Managing business performance: The contrasting cases of two multiple retailers 1920 to 1939

Abstract

Business performance measurement and management (PMM) systems are often viewed as relatively recent phenomena, responding to the failure of historical practices which prioritised financial measures. But despite the considerable focus on these systems over the last 25 years, they have not lived up to their early promise. This article looks backwards to understand how practitioners managed their performance in the past. It focuses on two British multiple retailers between 1920 and 1939 and highlights not only the formal processes they adopted but also the role of the informal processes which shaped how they achieved their objectives.