Investigation of the Effectiveness of Multiple Performance Measures

Lack of knowledge about how to effectively use multiple performance measures (MPMs), was the core rationale for this work. Many researchers argue that improving organisational performance does not depend only on the diversity of performance measures; instead, superior performance can be achieved when MPMs align with the contextual factors (e.g. strategy, uncertainty, size, etc). The theoretical framework of this work was based on the concept of Context-Structure Fit, which is regarded as the central proposition of Contingency Theory, which suggests that there is no universally "best" design for a management control system, but that "it all depends" upon circumstances surrounding organisations. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate whether environmental and organisational contingencies are important antecedents of MPMs' usage, and MPMs' information is an important antecedent of organisational performance. The work concluded that the effectiveness of MPMs is related to the contextual factors, and suggested that organisations should pay greater attention to their environmental and organisational characteristics when adopting and designing new management control systems.