and evaluation of employee performance are crucial aspects of the management accounting system because of their effects on employee motivation. It is therefore important for management accountants to understand how such effects occur. Fairness may be a key explanatory factor. This study proposes that the effects of the fairness of employee performance measurement and evaluation procedures on employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment are indirect. The results, based on a sample of 60 French managers, support these expectations. For the relationship between procedural fairness and job satisfaction, the effects are indirect through trust and fairness of outcomes. For the relationship between procedural fairness and organizational commitment, the effects are indirect through fairness of outcome, trust and job satisfaction. The results also indicate that affective effects through trust and satisfaction are substantially stronger than that through fairness of outcome. Fair performance evaluation procedures therefore do more than the mere provision of equitable outcomes among French managers.     

The role of strategic enterprise risk management and organizational flexibility in easing new regulatory compliance

The impact of new regulatory requirements for internal control reporting on an organization's ability to maintain strategic flexibility has been debated in the popular press extensively. This paper tests theory from strategic management to examine the relationship between an organizations' pre-regulatory strength of strategic enterprise risk management (ERM) processes and their ability to react to new regulatory mandates. In the context of companies' adoption of SOX Section 404 internal control reporting requirements, we examine organizations' pre-SOX ERM processes, ERM supporting technologies, and organizational flexibility in order to better understand the antecedents to the difficulty encountered in meeting SOX 404 requirements. Using responses from 113 Chief Audit Executives (CAEs), we find that organizations with stronger strategic ERM processes and flexible organizational structures already in place incurred little difficulty in implementing SOX 404 mandates. On the other hand, organizations using weaker ERM processes, which focused on control compliance, experienced more difficulty. These findings provide key insights into the importance of strategic ERM in effectively complying with new regulatory controls in volatile environments.