FIRST INTERNATIONAL CRITICAL MANAGEMENT STUDIES CONFERENCE, MANCHESTER, 14-16 JULY 1999.

ORGANISATION STUDIES STREAM

A CRITICAL RESEARCH AGENDA FOR ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

Dr Jacky Holloway, Performance Management Research Unit, Open University Business School, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA. email: j.a.holloway@open.ac.uk

DRAFT, JULY 1999 – IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF QUOTING, PLEASE SPECIFY DRAFT STATUS! EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN RESEARCH IN PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT ARE WELCOMED BY THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH UNIT.

Acknowledgement: Thanks are due to Richard Laughlin and fellow members of the Management Control Association for constructive comments on earlier ideas for this paper.

Abstract
Managers are continually under pressure to measure the performance of their organisation, but there is little empirical evidence about the impact of measurement on performance. Furthermore, many measurement tools and techniques lack clear theoretical foundations. This paper proposes investigations into neglected aspects of organisational performance measurement, reflecting the concern of managers and illustrating the potential impact of theoretical developments on practice. Issues about theory, epistemology and methodologies that accompany such a research agenda, are also raised.

1.

Preamble

This paper may be a bit unusual for a formal conference discussion as it concentrates neither on presenting empirical results, nor on developing theoretical explanations, but simply seeks to make the case for more of both of these. As such, it is ‘ work in the early stages of progress’ on which feedback on all aspects of the paper will be welcome. And as befits a primarily qualitative and subjectivist-inclined researcher, I felt it important to put the development of the proposed research agenda in context. Its origins lie as far back as the completion of my doctoral research (Holloway 1990), which had examined the operation and impact of