Skip to main content
Log in

Foundations and trends in performance management. A twenty-five years bibliometric analysis in business and public administration domains

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Our paper analyses 25 years of performance management research published in the English-language journals, included in SSCI database, separating the business domain from public sector one. We used a content analysis for showing the relationships between the subfields of performance management and the time evolution. Through a multiple correspondence analysis based on keywords we provide a framework to track this literature over the 25-year period. We conclude the paper with a discussion on future pathways in the performance management literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdi, H., & Valentin, D. (2007). Multiple correspondence analysis. In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of measurement and statistics (pp. 651–657). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baber, W. R., Hang, S. H., & Kumar, K. R. (1998). Accounting earnings and executive compensation: The role of earnings persistence. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 25(2), 169–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baiman, S., & Rajan, M. V. (1995). The informal advantages of discretionary bonus scheme. Accounting Review, 70(4), 557–579.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnow, B. S. (2000). Exploring the relationship between performance management and program impact: A case study of the Job Training Partnership Act. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 19(1), 118–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batagelj, V., & Cerinšek, M. (2013). On bibliographic networks. Scientometrics, 96(3), 845–864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergh, D. D., Perry, J., & Hanke, R. (2006). Some predictors of SMJ articles impact. Strategic Management Journal, 27, 81–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1993). Building a new academic field—the case of services marketing. Journal of Retailing, 69(1), 13–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhapkar, V. P. (1966). A note on the equivalence of two test criteria for hypotheses in categorical data. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 61, 228–235.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Bititci, U., Carrie, A., & McDevitt, L. (1997). Integrated performance measurement systems: A development guide. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 17(5), 522–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bititci, U., Garengo, P., Dörfler, V., & Nudurupati, S. (2012). Performance measurement: Challenges for tomorrow. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14, 305–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell, D. W., Brickley, J. A., & Weisback, M. S. (1994). Accounting information and internal performance evaluation: Evidence from Texas. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 17(3), 331–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Börner, K., Chen, C., & Boyack, K. W. (2003). Visualizing knowledge domains. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 37(1), 179–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdeaux, C., & Chikoto, G. (2008). Legislative influences on performance management reform. Public Administration Review, 68(2), 253–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourne, M. (2001). The handbook of performance measurement. London: Gee Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, R. M., Indjejikian, R., & Smith, A. (1996). CEO compensation: The role of individual performance evaluation. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 21(2), 161–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, R. M., & Smith, A. J. (2001). Financial accounting information and corporate governance. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 32(1–3), 237–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldarelli, A., Fiondella, C., Maffei, M., Spanò, R., & Aria, M. (2013). CEO performance evaluation systems: Empirical findings from the Italian health service. Public Money and Management, 33(5), 369–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, A. D. (1962). Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the American enterprise. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charvet, F. F., Cooper, M. C., & Gardner, J. T. (2008). The intellectual structure of supply chain management: A bibliometric approach. Journal of Business Logistics, 29, 47–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobo, M. J., López-Herrera, A. G., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2011). Science mapping software tools: Review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(7), 1382–1402.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Cody, T. G. (1986). Management consulting: A game without chips. Fitzwilliam, NH: Consultants News.

  • Copeland, T., Koller, T., & Murrin, J. (2000). Valuation (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiMascolo, M. D. (1996). Analysis of a synchronization station for the performance evaluation of a kanban system with a general arrival process of demands. European Journal of Operations Research, 89(1), 147–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMascolo, M. D., Frein, Y., & Dallery, Y. (1996). An analytical method for performance evaluation of kanban controlled production systems. Operations Research, 44(1), 50–64.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Dye, T. R. (1992). Understanding public policy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

  • Eccles, R. G. (1991). The performance measurement manifesto. Harvard Business Review, 69(1), 131–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. R., Dean, G., & Clarke, F. (2009). Merchants’ accounts, performance assessment and decision making in mercantilist Britain. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34(5), 551–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feltham, G. A., & Xie, J. (1994). Performance measure congruity and diversity in multi-task principal/agent relations. Accounting Review , 69(3), 429–453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferlie, E., & Ongaro, E. (2015). Strategic management in public services organizations: Concepts, schools and contemporary issues. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Alles, M., & Ramos-Rodríguez, A. (2009). Intellectual structure of human resources management research: A bibliometric analysis of the journal Human Resource Management, 1985–2005. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(1), 161–175.

  • Fetscherin, M., Voss, H., & Gugler, P. (2010). 30 years of foreign direct investment to China: An interdisciplinary literature review. International Business Review, 19, 235–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleiss, J. L. (1981). Statistical methods for rates and proportions (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-26370-2.

  • Franco-Santos, M., Kennerley, M., Micheli, P., Martinez, V., Mason, S., Marr, B., et al. (2007). Towards a definition of a business performance measurement system. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 27(8), 784–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furrer, O., Thomas, H., & Goussevskaia, A. (2008). The structure and evolution of the strategic management field: A content analysis of 26 years of strategic management research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 10(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, E., Pudovkin, A. I., & Istomin, V. S. (2002). Algorithmic citation-linked historiography—mapping the literature of science. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 39, 14–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garvey, G., & Milbourn, T. T. (2003). Incentive compensation when executives can hedge the market: Evidence of relative performance evaluation in the cross-section. Journal of Finance, 58(4), 1557–1582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, M., Merchant, K. A., Van der Stede, W. A., & Vargus, M. E. (2004). Determinants and effects of subjectivity in incentives. Accounting Review, 79(2), 409–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenacre, M. J., & Blasius, J. (2006). Multiple correspondence analysis and related methods. Boca Raton: Chapman and Hall/CRC.

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Grote, D. (2000). Public sector organizations—today’s innovative leaders in performance management. Public Personnel Management, 29(1), 1–20.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, R. H., & Abernathy, W. J. (1980). Managing our way to economic decline. Harvard Business Review, 58, 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heikkila, T., & Isett, K. R. (2007). Citizen-driven government performance. Public Administration Review, 67(2), 238–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich, C. J. (2007). Evidence-based policy and performance management—challenges and prospects in two parallel movements. American Review of Public Administration, 37(3), 255–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holloway, J. (2009). Performance management from multiple perspectives; taking stock. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 58(4), 391–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Indjejikian, R., & Nanda, D. (1999). Dynamic incentives and responsibility accounting. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 27(2), 177–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inkpen, A. C., & Beamish, P. W. (1994). An analysis of twenty-five years of research in the journal of international business studies. Journal of International Business Studies, 25, 703–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ittner, C. D., Larcker, D. F., & Meyer, M. W. (2003). Subjectivity and the weighting of performance measures: Evidence from a balanced scorecard. Accounting Review, 78(3), 725–758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janakiraman, S. N., Lambert, R. A., & Larcker, D. F. (1992). An empirical investigation of the relative performance evaluation hypothesis. Journal of Accounting Research, 53–69.

  • Johnson, H. T. (1981). Towards an understanding of 19th century cost accounting. Accounting Review, 56, 510–518.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, H. T., & Kaplan, R. S. (1987). Relevance lost—the rise and fall of management accounting. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Ferris, G. R. (1993). Social context of performance evaluation decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 36(1), 80–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. S. (1983). Measuring manufacturing performance: A new challenge for management accounting research. Accounting Review, 18, 686–705.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. S. (1984). The evolution of management accounting. Accounting Review, 59, 390–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1992). The balanced scorecard—measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, 70, 71–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996a). The balanced scorecard. Boston, MA: The Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996b). Translating strategy into action: The balanced scorecard. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keegan, D. P., Eiler, R. G., & Jones, C. R. (1989). Are your performance measures obsolete? Management Accounting, 70, 45–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, R. A. (2001). Contracting theory and accounting. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 32(1–3), 3–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langfield-Smith, K. (1997). Management control systems and strategy: A critical review. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22(2), 207–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebart, L., Morineau, A., & Warwick, K. M. (1984). Multivariate descriptive statistical analysis: Correspondence analysis and related techniques for large matrices. New York: Wiley.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Lebas, M. J. (1995). Performance measurement and performance management. International Journal of Production Economics, 41(1), 23–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipe, M. G., & Salterio, S. E. (2000). The balanced scorecard: Judgemental effects of common and unique performance measures. Accounting Review, 75(3), 283–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marr, B., & Schiuma, G. (2003). Business performance measurement—past, present and future. Management Decision, 41(8), 680–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milne, M. J., & Adler, R. W. (1999). Exploring the reliability of social and environmental disclosures content analysis. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 12(2), 237–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mol, N. P., & de Kruijf, J. A. M. (2004). Performance management in Dutch central government. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 70(1), 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, A. (1999). The performance measurement revolution: Why now and what next? International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 19, 205–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, A. (2002). Business performance measurement: Theory and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, A. (2005). The evolution of performance measurement research: Developments in the last decade and a research agenda for the next. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 25(12), 1264–1277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, A., Gregory, M., & Platts, K. (1995). Performance measurement system design—a literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 15, 80–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, A. D., Kennerley, M., & Martinez, V. (2004). Does the balanced scorecard work: An empirical investigation. In Proceedings of the 4th international conference on performance measurement. Edinburgh.

  • Nerur, S. P., Rasheed, A. A., & Natarajan, V. (2007). The intellectual structure of the strategic management field: An author co-citation analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 29(3), 319–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norman, R., & Gregory, R. (2003). Paradoxes and pendulum swings: Performance management in New Zealand’s public sector. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 62(4), 35–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos-Rodriguez, A. R., & Ruiz-Navarro, J. (2004). Changes in the intellectual structure of strategic management research: A bibliometric study of the Strategic Management Journal, 1980–2000. Strategic Management Journal, 25(10), 981–1004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richard, P. J., Devinney, T. M., Yip, G. S., & Johnson, G. (2009). Measuring organisational performance: towards methodological best practice. Journal of Management, 35, 718–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridgway, V. F. (1956). Dysfunctional consequences of performance measurements. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1(2), 240–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rugg, G., & McGeorge, P. (1997). The sorting techniques: A tutorial paper on card sorts, picture sorts and item sorts. Expert Systems, 14(2), 80–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schay, B. W. (1993). In search of the Holy-Grail—lessons in performance management. Public Personnel Management, 22(4), 649–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selden, S. C., Ingraham, P. W., & Jacobson, W. (2001). Human resource practices in state government: Findings from a national survey. Public Administration Review, 61(5), 598–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shingler, J., Van Loon, M. E., Alter, T. R., & Bridger, J. C. (2008). The importance of subjective data for public agency performance evaluation. Public Administration Review, 68(6), 1101–1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slack, N. (1983). Flexibility as a manufacturing objective. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 3, 4–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sloan, R. G. (1993). Accounting earnings and top executive compensation. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 16(1–3), 55–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, J., & Walsh, K. (1992). Change in the management of public-services. Public Administration, 70(4), 499–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taticchi, P., Tonelli, F., & Cagnazzo, L. (2010). Performance measurement and management: A literature review and a research agenda. Measuring Business Excellence, 14(1), 4–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uysal, Ö. O. (2010). Business ethics research with an accounting focus: A bibliometric analysis from 1988 to 2007. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(1), 137–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldman, D. A. (1994). The contributions of total quality management to a theory of work performance. Academy of Management Review, 19(3), 510–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. W. (2002). Before performance measurement. Administrative Theory and Praxis, 24, 457–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. W. (2003). Measuring government in the early twentieth century. Public Administration Review, 63, 643–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. W. (2004). Evolution of performance measurement until 1930. Administration and Society, 31, 131–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Authors acknowledge CARME discussants for their helpful comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Corrado Cuccurullo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cuccurullo, C., Aria, M. & Sarto, F. Foundations and trends in performance management. A twenty-five years bibliometric analysis in business and public administration domains. Scientometrics 108, 595–611 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1948-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1948-8

Keywords

Navigation