Exploring the Impact of National Culture on Performance Measurement

Abstract

The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to explore the impact of national culture on the design, implementation and use of performance measurement systems (PMS). Managing performance of organizations using management control system or performance management systems is essential for managers. As organizations are increasingly having to expand globally, they are forced to operate their original PMSs, but in different cultures. While, the impact of culture on PMS implementation have been revisited in the performance management literature from organizational perspectives, the impact of national culture on PMS was not clearly explored. Therefore the aim of the authors is to explore the impact of national culture on the lifecycle of PMS. Qualitative inductive research approach, and semi structured interviews of indigenous SMEs' were employed, and the findings suggest that national culture impact PMSs life-cycle and propositions are provided explaining the expected behaviour of different national cultures. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2014.