Performance measurement, cognitive dissonance and coping strategies: exploring individual responses to NPM-inspired output control

Berend van der Kolk () and Wesley Kaufmann ()
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Berend van der Kolk: IE University
Wesley Kaufmann: Tilburg University

Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, 2018, vol. 29, issue 2, No 2, 93-113

Abstract: Abstract The potential of increasing effectiveness and efficiency via performance measurement practices seems clear for scholars and practitioners alike. At the same time, it is often argued that quantitative performance measures fail to do justice to the complex environment of public sector organizations. This paper takes a first step toward incorporating and operationalizing cognitive dissonance theory to make sense of the different beliefs that public workers hold regarding performance measurement practices that are inspired by the New Public Management movement. We analyze a dataset of 34 interviews with employees working in policy departments, and we identify various indications of cognitive dissonance regarding the use of performance measurement at the individual level. Furthermore, we find that employees aim to reduce this dissonance by changing their behavior and by avoiding tasks that do not yield quantifiable results. This paper contributes to the management control literature by exploring how individuals with complex tasks respond to performance measurement practices.

Keywords: Performance measurement; Cognitive dissonance; Psychology; NPM; Coping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H83 M19 M40 M41 M48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s00187-018-0265-1

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