CERES :: Browsing by Author "Neely, Andrew"

Browsing by Author "Neely, Andrew"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 22

Open Access
Acting on information: Performance management for the public sector
(2006-07-01T00:00:00Z) Neely, Andrew; Micheli, Pietro; Martinez, Veronica
This briefing examines how public sector organisations can use performance data more effectively to support decision-making and produce improvements in organisational performance. In particular it looks at the challenge of converting performance data into insights and then acting on those insights. Drawing on the academic literature, as well as some notable case studies from the private sector, we have identified five key ‘best practice’ lessons for organisations that want to extract greater insight from their performance data and to ensure that those insights are acted
Open Access
Alignment of inter-firm performance measures in contractual alliances as a predictor of relationship success
(Cranfield University, 2013-05-03) Rey-Marston, Maria; Neely, Andrew
This research explains the role of aligned inter-firm performance measures as a predictor of success in of contractual alliances. Contractual alliances, a popular type of inter-firm relations, are also known as non-equity alliances and often display conflicting objectives in their contractual agreements. This research proposes that the assessment of contractual alliances performance must go beyond the contract’s ability to deliver to its internal performance targets or service level agreements (SLA). The success of contractual alliances lies in the alliance’s capability to contribute to the specific performance objectives of the firms involved as well as to fulfil its internal SLAs. This capability is called alignment and the results of this research show that is critical to the success of inter-firm relationships. The data for the research was gathered from outsourcing contracts between a logistics service provider and 149 users. Each contract includes its SLAs and two years of actual performance measures. The research design considers the firms’ financial measures as a proxy for their performance objectives during the same period of time. The alignment construct was operationalised by creating an inter-firm alignment (IFA) coefficient calculated with mathematical techniques to assess multi-dimensional fit amongst constructs. The three dimensions included in the IFA coefficient are i) alignment of contract’s SLAs and actual performance values, ii) alignment of contract’s SLAs and provider’s performance objectives, and iii) alignment of contract’s SLAs and user’s performance objectives. Success of contractual alliances was operationalised using known measures from the inter-firm management literature, such as longevity, stability, formality and relative profitability of the relationship. Information for all determinants was available in the 149 contracts. The quantitative correlations were specified and calculated using structural equation models (SEM). The results show that aligned inter-firm performance measures are a strong predictor of contractual alliance success. The empirical model supports the positive correlation of longevity and formality as measures of contractual alliance success, as stated in extant literature. The findings dispute the expected positive correlation between formality and stability with alliance success as described in the alliance literature. The results confirm the positive role of renegotiations as stated in the organization learning literature. Additional in-depth interviews were conducted with relationship managers, during the pilot study. The qualitative results support the quantitative findings. This research contributes to theory by: a) conceptualising and measuring the concept alignment to inter-firm performance measures; b) estimating the contribution of relation-specific measures to contractual alliance success, and c) introducing alignment of inter-firm performance measures as a predictor of contractual alliance success. The research and its results fill a substantive gap in managing contractual alliances. It provides the outsourcing industry with a tool that predicts the likelihood of relationship survival based on the degree of alignment of the inter-firm’s performance measures. The quantitative methods employed in the research extend the use of current techniques for assessing ‘fit’ in the strategy literature, into the field of performance measurement systems.
Open Access
Citation Counts: Are They Good Predictors of RAE Scores? A bibliometric analysis of RAE 2001
(2008-01-01T00:00:00Z) Surya, Mahdi; D'Este, Pablo; Neely, Andrew
The question of how best to assess research performance is clearly of great concern. In December 2007, HEFCE launched a national consultation on the future of Research Assessment, proposing that a Research Excellence Framework replaces the current Research Assessment Exercise. Fundamentally the Research Excellence Framework involves a shift to metrics. Views on the effectiveness of metrics for assessing research are mixed, so in this report we seek empirically to explore the question of whether metrics based on citation counts are strongly correlated with peer review assessments of research quality. We use data from RAE2001, covering all Departments and all Universities in the UK.
Open Access
Distributed manufacturing: scope, challenges and opportunities
(Taylor & Francis, 2016-06-16) Singh Srai, Jagjit; Kumar, Mukesh; Graham, Gary; Phillips, Wendy; Tooze, James; Ford, Simon; Beecher, Paul; Raj, Baldev; Gregory, Mike; Kumar Tiwari, Manoj; Ravi, B.; Neely, Andrew; Shankar, Ravi; Charnley, Fiona; Tiwari, Ashutosh
This discussion paper aims to set out the key challenges and opportunities emerging from distributed manufacturing (DM). We begin by describing the concept, available definitions and consider its evolution where recent production technology developments (such as additive and continuous production process technologies), digitisation together with infrastructural developments (in terms of IoT and big data) provide new opportunities. To further explore the evolving nature of DM, the authors, each of whom are involved in specific applications of DM research, examine through an expert panel workshop environment emerging DM applications involving new production and supporting infrastructural technologies. This paper presents these generalisable findings on DM challenges and opportunities in terms of products, enabling production technologies and the impact on the wider production and industrial system. Industry structure and location of activities are examined in terms of the democratising impact on participating network actors. The paper concludes with a discussion on the changing nature of manufacturing as a result of DM, from the traditional centralised, large-scale, long lead-time forecast-driven production operations to a new DM paradigm where manufacturing is a decentralised, autonomous near end user-driven activity. A forward research agenda is proposed that considers the impact of DM on the industrial and urban landscape.
Open Access
Diversity management: Practices, strategy and measurement
(Cranfield School of Management, 2002) Singh, Val; Vinnicombe, Susan; Schiuma, Gianni; Kennerley, Mike; Neely, Andrew
Open Access
Does the balance scorecard work: an empirical investigation
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2008-01) Neely, Andrew
Commentators suggest that between 30 and 60% of large US firms have adopted the Balanced Scorecard, first described by Bob Kaplan and David Norton in their seminal Harvard Business Review paper of 1992 (Kaplan and Norton, 1992; Marr et al, 2004). Empirical evidence that explores the performance impact of the balanced scorecard, however, is extremely rare and much that is available is anecdotal at best. This paper reports a study that set out to explore the performance impact of the balanced scorecard by employing a quasi-experimental design. Up to three years worth of financial data were collected from two sister divisions of an electrical wholesale chain based in the UK, one of which had implemented the balanced scorecard and one of which had not. The relative performance improvements of geographically matched pairs of branches were compared to establish what, if any, performance differentials existed between the branches that had implemented the balanced scorecard and those that had not. The key findings of the study are that while the Electrical division – the division that implemented the balanced scorecard – sees improvements in sales and gross profit; similar performance improvements are also observed in the sister division. Hence the performance impact of the balanced scorecard has to be questioned. Clearly further work on this important topic is required in similar settings where natural experiments occur.
Open Access
Exploring the financial consequences of the servitization of manufacturing
(Springer Science Business Media, 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z) Neely, Andrew
Commentators suggest that to survive in developed economies manufacturing firms have to move up the value chain, innovating and creating ever more sophisticated products and services, so they do not have to compete on the basis of cost. While this strategy is proving increasingly popular with policy makers and academics there is limited empirical evidence to explore the extent to which it is being adopted in practice. And if so, what the impact of this servitization of manufacturing might be. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature by presenting empirical evidence on the range and extent of servitization. Data are drawn from the OSIRIS database on 10,028 firms incorporated in 25 different countries. The paper presents an analysis of these data which suggests that: [i] manufacturing firms in developed economies are adopting a range of servitization strategies—12 separate approaches to servitization are identified; [ii] these 12 categories can be used to extend the traditional three options for servitization—product oriented Product–Service Systems, use oriented Product–Service Systems and result oriented Product–Service Systems, by adding two new categories “integration oriented Product–Service Systems” and “service oriented Product–Service Systems”; [iii] while the manufacturing firms that have servitized are larger than traditional manufacturing firms in terms of sales revenues, at the aggregate level they also generate lower profits as a % of sales; [iv] these findings are moderated by firm size (measured in terms of numbers of employees). In smaller firms servitization appears to pay off while in larger firms it proves more problematic; and [v] there are some hidden risks associated with servitization—the sample contains a greater proportion of bankrupt servitized firms
Open Access
High Value Manufacturing:Delivering on the Promise.
(Advanced Institute of Management Research (AIM), 2008) Martinez, Veronica; Neely, Andrew; Ren, Guangjie; Smart, Andi
The purpose of the discussion was to explore what high value manufacturing meant to UK manufacturers, especially in the context of global value systems…
Open Access
How Firms in Turbulent Environments Measure Strategic Performance
(Cranfield University, 2014-09) Barrows, Edward; Martinez, Veronica; Neely, Andrew
This thesis presents the findings from two case study examinations of strategic performance measurement systems within two turbulent environmental contexts: the U.S. security software industry and the U.S. health care industry. Despite a three-‐decade emphasis on performance measurement research, little empirical work has been carried out inside turbulent settings—contexts characterized by rapid change, high levels of instability and complex configurations among environmental variables. This research targets that gap. Through exploratory case studies from seven security software firms paired with a single in-‐ depth case investigation within a transforming health care system, this study addresses the question: “how do firms in turbulent environments measure strategic performance?” The research found that in turbulent environments, an effective strategic performance measurement system contains six interrelated elements: management aims, performance objectives, uncertainty areas, decision data, management attention and performance measures. Top managers focus on their aims and performance objectives to meet requirements via a closed-‐loop approach while monitoring uncertainty areas and gathering decision data in an open-‐loop way. This union of feedback and feedforward control enables dynamic interaction among the various elements of the system all of which are informed by performance measure data. Effective use is moderated by management’s focus of attention. The research has implications for information processing and management control literature; it extends existing theory to incorporate the use of semi-‐structures within the framework of the strategic performance measurement system as a means of overcoming the challenges of uncertainty. Further, the research contradicts both extant literature and practice convention that claims strategic performance measurement frameworks need to be balanced to be effective. Practitioners are provided with a strategic performance measurement framework for use in turbulent environments. The framework would benefit from further examination in a variety of different, equally turbulent, contexts.
Open Access
Improving productivity - Opening the black box.
(Oxford University Press, 2006) Mayhew, Ken; Neely, Andrew
Hourly productivity levels in the UK still remain behind those in some competitor countries. The government devotes much policy attention to enhancing productivity and continues to emphasise its five drivers—investment, innovation, skills, enterprise, and competition. This article argues that it is investment broadly defined that is the key to sustained productivity improvement. The emphasis should be on improving productivity simultaneously with improving the quality of production. Only thus will the gains be widely shared. In achieving these aims there are two prerequisites for policy-makers. The first is to ensure better coordination of policy than appears to be currently achieved by the present departmental structures in Whitehall. The second is to recognize fully the long and complex chain of causation that can be triggered by pulling on one policy lever. Such complexity can only be fully understood by more research on what actually goes on inside the black box of the organization.
Open Access
Incentives and Managerial Experience in Multi-task Teams: Evidence from within a Firm
(Cranfield School of Management, 2008-02) Griffith, Rachel; Neely, Andrew
This paper exploits a quasi-experimental setting to estimate the impact that a multi-dimensional group incentive scheme had on branch performance in a large distribution firm. The scheme, which is based on the Balanced Scorecard, was implemented in all branches in one division, but not in another. Branches from the second division are used as a control group. Our results suggest that the balanced scorecard had some impact, but that it varied with branch characteristics, and in particular, branches with more experienced managers were better able to respond to the new incentives.
Open Access
Innovative Capacity of Firms: on why some firms are more innovative than others
(2000-06) Hii, Jasper; Neely, Andrew
In this paper we report a study into innovative capacity of UK SME firms. We argue that the ability of a firm to develop successful innovations is a function of their innovative capacity.We developed the concept in this paper and suggest it is largely determined by four sets of factors including culture, resources, competence and networks. The discussion first focuses on the background to the study.We then move on to characterise the factors influencing innovative capacity at the firm level. We formulate a model of innovative capacity and innovation performance. This allows us to draw a set of propositions regarding the drivers of innovation performance. Discussion then focuses on the research methodology where research design and methods of data collection are revealed. In the results section, we present the output of regression analyses conducted on our data set. This is followed by the discussion section and lastly the conclusion.
Open Access
Managing and measuring for value: the case of call centre performance
(Cranfield School of Management and Fujitsu, 2004) Marr, Bernard; Neely, Andrew
As an integral part of most organisations today call centres play a key role in the service delivery chain. Value creation is in the eye of the beholder, if organisations fail to deliver value to their customers, there will inevitably be a loss for stakeholders over the longer term. Presently in many industries, call centres are the primary source of contact for customers. This important role implies that the performance management of call centres is of critical importance to organisations, especially the delivery of customer satisfaction. In this research the ways organisations measure and manage customer satisfaction in call centres is explored. Clear evidence that current measures of performance in call centres are often counter-productive to achieving customer satisfaction is revealed. Many call centres seem to have fallen into the trap of believing that operational measures such as call duration are indicators of customer satisfaction. Evidence indicates that they are not; they are only measures of efficiency, which in turn is seen as determinant of financial performance. Most call centres seem to miss the important link between employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability. In 12 case studies of world-leading call centres, the research identifies various managerial implications to avoid the "efficiency trap" in measuring and managing call centre performance. The managerial implications of this research are as follows: l Call centre performance is increasingly important for delivering customer service. Call centre performance should not be measured in isolation from the performance of the whole organisation. In most cases they are not detached operations with a solitary goal of driving down costs. Call centres are an integral part of an organisations value chain delivering its services and products. Therefore, the performance measures of call centres need to reflect the strategic direction of the entire organisation. l A more balanced approach to measuring performance based on strategic objectives is valuable, especially if visual representations of service delivery and value creation are used. This enables easy communication of overall performance and puts efficiency targets in perspective. Best practice seems to be to track the following areas of performance as well as their interactions: employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and satisfaction of other stakeholders (e.g. financial performance) with particular emphasis on the intangible performance drivers. l Customer dialogue is important and call centres are in fact listening to and speaking with customers all the time. Measuring customer satisfaction should start with understanding customers. Communication is often very task orientated, whereas call centres need to recognise the importance of listening to the customers in order to: - understand their needs and requirements from their perspective - detect failures, bottle necks, or improvement potential - deliver service that satisfies the customer. l It is critical to understand and classify the nature of demand. Often calls are unwanted or even unwittingly generated by other parts of the organisation. By analysing and classifying demand, it becomes more manageable and more predictable. Unwanted calls could then be reduced or even eliminated. Overall, a strategy-driven and integrated approach towards performance measurement in call centres will, therefore, improve operational efficiency and contribute to continuous innovation of the organisation as a whole.
Open Access
Measuring corporate management and leadership capability
(Cranfield School of Management, 2002) Neely, Andrew; Gray, Dina; Kennerley, Mike; Marr, Bernard
The Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership commissioned the Centre for Business Performance at Cranfield School of Management to produce for them a report investigating the case for corporate reporting and disclosure in the field of organisational management and leadership. Clearly there are pros and cons for such reporting, especially if it is made compulsory through the forthcoming Company Law review, but on balance the authors are of the opinion that: 1. Greater corporate reporting and disclosure in the field of organisational management and leadership is not only desirable, but also inevitable. 2. Legislation may result in organisations reporting more in the field of organisational management and leadership sooner than they would otherwise, but in the longer term market forces will force them to report this information. 3. The steps that organisations are taking to adopt measurement frameworks that balance financial and non-financial issues mean that they are already building the infrastructure necessary to enable this reporting. 4. It is impractical to expect that a generic set of reporting standards applicable to all organisations can be developed for this area. It is widely believed that performance measures are context and strategy specific. Hence requiring organisations to report against a standard set of measures will simply result in additional bureaucratic burdens being placed on them. 5. An alternative, and much more pragmatic approach, however, is to accept that the role of measurement is to provide insight. What investors, and other external stakeholders, want is insight into the management and leadership talent pool that exists within organisations. As a result it should be possible to encourage and/or require organisations to release information in their annual reports which provides fact based insights into their management and leadership talent pool. 6. To provide a structure for such disclosure the authors recommend that a portfolio of critical questions about the management and leadership talent pool be developed and that organisations be encouraged and/or required to provide answers to these questions through fact based evidence of their own choosing. 7. Many organisations would benefit from the rigour provided by this approach. Far too often the performance measures that organisations have in place in the arena of organisational management and leadership are poorly developed and deployed.
Open Access
Moderating effects of performance measurement use on the relationship between organizational performance, measurement diversity and product innovation
(Cranfield University, 2007) Yaghi , Bassil A.; Neely, Andrew
This study sets'out to address the question of whether the effect of organizational' performance measurement diversity on product innovation will differ depending on how organizational performance measures are used. There is strong empirical evidence that many companies who are successful today are less likely to be successful in the future because they fail to innovate. It is surprisingly then, that when everyone stresses the importance of innovation, there are many organizations adopting performance measurement systems, which may constrain their innovativeness. Currently, there are three differing perspectives on the effect of measurement on a firm's propensity to innovate. Moreover, each of these has empirical evidence to support its argument. The first perspective views measurement as constraining innovation because it impedes creativity, experimentation, and search in firms. The second perspective views measurement as helping innovation because it triggers search, facilitates decision-making, and increases risk-taking. The third perspective views measurement as having insignificant or little impact on innovation because it is used primarily for signalling. A possible explanation of the contradiction in the empirical findings of these studies is that they generally ignore how measurement is used. Therefore, using the behavioural theory of innovation, I argue that one possible way of resolving the contradictory findings is by incorporating measurement use as a moderating variable. Using data from a cross-sectional, large-scale, probability sample survey of 145 UK manufacturing firms, I show that organizational performance measurement diversity interacts with performance measurement use to determine product innovation. My findings suggest that the extent to which a firm offers new products will be more positively (negatively) associated with performancemeasurement diversity when diagnostic use is high (low) holding interactive use constant and will be more negatively (positively) associated with performance measurement diversity when interactive use is high (low) holding, diagnostic use constant.
Open Access
A multi method investigation into the costs and into the benefits of measuring intellectual capital assets
(Cranfield University, 2005) Gray, Dina; Neely, Andrew
This study sets out to address the question of whether the costs and the benefits of measuring intellectual capital assets differ depending on the driver for that measure. Although pressure is growing on firms to measure and report on their intellectual capital assets no research has yet been published that questions the costs associated with such actions. And although academic research has purported to show links between the management of intellectual capital assets and real business benefits the research carried out thus far'has not focussed specifically on the benefits of measuring intellectual capital assets. Although there are now a variety of intellectual capital asset measurement frameworks there has been no cross comparison as to which intellectual capital asset measures provide the most business insight or where the outcome of that measurement is most effective. Using a multi method approach the thesis is tested in three phases; an extensive literature review covering intellectual capital, performance measurement and organisational effectiveness; a survey and content analysis to explore what and why companies measure; and structured interviewing of six companies to investigate the costs and the benefits of measurement. The thesis is tested through the investigation of thirteen propositions which show that: firstly, there is a difference in the relative cost of measuring intellectual capital assets given the measurement driver, which is explained by the frequency of measurement, the mode of data collection and analysis, and whether the use of the measure is a by product of some other driver, secondly, that the insight provided by an intellectual capital asset measure differs given the measurement driver, thirdly, that the measurement of intellectual capital assets is most effective for planning the future; and lastly, that particular measurement drivers are effective, to differing degrees, in financial, customer, operational, people and future organisational performance domains.
Open Access
Narrating the real corporate story
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z) Ambler, Tim; Neely, Andrew
Companies are being pressed to be more transparent in their annual reporting and, at the same time,interest is moving from the formal accounts to the narrative sections, partly in response to the increasing importance of the intangible assets not on the balance sheet. The paper sets out the changes in UK requirements, ummarised in a Framework provided by the Worshipful Company of Marketors, and company practice. The two weakest areas in relation to the Accounting Standards Board Reporting Standard are the provision of forward looking information and non-financial KPIs, especially those to do with customers, competitors and brands. The paper suggests that brand equity, the intangible marketing asset, is the present reservoir of future cash flow. Accordingly, provision of professional measures of brand equity should go some way towards solving both weaknesses at the same time.
Open Access
The relationship between management accounting, profitability and operations in an uncertain world. Evidence from literature and practice
(Cranfield University, 2007) Smith, Philip; Neely, Andrew
At the heart of many core Management Accounting (MA) practices there is a potential mismatch between the assumption of a materially predictable future operating environment, and the reality of an uncertain and unpredictable world. Practices such as budgets, product costing, investment appraisal and financial projections, aimed at facilitating the achievement of profitability goals, are based on the assumption that the future is sufficiently stable and predictable to benefit from analytical calculation. However, we live in a world where the future can be uncertain, unstable and unpredictable. Does this mean that when operating conditions become unstable, unpredictable and uncertain many MA practices lose their core modus operandi? This thesis addresses this issue through an interwoven mix of a longitudinal case study and literature reviews spread over three projects. The case study was longitudinal and based on in depth participant observation. The firm involved was a £38m UK logistics company. The study benefited from totally unrestricted access to all strategic, financial and operational activities and data, because of the author’s senior role in the firm. The literature review was conducted using a targeted systematic review (Tranfield and Denyer, 2003) supported by additional narrative reviews. This synoptic paper provides a reflective synthesis of the findings and the contribution of the three projects which together constitute the research. Four core interlinked findings emerged from the study, based on the assumption that the achievement of profitability goals is the primary goal of the organisation. First, building on the proposals of (Otley, 1999) a framework showing the relationship between MA, profitability, operations and uncertainty is proposed. It demonstrates how MA financialises operations by creating a parallel financial space to the operational space; how profitability outcomes result from the financial consequences of operational actions; how the role of MA is to inform and control operational actions in a manner that achieves profitability goals; and how uncertainty has a critical impact on MA functionality. Second, the differing dimensions and implications of uncertainty are distinguished. The principal distinction is between external and internal uncertainty. External uncertainties arise from unanticipated changes from customers, suppliers and the market and thus affect the predictability of the future on which plans and targets are based. The data gathered during the course of this research suggests that external uncertainty tends to be typified by pockets of instability oscillating with periods of relative stability. Internal uncertainties occur in relation to management effectiveness, reporting validity and choice of appropriate accounting perspective (five are identified - Product, Customer, Throughout, Process, Financial Accounting). The external uncertainties magnify the impact of the internal uncertainties by potentially changing and thus de-stabilising the requirements of management, the validity of reporting and the appropriateness of the accounting perspective used. Third, Management Accounting Systems (MAS) respond to external uncertainties, and the aspirations of external financial stakeholders for increased profitability, by operating in two differing modes – the first is fixed/control (Fixed), the second is inform/flex (Flex). Fixed is the default mode and assumes conditions of relative certainty; the role is to control the achievement of agreed plans and targets. Flex is intermittently initiated when, signalled by feedback, the impact of external uncertainties or profit pressures trigger the need to change original plans and targets. Calculative analysis informs revised operational plans aimed at maintaining the achievement of profitability goals; targets are flexed to reflect the changes. The intent is to develop a revised position of relative stability in which the achievement of profitability plans and targets can be controlled via reverting back to Fixed. The process is therefore continual, but appears to be typified by an uneven series of oscillations between the two modes. Four, the Financial Accounting (FA) profitability measure, with the goal derived from external financial stakeholders, provides partial responses to the three internal uncertainties by introducing for each an element of certainty. For management effectiveness uncertainty, the profitability goal provides a relatively certain external referent which can be cascaded down the organisational structure, and against which performance can be evaluated. For reporting validity uncertainty, FA standards provide an authoritatively accepted definition of profitability, so that reported profitability is treated as if it were ‘true and fair’. For multiple accounting perspectives uncertainty, four perspectives (Product, Customer, Throughout, Process) make up a range of MA tools for developing actions to achieve target profitability levels, and the fifth (FA) provides the definition of profitability; all five are complementary and compatible as their differing aggregations are composed of the same underlying financial transactions. These responses, however, are only partial as the aspirations of external financial stakeholders are in themselves substantially self referential and liable to change, and the underlying uncertainty of FA reporting validity still exists, even if treated as if it does not. The study contributes to the further development of MA theory. It extends the Otley (1999) framework towards linking operations and profitability through parallel operational and financial spaces, and incorporating the central role of uncertainty. It adds to the debate in MA research on uncertainty by providing a classification of its dimensions, and its impact on triggering a requirement for differing MA modes. It highlights the central role of profitability in providing a stable certainty of purpose as a counterbalance to inherent internal and external uncertainties. It provides a clear identification of the differences and complementarities between MA and FA, FA defining the quantum of profitability achieved, MA facilitating the achievement of profitability goal. Finally the study inputs to a wide range of issues addressed by MA research which at their heart reflect the impact of uncertainty (Budgeting, Accounting Representation, Costing Perspectives). The study contributes to practice by proposing a set of ten tenets designed to provide guidelines for MAS development, implementation and evaluation. These are drawn from a cross sectional deconstruction of the four findings, viewed as a whole, aimed at identifying the specific factors that have direct implications for practice. The intent is that these tenets provide a bridge between theory and practice, based on the premise that, since MA theory was drawn from practice, the test of MA theory development is its applicability and relevance to practice.
Open Access
Special report: Competing on knowledge
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z) Bessant, John; Birkinshaw, Julian; Delbridge, Rick; Griffith, Rachel l.; Haskel, Jonathan; Neely, Andrew
Traditionally, the UK has been regarded as good at innovation - with many inventions and scientific breakthroughs. So, can this nation rest easy? No. Based on extensive research by the Advanced Institute of Management Research (AIM), it would appear that the agenda for keeping Britain competitive is a demanding one. Six AIM authors report on what the UK needs to know. And do.
Open Access
Towards a definition of a business performance measurement system
(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2007-08-01T00:00:00Z) Franco-Santos, Monica; Kennerley, Mike; Micheli, Pietro; Martinez, Veronica; Mason, Steve; Marr, Bernard; Gray, Dina; Neely, Andrew
Scholars in the field of performance measurement tend to use the term business performance measurement (BPM) systems without explaining exactly what they mean by it. This lack of clarity creates confusion and comparability issues, and makes it difficult for researchers to build on one an each other's work. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key characteristics of a BPM system, by reviewing the different definitions of a BPM system that exist in the literature. This work aims to open a debate on what are the necessary and sufficient conditions of a BPM system. It is also hoped that a greater level of clarity in the performance measurement research arena will be encouraged. Design/methodology/approach--The performance measurement literature is reviewed using a systematic approach. Findings--Based on this research, a set of conditions of a BPM system has been proposed from which researchers can choose those which are necessary and sufficient conditions for their studies. Research limitations/implications--The analysis in this paper provides a structure and set of characteristics that researchers could use as a reference framework to define a BPM system for their work, and as a way to define the specific focus of their investigations. More clarity and precision around the use of the BPM systems phrase will improve the generalisability and comparability of research in this area. Originality/value--By reviewing the different definitions of a BPM system that exist in the literature this paper will hopefully stimulate a debate on the necessary and sufficient conditions of a BPM system and encourage a greater level of clarity in the performance measurement research arena.