The Role of Performance Measurement Systems between Assessment Tool and Knowledge Repository

Performance measurement is a knowledge intensive business process and performance measurement systems (PMS) are appropriate tools to collect relevant performance information. Though, the application of many PMS fails. Therefore, there is a vivid debate in the literature about the right design, implementation, and use of PMS. Other contributions describe specific obstacles in different contexts, but there is no thorough investigation of the underlying patterns, especially in the context of information supply. This paper delivers a literature review aiming at explicating the reasons for failure in order to identify patterns and implications for PMS improvement. The findings suggest that involved people have difficulties with the PMS and there the problem is not in PMS itself. They emphasize the need to improve the knowledge related side of performance. In particular, a lack of understanding of PMS results and purpose demands better information supply and quality to foster their personal and organizational adaption.