Redesigning performance management systems to strengthen village governance: a systematic literature review

Abstract

This systematic literature review examines how performance management systems (PMS) can be adapted to the decentralized and participatory nature of village governance. Drawing on a thematic synthesis of 97 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025 and retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science, the review traces the evolution of village performance measurement from centralized fiscal control toward multidimensional and community-driven approaches. Findings reveal that conventional PMS frameworks overlook key social, environmental, and digital dynamics shaping village-level governance. To address this gap, the study proposes a Village Government Performance Management System (VGPMS). The framework consists of four pillars, namely financial and administrative, social and institutional, environmental and sustainability, and digital and technological. These pillars operate within four performance perspectives: stakeholder contribution, resource capabilities, internal processes, and organizational output. Theoretically, the study contributes by reframing PMS as a capability-oriented and context-sensitive architecture for rural governance. Practically, VGPMS offers policymakers and village administrators a structured foundation for designing adaptive, inclusive, and accountable performance systems. As a conceptual framework derived from secondary literature, VGPMS requires empirical validation across diverse rural settings to assess its operational effectiveness and contextual transferability.